Looking to get a record made for a victrola

[Simian Drunk]

Seems like the best place to put this. Was wondering if anyone knows of a company that can press records for a victrola? I have one that I still listen to and my band would sound really good being played on one. Sounds rediculous but if we could find a place that produced them we would be way into it.

 

[stevieb]

I'd think that if you can find a vinyl mastering facility that can master it at 78rpm, it would play okay on a Victrola- and a more modern turntable that could do 78rpm. That said, there may not be that many machines- vic's or tables- that could play it, so you might be seriously restricting your market.

 

[Simian Drunk]

Not worried about restricting the market since it will be possible to get it on other platforms. More of just a "coolness" factor. It would be like going to see a band you really like and they have 12"s and 7"s available. And for those of us with a working victrola it would be awesome to get something new to listen to. Or just cool to hang on your wall. But the problem is that the needle on a record player is quite a bit different then the Vic.

 

[Johnny Nowhere]

I don't believe that you'll have much luck finding a cutting lab that can fulfill your request. The major problem lies in the fact that old recordings made for a Victrola were cut onto celluloid, which was much more durable (although much more brittle) than vinyl. The weight exerted on the needle of the Vic far exceeds the amount that a vinyl record is designed to endure. Although the old needles were manufactured of a somewhat 'softer' metal, requiring that the needle be replaced after 20 or so plays, old 78s would still wear out after repeated plays. The weight of a Vic needle on vinyl would cut the vinyl to ribbons.

Cool idea, but about 60 years too late.

 

[mdainsd]

"For best results, Always use genuine RCA cactus needles!"

 

[Simian Drunk]

I'm going to continue searching, somebody has to have the capabilities, right?

 

[mdainsd]

Probably not. AS an earlier poster pointed out, the material used for 78s isnt even made anymore :-(

I like what you are trying to do though. Maybe there is a plugin for in the box recording that could get you the sound at least.

Id love to have a 78 of us playing black metal, awesome...

 

[jpmorris]

Out of curiosity I found that you can get 78s pressed, but they are in vinyl and intended for use with 'a lightweight stylus' which is presumably not possible on this machine.

 

[Johnny Nowhere]

I'll be the first to admit that the temptation is an attractive idea. A couple of years ago, this tune came to me, and I heard it as being very old. I imagined Rudy Vallee or some such singer. I solved the problem with a bit of imagination. I squashed the hell out of the vocals and EQ'd the track violently to make my tube mic sound like a limited range antique. Then I tuned my shortwave radio to an unused frequency and mic'd the speaker to track the resulting hash (the shadow of the Big Bang). The rest is mostly my Tele and a volume pedal. It ain't a 78, but it sounds enough like one:

Whistling in the Dark by Johnny Nowhere - YouLicense.com

 

[Lt. Bob]

To add to what Mr Nowhere said .... another problem is that 78 grooves are a LOT bigger than LP grooves. The cutting heads used nowadays simply wouldn't cut a big enough or deep enough groove and there's no reason any plant would have maintained a cutter that would do 78's.

 

[Hammerstone]

I thought for sure that someone out there would still be making 78's, but maybe not. As an alternative, how about wax cylinders?

Custom made phonograph cylinder records, bespoke phonograph cylinder records

 

[jpmorris]

This may be of interest:
http://www.78rpm.net.nz/78s/late78s/Late 78rpm records.pdf

 

[Simian Drunk]

That is a really cool option with the cylinder, I wish I had a cylinder player. May be a good gift for my band mate. And Mr Nowhere that recording is fantastic. Has a very authentic plater sound. I will try that with the recordings we are about to do. It's a shame since just playing a record on the Vic is an expierience like none other, winding it up opening the top dropping the needle, and sipping on a glass of your favorite beverage with your friends, now it's just pop in the disk and push play. Wow that's even old, push play on your phone and your done

 

[Johnny Nowhere]

Wow! The links that Mr. Hammerstone and Mr. Morris posted are astounding. I cannot believe that someone is still manufacturing 78 format discs, albeit they are almost certainly vinyl pressings; but that someone is still cranking out cylinders is freaking nuts! Hope springs eternal!

Mr. Drunk, I admire your tenacity. But then again...this is the Analogue Only forum (glad you liked the pseudo-78 recording).

 

[Hammerstone]

Yeah it's just a shame no one's doing 78's on shellac. Anyone remember seeing that box set of the complete Robert Johnson recordings on 78's? I never actually inspected it in any detail, but I guess now that those would have been in vinyl, not shellac...hmmm....

 

[wmba]

I know this thread is 6 months old, but I was wondering if the person who started this post ever found anything? I stumbled upon this post while trying to answer the same question. I have old recordings of my dad's jazz bands from the 1950's and 60's, and I would love to take a few songs and put them on records that can be played on my Victrola.

 

[mdainsd]

Maybe another option. Check out Sound Scriber from the 40s, its a dictation machine that cuts to disc. Unfortunately the format is 33 1/3 rpm vrs 78, but the media is available and they sound equally as good/bad as 78s. Just a thought.

 

[paulson]

I'm going to continue searching, somebody has to have the capabilities, right?

Just inherited a bunch of albums and an old Victrola Voice Machine VV-XVI C 38000 Walnut with 6 of the original books that came with it. Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, George Gershwin... Are you still in need of some of these albums? If so, then before we put them up for sale, would you like to have a complete list of the albums we have and see what ones you want? We have over 100.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Just inherited a bunch of albums and an old Victrola Voice Machine VV-XVI C 38000 Walnut with 6 of the original books that came with it. Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, George Gershwin... Are you still in need of some of these albums? If so, then before we put them up for sale, would you like to have a complete list of the albums we have and see what ones you want? We have over 100.

he's not looking for 78s. he's looking for a place that'll put his music on 78s.