SuperBee
5771 posts
Jan 24, 2019
3:24 AM
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I only have 7 x blues 78s...t bone’s “mean old world, little wille john’s “fever”, howling wolf’s “going back home”, lightning slim’s “bad luck and trouble” and “ I can’t be successful”, j b lenore’s “Talk to your daughter”.
and “Juke”
If you’re in the vicinity of Mobile, and you like records, you could do worse than to visit Keith Glass at his record store.
Keith brought out the good 78s for me, when I called in back in May, but it was early in my trip so I only bought a few. He told me he won’t ship them by post anymore because they are just too easily broken. He also told me he’d had 3 Robert Johnson records come in over the previous 18 months. While I was there he was quite excited when someone brought in a sister Rosetta Tharpe disc, but unfortunately it turned out to be unplayable.
I lugged those records across the USA. They were in my bag I carried with me on all transport for 4 weeks. I bought a couple 33s also but those are still in Auburn with my friends.
More than once I questioned why I’d burdened myself with this old shellac, but I always had a pretty good answer.
What better souvenir of my trip to Alabama. I have always loved records, I love the blues, and you can’t find these things in Australia. Vinyl and CDs etc are universal but blues 78s really didn’t make it out here in great numbers.
I’m restoring (having restored) a Kreisler “tablegram” to play them. This is a British-made 3 speed turntable in a wooden cabinet with hinged lid, hooked up to a little Australian valve amp and tuner in the same box. Was gonna do it myself but could see it was going to be a long journey with too much research needed so I’ve contracted it out to someone who knows what they are doing. I’ve never even seen a photo of a unit quite like this one; mostly they seem to be in Bakelite cases and far less attractive than mine (which is no real triumph of aesthetics itself).
I know I could adapt a modern rig but this solution appeals as the way to hear how these records really sounded at the time.
I guess Keith is pretty well-located to have these things turn up in his shop. I’ll definitely make a return visit if we are both spared long enough.
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Cotton
105 posts
Jan 24, 2019
9:10 AM
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Bee,
I collect Antique Victor Talking Machines and Victrola's. I have hundreds of old 78s, some blues. Something special about hearing a 78 record fully acoustic. On a Victor Orthophonic, hard to tell it is not amplified. Next time you are in the US, you are welcome to stop by. (North Florida)
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nacoran
10041 posts
Jan 24, 2019
11:15 AM
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Unplayable is relative. Have you seen any of the restoration they've done using lasers instead of needles?
I don't have the link anymore, but there was an article, I think on Wired quite a while back where they took an old Leadbelly record that was so scratched that you could barely tell what song it was and couldn't even hear that there was a choir singing behind him and played it with their laser player and it sounded like a high quality studio track.
I have a friend who used to painstakingly restore recordings digitally. I think he gave up the hoby when the lasers came out. It just wasn't challenging enough anymore. :)
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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Littoral
1657 posts
Jan 24, 2019
12:28 PM
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I dig them too. I have about 1000, mostly blues, and one Victrola that still plays -but it needs some help. I'm actually between Keith Glass in Mobile and Cotton in North Florida. I'm on the coast, SW of Tallahassee, in Apalachicola. Cotton, I'd love some direction on getting my Victrola to work better. It's a big console that sounds great (releases the ghosts) but the arm is out of alignment and there's some broken parts.
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Cotton
106 posts
Jan 24, 2019
1:08 PM
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Littoral,
Send me photos of the Victrola, showing the broken parts and the brand logo. I should be able to help. If the repoducer is rebuildable, it will have the largest effect on sound. Cottonmor@gmail.com
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Littoral
1658 posts
Jan 24, 2019
6:37 PM
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Great to hear Cotton. I'll send some pics soon. Thanks!
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BeelzeBob
59 posts
Jan 24, 2019
8:39 PM
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I imagine many have seen the documentary Desperate Man Blues, it's about a collector who lives 45 minutes from me in Frederick, Maryland, USA. He believes rock and roll was "a cancer" that killed good music. He's 82. I've never gone to meet him, I love the blues but I'm not a collector and I'm sure I would bore him.
Last Edited by BeelzeBob on Jan 24, 2019 8:43 PM
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jbone
2815 posts
Jan 24, 2019
9:09 PM
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@Littoral, we're playing at Tamara's in Apalachicola today! Jawbone and Jolene, early show, 4 to 6. I just noticed this. We're staying in Sopchoppy for a few weeks yet and then to Tallahassee for a time.
We're also booked in Carrabelle at Harry's on Feb. 10, 5 to 9 pm.
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Music and travel destroy prejudice.
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SuperBee
5772 posts
Jan 24, 2019
10:37 PM
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Thank you, Cotton. I hope i can take up that invitation in the not too distant future. I'm hopeful of coming back in 2020. The state of my $ is a concern though. at the moment they are forecasting an imminent dive to 60 cents and a long period down there. i should really hedge against that and invest in some USD right now.
Nate, i do not know much at all about restoration of those old discs. is it restoration of the disc, or just extraction of the information from the disc to another medium. i mean, do you get a playable disc at teh end of the process or a digital file? (i suppose i could just look this up for myself)
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Littoral
1659 posts
Jan 25, 2019
5:48 AM
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JBone, imagine that, picking up my gig when my partner is away! Flying Fish is our duo and we do that gig every Friday and Saturday, all year. Our genre falls around "groovy". Our hours there are 4:30-7:00 so you might want to check on 4-6 because 6:00-7:00 is good. If you want to talk details I'd be happy to chat by phone. jmdutrow@gmail.com
Last Edited by Littoral on Jan 25, 2019 5:49 AM
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jbone
2816 posts
Jan 25, 2019
8:01 AM
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Sorry I OT'ed this guys.
Mom used to have a lot of big band 78's. They did not survive life on life's terms back when.
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Music and travel destroy prejudice.
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SuperBee
5779 posts
Jan 26, 2019
12:07 AM
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oh no Jbone! you OT'd my OT thread!
no worries man, pretty funny you've picked up Littoral's gig. This is still a great board!
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groyster1
3308 posts
Jan 26, 2019
7:07 AM
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@superbee.....you certainly had a very productive visit to America....I remember seeing 78s in record racks at my great uncles and aunts but never actually played them.....45s and 33s are all I ever put on turntables
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jbone
2817 posts
Jan 26, 2019
8:57 AM
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@bee, Littoral was cool with it since his guitar guy was out yesterday anyway. Very nice to meet up and chat with a forum peer! Jolene and I got hired to do a different evening a few times next month so I hope to see more of Littoral then.
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