Manufacture 78t discs for use on needle gramophones

[Bebert81]

Hello,
I don't know if this thread is posted in the right place, and if this is really the right forum for my question, but after all it's about audio and DIY...
I restored a couple of gramophones (HVM101) for use in a theatre show (Camera Obscura), and was really surprised by the quality and emotion felt when listening to this century old equipment. The sound is incredible.
I wonder if it's realistic to try and burn 78 rpm records with today's music? The old records were made of shellac, which was hard enough to withstand the heavy needle (nearly 150 g).
One option could be triyng to reproduce this old process with shellac. But not easy to find informations about that...
Other option could be to look to new synthetic material maybe easier to implement ?
Does anybody has an idea on the subject ?
Thank you in advance for you help.
Bertrand

 

[JohnRoberts]

My dad was a recording engineer for RCA in NYC (1950s).

I have a couple old lacquers(?) that he cut for us kids 60-70 years ago.

JR

 

[C.B. - Boudio]

You could try to find an old lacquer cutter (Presto, Rek-O-Kut,...). Seems to be doable in the US, but not in Belgium as in my case, and probably not really in France either. The laquers (some kind of PVC can work, too, I think) will be worn out rather quickly though.

Or even modify an acoustic phonograph to make your acoustic recordings (strong diafragm, hard needle and a fullrange HiFi speaker in the horn, something like that). Quality will be quite low of course.

 

[Bebert81]

I have a couple old lacquers(?) that he cut for us kids 60-70 years ago.

what material are these lacquers made of ?

Or even modify an acoustic phonograph to make your acoustic recordings (strong diafragm, hard needle and a fullrange HiFi speaker in the horn, something like that). Quality will be quite low of course.

It really makes you want to try it.

I suppose the material used for engraving must be softer than the material used for reading. Perhaps a contact duplication process is needed to switch from one to the other?

 

[Bebert81]

Or burning a soft material wich can be chemically hardened...

 

[JohnRoberts]

what material are these lacquers made of ?

I don't know and my father died over 60 years ago (RIP) so I can't ask him. I think I recall that they were called lacquers.

I just pulled out a few to look at. These were coated aluminum(?) discs. The ones that my father used while working for RCA were locally manufactured by a NYC company called "Audiodisc". From an advertisement printed on one of the paper envelopes they were also promoting "Audiotape". The finish was shiny, glossy if that tells you anything.

I recall as a young kid using these as frisbees but I suspect it could really hurt someone if struck by a flying aluminum platter.

My recollection about listening to old 78's was mostly about high levels of surface noise and scratches but we kids did not handle the recordings carefully.

From a quick web search

Audiodisc was an American brand of blank acetate discs made by Audio Devices, Inc., USA under license from Pyral France, the inventor of the lacquer disc. Professional Audiodisc acetates were sold to the recording industry, and commercial versions were marketed to home users and hobbyists fr

So the medium was acetate also known as lacquers. DIY record cutting was apparently popular back in the day.

JR

 

[C.B. - Boudio]

I suppose the material used for engraving must be softer than the material used for reading. Perhaps a contact duplication process is needed to switch from one to the other?

For vinyl mastering, they still use those soft lacquers, and to get to vinyl, they have all those copies and different stampers and such (as you probably know), not really DIY-able (makes me want to try it though... in the very far future).
But you could get some inspiration from there I guess.

Or burning a soft material wich can be chemically hardened...

That sounds actually like quite a good idea, although the material can't be too soft to start with either, and it should not deform at all while hardening - and this sounds very tricky to me.