Re: [ARSCLIST] 16" transcription player on ebay

[David Lennick <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As a few of us have pointed out, AFRS and CP MacGregor continued to put out 16" 
transcriptions and went to microgroove for a number of years..in CP's case, 
presumably because (a) stations were still used to playing the big platters and 
(b) better quality and more volume could be obtained when putting a 30-minute 
program on a 16 incher than on a twelve, which was cutting it pretty close.

It was also mentioned (maybe not here but on 78-L) that vertical cut 
transcriptions disappeared in the 40s..not so, World continued to press them 
well into the mid 50s. By the way, these play much better with a very small tip 
(.7 mil works beautifully and gets past all the gunk and scratches on Worlds 
and Associateds).

dl

Eric Jacobs wrote:
> I'm with Steve on this - I've neither seen (measured with a microscope)
> nor heard (validated by ear) a 1 mil groove ("microgroove") on a 16-inch
> transcription disc.
>
> 16-inch grooves generally range from 2.1 to 3.0 mil, the bulk being
> 2.3, 2.5 or 2.8 mil.
>
> The 12-inch home recordings can be a bit narrower, where occasionally
> I've seen 1.8 mil.  But that's the very narrowest I've ever encountered,
> and still not in microgroove territory.
>
> Dictation discs like the Gray Autograph or Edison Voicewriter will run
> 0.85 to 0.90 mil.  These are best played with a microgroove stylus or
> something a bit smaller.
>
> Eric Jacobs
>
> The Audio Archive, Inc.
> tel: 408.221.2128
> fax: 408.549.9867
> mailto:EricJ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Steven Smolian
> Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 5:51 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] 16" transcription player on ebay
>
>
> I'be never seen a non-experimental 16" 33 that used a 1 mil groove- always a
> 2.5 mil, though I own a couple cut at 1 mil by Mirko Paneko in the later
> 40s.
>
> I visited him in Stamford, I believe it was, a few times.  He claimed to be
> the inventor of the LP and that Goldmark instigated the paperwork.  Mirko
> died before I could persue this in any depth.
>
> His name is now widely forgotten, but in his day he was well known for
> making audio systems for the rich, musical and famous, Toscanini being among
> that number.
>
> Steve Smolian