Re: [ARSCLIST] lacquer discs was [ARSCLIST] Comparable collections anywhere?

[David Lennick <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger and Allison Kulp wrote:

> Do all lacquer discs flake and peel over time ? I have some from RCA, Columbia,and EMI,from the late 30s,and 40s,that are still as good as the day they were made.OTOH,I have seen cheaper home-recorded jobs,where most of the surface has flaked off.So some are more archivally stable than others.Does this have something to do with better quality materials,or the fact they were made at commercial pressing plants ?
>    What is the oldest lacquer disc that anyone has come across that is still playable ?
>                 Roger Kulp

This question also turned up on 78-L where it was answered by many. 1934 seems to be the accepted date for the development of the lacquer disc as we know it..it's possible that there are some earlier versions. I have one labelled "Cellutone" which is dubbed, but which may still date from 1933. It was beginning to deteriorate when I obtained it a few years ago (some fairly rare airchecks of Max Steiner conducting
at the Hollywood Bowl) so I transferred it immediately. A couple of years ago I transferred a bunch of Joe Cook airchecks cut in 1934, and these discs were in gorgeous condition. No deterioration. They could have been made in this century.

Someone mentioned paper based discs as being the worst survivors..this probably depends on storage conditions and moisture or dryness. I've had some sixteen-inch paper based discs from 1940 that have survived beautifully, show no lacquer deterioration or tendency towards palmitic acid, and have a warmer sound than aluminum or glass discs from the same period..no idea why this should be. Presto "orange label" discs
for home use tend to disintegrate faster than many others, in my experience. Audiodisc "Reference" (white label) discs seem to hold up very nicely while Soundcraft is referred to by most of us who deal with them as "Soundcrap" (palmitic acid, peeling, you name it). And most of the thin discs made for home recorders are horrors we'd just as soon avoid dealing with (peeling, flaking, warping, cuts that go down to
the aluminum, not to mention the gawdawful stuff recorded on most of them).

dl