Selling / Disposing of 78 RPM discs

[hmvman]

I'm recalling a BBC feature, probably on Music Matters, years ago, where it was revealed that shellac recordings were made in duplicate as a kind of fail-safe. The presenter had utilised the fact that the recording machines were on opposite sides of the studio to create a modern stereo sound.

I think that'll be what's referred to as 'accidental stereo'. It was believed that duplicate recording set-ups were used in some important sessions as a fail-safe with separate mics feeding separate cutting lathes. Some of Elgar's electrical recording sessions were reportedly done this way. The thought then was that if it was possible to find pressings from the separate systems and combine them then a stereo image would result. I think a few were tried with mixed results. It wasn't known if the two mics were fed to the cutting lathes via a mixer thus removing any audio separation. Some people are fervent believers in the accidental stereo while others are very sceptical.

[Dave2002]

We've still got a 78 collection inherited from an elderly friend nearly 50 years ago. Luckily it only takes up about 3 or 4 feet of shelf space but may include some rarities and some favourite performances since reissued on LP at least if not later media. Annoyingly i managed to crack my favourite performance of the Meistersinger Quintet conducted by Barbirolli with Schumann, Melchior, Schorr, Parr, Williams, but luckily its on Youtube,

Even a broken 78 can sometimes be rescued I believe, though it may really not be worth the effort. If the YT version is good enough for your needs, then it's probably not going to be sensible to try to patch up the original 78.

[smittims]

I've enjoyed the 'accidental stereo ' remasterings I've heard, the gems, in my experience, being Elgar's Cello concerto with Beatrice Harrison, and his conducting Croft's 'O God our help' in his own orchestration. Both these clearly give a true binaural image, in the case of the Croft a remarkably vivid one for 1928!.

I don't know why Keith Hardwick vetoed the use of the process in the EMI 'Elgar Edition'. It may have been because he considered it artistically, or scholarly unethical , as we cannot be sure why they used diferent mike positions for the two simultaneous waxes. No explanations have survived, and they could not have 'played them back' as stereo at the time, as it requires absolute simultaneity, achievable only with digital technology; otherwise you get slightly 'out of phase' , which is basically how 'electronic stereo' was produced (e.g.the Decca 'Eclipse' LPs of the 1970s) .

[richardfinegold]

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