Transcription records are a whopping 16 inches in diameter and were used in radio stations in the 30s thru the 60s. This one has fanfare for baseball broadcasts and music shows. World's biggest records?
I have a 16" record of my late grandfather being interviewed. My family and I are yet to hear it as we cannot find a turntable that is able to play it. If anyone could help me out with pointing me in the right direction of locating a turntable to play this I would really appreciate it! Thanks
MaxxFordham I don't think he ever played it himself. He was interviewed in New York in a radio station (which I understand were probably the only ones to use this type of vinyl) but he was given a copy. He died when my father was young so we're unsure of exact details.
Is there a VERY OLD radio station in or near to your town? Some have retained their record playing ability, and MAY be able to help you. They may not have a 16 inch turntable, but they MAY have a 12 inch table with an ARM long enough to accommodate it.
Yes, it's called a transcription disc. Regular turntable play inside out, too. They used transcription discs long before the 50's, but they ran at 78 instead of 33 or 45. Part of the reason they're so big is to keep the radio station from having to flip the record every 3:00. If you've ever heard the original War Of The Worlds broadcast, you might notice a pause after every 8 or 10 minutes and a change in the overall sound, that's because the record was originally done on a set of transcription discs.
I have around a hundred 16-inch transcription discs from the 1940s and early 1950s, most pressed on what was then called Vinylite but some on aluminium and even glass. They generally revolve at 33¹/₃ rpm, have deeper groove cut and wider groove spacing for broadcast quality, and play for around 15 minutes per side. To play satisfactorily they need correct equalisation and proper stylus size (2-thou or 2.3-thou). Some play from the centre outwards. I have radio shows from such as Bob Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, Spike Jones, Jim Reeves, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Kid Ory, Harry James, Jack Teagarden... some radio library tracks, and various miscellaneous items. Most are in perfect condition and sound superb.
I own a number of them. Most contain old time radio shows. The latest date I can find on any of my 16" records was a copy of the "Fibber McGee and Molly" show from 1962 on AFRTS.
Many of the big band recordings aired for our troops overseas during WW2 were cut on V-disks, 16" diameter and spinning at 78 or 33, depending on the year they were made. My dad brought home some 16" 78s from the Pacific Theatre in 1946.
@@danieldaniels7571 There were 16" transcription discs of radio shows, such as Kay Kyser at one military base or other, produced by the Armed Forces Radio Service. The ones I have spin at 33rpm. They don't say V-Discs.
I saw a bunch of these at a house today, I was buying records from the estate, I did want these, but I suggested the owner give them to the local museum which has a collection of 78s and other old formats. Red ones are cool to hold up against the light.
love that part where Arthur Carlson walks in and Johnny fever is laying back in a chair all relaxed with his eyes closed Arthur Carlsonwalks into the studio and looks down at the record spinning. its dogs by Pink Floyd, he looks down at the record very curiously and asks Johnny fever what orchestra is that? To which Johnny fever replies very simply Pink Floyd Arthur then in return says, is that Pink Floyd. Do you hear dogs? And Johnny it is smooth fashion replies I do. anyhow it's a great scene look it up it's out there on RU-vid
Those singers sound like The Modernaires who were very popular in the 40's & 50's and recorded radio jingles for WNEW, 1130 (A Metro Media Station) in NYC. If you can find "Milkman's Matinee" by that group you will hear what I am writing about. Thanks for the post. I first saw 16" transcriptions around several radio stations in 1959 & 1960 when I was growing up. "Milkman's Matinee" came on the air every night at midnight in WNEW for over 30 years and ended sometime in the 1990 era.
Newcomb, Califone, and Audiotronics all made transcription players for schools that will play the 16" records. Also, these should be played with a 2.7 mil stylus (standard stereo LP stylus is .7 mil). I'm in the process of setting up a part 15 AM station for my old radios and it would be nice to find some material like what you have for use on my station. Radio stations used large turntables (Usually made by Gates, RCA, or Rek-O-Kut) to play these. The same TT's would also play standard records.
Hi! Here in Chile, Radio Cooperativa have some of that giant records with radio shows, ads, news and soccer games, but can't play them. They need a special player for 16-inch records.
That this record is from the 50's and is made of transparent red plastic material indicates it probably is vinyl. Earlier transcriptions would be non-see-thru shellac or lacquer material over a metal core. The term "acetates" is quite incorrect for early lacquer transcriptions, as the lacquer coating was actually made of cellulose nitrate, and was highly flammable.
databits . Always glad to help. I should maybe further clarify that nitrate "lacquer" transcriptions were usually one-off or small quantity runs, often labeled "instantaneous" recordings. Syndicated shows produced in quantity for wide distribution to a hundred or more stations were shellac around a metal or glass core, or after WW II, vinyl or styrene. Many transcriptions were vertical-cut ("hill and dale system" recordings and require a special stylus.
