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OK - anybody still recall those old 78 rpm records we used to make plant pots out of when we got bored with the song, I still have several, Norman Wisdon, Joyce Grenfell, Joe Loss etc, anyone else? boombox2

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There were four speeds on the old record players, 16 rpm, 33 rpm, 45 rpm and 78 rpm. What the hell was 16 rpm for?

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Eh - that'scriminal, they could be worth a few bob if you had kept them. You don't throw anything relating to the King you wrap it up with brown paper and string put it in the loft and teeasure it! eh there's another topic, whats in your loft!, think I'll just go and start that one now!

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I have 30 odd 78's which have now been mislaid again, following a brief exposure to daylight a few years back.

We cleaned them and put them on a neighbours equally ancient player (Dansette?).

Bill Haley, Little Richard, Slim Whitman and Co amazed the under 40's who heard the recital...

Someone was telling me that £30 machines are now available which will transfer the 78 to CD format, also cleaning up much of the crackling...is this so? Seems something of an insult to the memory by enhancing the playback!

Cheers

Robt P.

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Well if you want a Dansette try Ebay

GENUINE DANSETTE MAJOR RECORD PLAYER. In Blue & Grey.

FULLY SERVICED & READY TO PLAY. A Collectable Classic.

0c_1_b.JPG

Current bid: £107.00

Time left: 20 hours 41 mins

10-day listing, Ends 31-Jan-06 20:01:40 GMT

Start time: 21-Jan-06 20:01:40 GMT

History: 11 bids (£4.00 starting bid)

See What it goes for

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The difficult part is getting the spares like needles - trouble is using old worn out needles ruins the records. Am in the process of downloading my 78's onto the hard drive then onto c.d's to play in the car and for preservation. (or at least trying to)

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Do you remember - you had to change the needle on the very old record players everytime you played a record, they used to come in little round tins with about 100 in them, I'm going back before the 'dansette' (what a great machine with the drop down mechanism which made your discs slip) I'm recalling the old 'radiograms' eh - I'm not really that old, me dad told me!

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The difficult part is getting the spares like needles - trouble is using old worn out needles ruins the records. Am in the process of downloading my 78's onto the hard drive then onto c.d's to play in the car and for preservation. (or at least trying to)

Al, you should be able to play 78's with a standard diamond stylus.

I purchased Adobi Audition to "clean" my vinyls up, remove pops and crackles and to also enhnce the sound quality so as I can transfer my whole collection to CD's. Also want to transfer my collection of cassette tapes and remove the hiss and upgrade the quality of those recordings.

Now all I have to do is learn how to use it :Fool:

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Well if you want a Dansette try Ebay

GENUINE DANSETTE MAJOR RECORD PLAYER. In Blue & Grey.

FULLY SERVICED & READY TO PLAY. A Collectable Classic.

0c_1_b.JPG

Current bid: £107.00

Time left: 20 hours 41 mins

10-day listing, Ends 31-Jan-06 20:01:40 GMT

Start time: 21-Jan-06 20:01:40 GMT

History: 11 bids (£4.00 starting bid)

See What it goes for

Jeeze Mick, that thing probably only cost around ten quid brand new!

Mind you, the valves in it, if still got plenty of life in them, are worth triple the bid on it ;)

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  • 10 years later...

I've just sold about 400 78's. They were some good ones among them, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly. Too many to list but the majority were dance bands etc. Not worth a great deal though.

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78s weren't Bakelite. There were a few tries with hard rubber and other composite materials early on but it settled down to a mix of ground slate,shellac and a colouring compound, usually carbon black IIRC. most stayed with this to the end of 78's around 1960. ( Varied by country) But some, notably Pye and associated labels made 78s out of vinyl which AFAIK was the same stuff used for 45s and LPs and fairly unbreakable. Still mono though and same groove profile as the 'standard' ones.

Col

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Ok for want of an easy life, can you tell me why does my Mums copies of 'Everyday' by ''Buddy Holly'' and 'Mary's Boy Child' by "Harry Belafonte" clearly have/had 'Bakelite' inscribed on the label? I remember asking what it meant (About 50 years ago) and getting told that it was a type of early plastic.
Sorry if that sounds nasty, it's not intended that way.

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Just be aware that whilst you can play your 78s on a modern deck, you'll need a stylus that is designed for 78s. The stylus for 33/45 has a different profile (more pointy to be technical) and would scrape the bottom of the groove on a 78, causing wear/damage and not reproducing the sound particularly well. Dependent on type of cartridge, you may be able to get a suitable 78 stylus. The alternative is to get a complete cartridge with 78 stylus. Some years back there were double sided styli, one side for 78, t'other for 33/45. Of course your deck needs to be able to rotate at 78RPM.

That slowest speed on the 4-speed deck was actually 16 2/3 (half of 33 1/3).

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#15 DJ360. That comment about the new material and records being "fairly unbreakable" reminded me of my mate demonstrating this to me by skimming his elder brother's latest purchase at his bedroom wall.......OOPS!

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IMMSC our old Dansette had a little lever type thing on the arm, one way was a needle for 45s/33s you moved it round and it had another needle for 78s

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First Lonnie Donegan 78 that I bought was on PYE and seemed to be made of the same vinyl that LPs were made of. Never came across bakelite records though. Bakelite seemed to be the plastic material that electrical fixtures and even some radio and tv cases were made out of. Fairly brittle and really stunk if they got burned.

Not saying there were no bakelite records, just that I don't remember ever seeing one.

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They used to break very easy if dropped on their edge. Sorry Mum!

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I remember before I had a 45 record player my parents had an old 78 radiogram and apart from their 'old' records I used to buy up-to-date copies of new records on Embassy 78's from Woolworths

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Posh bit of furniture Dave the old Radiograms,my parents and all my Aunts had one late 50s,i grew up listening to the old 78s,..........Beverley sisters, Ruby Murrray,Johnny Ray,Frankie Laine,Dickie Valentine,Alma Cogan,and then along came Bill Haley and the Comets and the world started changing.

Even had a Radiogram when i first got married in 67,and some old 78s,which first wife smashed up,before exiting back to Derbyshire,bless her.............lol.

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A number of manufacturers make styli for 78. The one I,'m using present is made by Ortofon . IIRC, the stylus was around £30-40 and it fits the ortofon OM 5 cartridge which is a similar price or a bit less. UK firm Rega make a 78 cartridge with as fixed stylus. The flipover type fitted to many Dansettes was called a TC8 and is most likely still available. It was held in place by s small screw.

Beef, if it says bakelite on your records obviously I can't argue with that, but I've never seen it. I'll have a look at my 78s tomorrow.

Col

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