I haven't played them in years but, as I recall, some of the 78-rpm sides of Koussy's Beethoven 9th sound like the dubbings were made with a dirty playback stylus. The resulting fuzzy sound makes finding the right stylus match more difficult.
Ampex introduced the first professional tape recorders in 1948, but the second Petrillo recording ban was underway, so Ampex recorders were initially used only for broadcasting. Andreas would seem to be correct in that nothing was mastered on tape until 1950, after the conclusion of the second Petrillo ban on recording in the US.
Best,
Gary
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From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Andreas K. Meyer
Sent: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 6:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [ARSCLIST] Best stylus size and config for 1946 RCA Victor 78s
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Hello Ben,
I never came across RCA Victor tape before 1950. That is pretty much standard year for the switch to mono quarter inch tape for both RCA and Columbia. This was recorded at the shed though in Tanglewood. If they had a film mag machine there, I do not know but can bet Dennis Rooney knows. I would suspect being so close to NYC, and the relationship between Tanglewood (BSO, Pops etc) and RCA, they probably recorded to dual lacquer machines. Then the master takes would be transferred to 78 masters. Unfortunately RCA destroyed all their lacquers after the metal was made.
Anyway, there are so many variables in playback, I am not going to comment too much, and because I do not have any of your gear for comparison. But that time period and being RCA Red Seal, I would start with a 3.2te and then work in both directions until I felt I was getting the most optimum signal to noise ratio. Weight will play a factor and is continuously variable (within limits) based on what I am hearing.
Best of luck and have fun!
Andreas
On 2022-05-04 12:22, Benjamin Roth-Aroni wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> I'm transferring the Beethoven 9th with Koussevitzky on shellac
> DM-1190.
> The records are in excellent shape.
> *The recording is dated August 6-13, 1947, but didn't they have
> magnetic tape already? The Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky was
> recorded on tape. *
>
> I'm using a SHURE M44-7 cartridge and my choice of styli is:
> 4.0 ET, 4.0 CT, 3.5 ET, 3.5 CT, 2.8 ET, 2.8 CT, & 3.5 FCR (*F*ull
> *C*onical *R*adius), I also have a GE VRII with the 2.5 stylus.
> So far, the Shure 4.0 ET is giving the least surface noise, but I'm
> wondering if any of you have a better suggestion for size and config.
>
> I know it's been reissued a couple times on CD, but this is an
> experiment.
> Any suggestions, please?
>
> Thank you.
> Regards,
> Ben Roth
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