Problem is most, if not all transcription discs, are not "vinylites". They are "acetates". Softer surface and larger grooves. Don't forget these were not modern LP microgroove records, so they need a larger stylus (2mil+) to play properly. (At least that's what they tell me)
MUSICOM PRODUCTIONS is this not 78's you are talking about as as a kid i had an old record player that played 78's as well as 33/45's and to play 78's the needle flipped over and the 78 one was bigger and made of plastic rather than metal
I had access to some World Broadcasting System transcriptions at my local radio station when I interned there in the late '70s. Those records had all kinds of music cues (including the one used as the theme for Ziv Television's 1954-'55 syndicated version of "MEET CORLISS ARCHER") and program introductions, transitions, and "promos". This one was an example for a ball game: CHORUS: "So you just can't get to the old baseball park! Now that is a crime and a shame......" FEMALE SOLO: "Don't succumb to consternation...." CHORUS: "Stay tuned right to this station........to the OLD.....BALL.....GAME!!!!!!!"
is it possible to get a full recording of this disc I don't mind the scratches I love that sound on vinyl and the fanfare does remind me of something Disney to it just that feel
The ones with PROGRAMS on them ran about 15 minutes on a side. "Old Fashioned Revival Hour' did microgroove and managed to get 30 minutes on a side. The station I was at at the time had an awful time tracking the things.
Ive found some old early 1930s 16 inch transcriptions that were played in theater/building lobbies and on radio stations, their quality is truly astounding. It kind of transports you into the place where it was played at in a way.
I saw some very large turntables from radio stations during my childhood years and standard 12" LPs looks small on their turntable while playing. But never seen an actual 16" record.
Thank you so much for this video and the information in the comments below. I work in an archive and ran across a record almost exactly like this and had no idea what it was (unlabeled)
Nothing like listening to a record by the fireplace.... oh wait that's just the record. XD Bet it'd sound as good as new with a little clean. Either the PVA glue trick or something else.
Do you know how to remove scratches on a vinyl record? I have a couple of records with some scratches on it I don’t know how deep they are, there is this video on RU-vid called groove reconstruction. But I am totally blind and I don’t know what they are doing because when I click on the video it just plays music, I wish they would describe what they are doing so that I know what to do. RU-vid needs to have audio description so that way if RU-vid has music or Visual effects, then people like me would know what’s going on and get what they should out of it.
HOW cool .... I have a direct drive quartz locked pitched machine I custom built-to play these disc and the large format, do you wanna sell your disc or have me transfer the audio ?
Should be played with 2 mil stylus. A stereo 0.7 mil stylus will sound like garbage on that. Vinyl was fairly standard since the mid-30s, as was 33.3 rpm speed.
Not only do I think the needle size is different (which means your needle is flopping around in the grove), but I believe the groves are vertically modulated, not horizontally like most records. And then there's the whole question of what equalization curve they're supposed to have. I'll bet if you find the right setup, they'll sound far better.
A special dedicated stylus and cartridge are required to "properly" play these kinds of Transcription discs. Follow the link below for more details. Here's a quote from this page: "The discs were produced as vertical recordings as opposed to commercial phonograph records’ lateral technique. The vertical process cut sound waves into the bottom of the grooves instead of the groove’s sides common in lateral recordings. Therefore a much lighter pickup arm was required for a vertically cut transcription and that reduced any surface noise and extended the life of the disc. " www.jimramsburg.com/by-transcription-audio.html
It says right on the label VERTICAL. So I would expect a modern stereo pickup to work but originally they must have had special pickups for vertical cut records. This record sounds like it was made before stereo was invented.
i had a record this big once that a friend gave to me ... never got the player to play it on until i found out it was a radio station thing years later after i lost it or trashed it or whatever ... why does the player have to play this backwards? is that how all these radio station discs worked?
Most linear tracking turntables will not track a record with a groove that starts in the center because they’re only designed to advance the arm during play.
man now I want a big bunch of transcription records I love how scratchy this is I would love ot have a bunch of Disney recordings on t-discs majorly and maybe several dj rat pack's rave parties on t-discs also
You might already know this but to play one of these without the full 16 inch size turn table, here is a idea. You find a unit that will at least let the record fit and spin without hitting any thing. Then you get another turntable, a manual type arm one and place it beside the other one that can spin the record. You use that one to play any track you want and the other one to spin the record.
This normally should not work as there speed and size sensors under the platter that tell the micro-controller what speed so that it sets the speed correctly and size so that it knows where to put the needle on the disc and a transparent disc would light through and the unit would get conflicting signals and would malfunction.
yep,get your tools out & some cleaning stuff/lubricants canned air q tips detoxit. ..look for obvious things,wires stylus,wires to stylus,speaker connections,look at tubes if there are,compromised connections,broken solder,fuses..1 channel usual.... no sound, un usual..rca's might cracked eroded..depends on the player
