78RPM disc collectors of ILX, i salute you

i'm a cautious man. i'm not about to jump into this whole 78 thing without a lot of thought. i'd need the space, which i don't have. i'd need a phonograph that can play 78s, which i don't have. and i'd need money that, needless to say, i don't have. and yet, i kind of think i'm going to end up here.

i bid on a few congolese 78s from the 1940s and 1950s, but the eBay prices ended up being too high. we're talking $100s per disc. oh well.

anyway, what should i be thinking about right now? what sort of turntable should i be investing in? what's a good way to get started collecting 78s aside from overspending on eBay?

the very idea that those congolese 78s slipped through my fingers really upset me. because they do not turn up often, and within two weeks there's a small flurry of them that show up. and i miss them. if someone wants to make donations so i can start collecting congolese 78s, i'm accepting.

tbh I don't know much about what kind of turntable you should be using. I use a Numark PT-01 portable turntable and a "special" 78rpm needle that they manufacture (think it cost like $20.)

You might want to look at this list, am.
http://home.comcast.net/~oldhomestead/catalogs/cat7807s.htm
Not as exciting as congolese 78s, but there's some cool stuff and the prices are pretty good. Be aware that you might have to get used to the particulars of 78 grading, but it's better to do that buying $4 country 78s than $100 congolese 78s. Also note that the link above is dated Winter 07, but when I ordered stuff from it last summer they still had the three titles I wanted.

Another option that's a lot of fun is the try your hand at Kurt Nauck's 78 auctions--www.78rpm.com. The current auction ends in a month or so iirc. I usually bid low on a handful of international, country, and/or gospel 78s and win one or two. Once you've won something from him you start to get the paper catalog in the mail which is pretty awesome.

also btw & fyi-- i started dabbling in 78s a few years ago but i rarely have the inspiration to listen to them. same with 45s, really. i don't wanna have to flip or change the record every 2-3 minutes.

this whole "congolese 78s" meme is a brazen attempt to make me start an expensive hobby but I am wise to shit shit so yall can just cut it out ok

but loooook how pretty
http://excavatedshellac.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/ngoma.jpg

I will kill you for that, straight up

God damn it

*ahem*

Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

Just Say No To Congolese 78s, J0hn.

the brilliant pebbles were worth every penny fyi

should have bought this, but not enough $$

http://cgi.ebay.com/AFRICAN-Congo-Lingala-Edouard-Oliveira-3-guitars_W0QQitemZ280403205917QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149555f1d#ht_1035wt_909

My wife bought me a deceased man's collection of 100 or so 1940's C&W (hightlight: "Honky Tonk Chinese Dime") and we got her grandparents tube-amplified console from about 1960, and those things sounded fantastic on it. Then the turntable broke during a move. Which cut short the madness of getting into 78s. But whenever we get it fixed (or I hack a turntable into it) we will resume. Anyways, I want to plug those early 60s consoles, 'cause they really do sound good, and look great in a Mad Men sort of way. This kind of thing:

http://www.antiqueradio.com/Apr08_Jones_Magnavox.html

http://www.78online.com/

years ago when i was more interested in 78's, i found this to be a knowledgeable group.

"what sort of turntable should i be investing in?"

i just use an el cheapo turntable that has 78 speed and a decent needle. and that's all i use it for. i think that's easiest. there are new turntables designed to play nothing but 78s, but they are pricey. and those faux olde-tymey crosley ones are a little too cheap.

until recently, I had a victrola

then the arm broke off, I don't even remember how

prolly the kids

also check out

http://shop.ebay.com/alnimsaoui/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

Congo: http://cgi.ebay.com/AFRICAN-Congo-Kitoto-Bowane-g-md-bs-sax-E_W0QQitemZ280408822673QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149ab1391#ht_949wt_909

Afghanistan: http://cgi.ebay.com/AFGHANISTAN-Radio-Kabul-Records-Salam-Logary-Awaz-E_W0QQitemZ280408753917QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149aa06fd#ht_1006wt_909

Martinique: http://cgi.ebay.com/CARIBBEAN-Martinique-HOT-Jazz-Sam-Castendet-rare-label_W0QQitemZ280408757392QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149aa1490#ht_1105wt_909

South Africa: http://cgi.ebay.com/S-AFRICAN-Jive-Rock-Jimmy-Masuluke-el-guit-sax-dr_W0QQitemZ280408795792QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149aaaa90#ht_1017wt_909

More South Africa (SWEET label): http://cgi.ebay.com/S-AFRICAN-Scat-sketch-rhythmic-talking-w-drums_W0QQitemZ280408826714QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149ab235a#ht_1001wt_909

New Zealand (Maori): http://cgi.ebay.com/MAORI-Ana-Hato-recorded-1927-at-Rotorua-NZ-E_W0QQitemZ280409257734QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149b1b706#ht_951wt_909

My grandma tried to give me her old console system that looked almost exactly like the one in that picture. Unfortunately I was living in a tiny apt at the time and had absolutely no room for it and couldn't talk any relatives into storing it for me. Not sure where it ended up when she passed away two years ago.

Gypsies in Vienna: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROMANIAN-Gipsies-in-Vienna-1910s-violin_W0QQitemZ280408740940QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4149a9d44c#ht_1159wt_909

i related this story on i love vinyl, but for those poor souls who missed it: i ended up with a big stash of old soviet/russian/yiddish 78s and i was kinda wondering what to do with them and wondering who would buy them when this guy walks in my store - he was just walking by and saw my sign, he didn't know that i existed - and he buys ALL of them from me. he just happens to run a website called:

http://www.russian-records.com/

of all the two bit record stores in all the two bit towns he walked into mine. made his day! and mine! and i was happy that they were going to such a good home. and his wife even sung russian folk songs for me.

amazing.

and that website is amazing! so much info.
also, i want that last 78 amateurist posted.

also i keep bidding on and losing lots of french canadian 78s.

um, by lots i mean "groups of multiple items" not "many individual items."

Hey you guys.

Guy who repairs old audio equipment where I live recommended two fairly inexpensive old brands of turntable for 78s to me. The cheaper of the two is BSR, which was made in England and is the turntable on a lot of old '70s all-in-one stereos that you can find in thrift stores. I had one of these and it was decent. They have the two-sided needle you can flip - one side for albums and 45s, one side for 78s.

The other brand, which I think is also pretty common, is a Dual. These are supposedly pretty nice.

Hi, Tim!

I had a BSR for a little while. The nice thing about it was it took a Tetrad stylus, for which I was able to buy a replacement for $5 from Radio Shack.

I am traveling with my boyfriend (his work takes him all over) so had to put my victrola in storage and have been missing it along with my 78 collection lately. However, we did come across a portable, case victrola for $89 at a vintage store, some miles away from here. I don't know how well it worked but I have been wishing we bought it. It was nice and small and light. Wish we had looked at it more closely. Anyway...

Came across a stack of Hank Williams 78's but they were $9.99 each. Most of the 78's I have found these past few months have been in the $10 range (most for no good reason), cracked or chipped.

$10 sounds reasonable.

HI HERE IS A NERDY POST FOR ANYONE WHO HAS INSIGHT, MAYBE GOOGLE WILL BRING ME A NEW FRIEND AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.

I just got a copy of the Stripling Brothers "Wolves Howling"/"Big Eyed Rabbits" (Canadian Melotone 12172) but I think the Wolves Howling side is mispressed. It is definitely not the Wolves Howling I know from CD/LP compilations -- Youtube also disagrees with the label. IN FACT, it sounds like the side is actually "Moonlight Waltz" (Vocalion 5366) which I own, luckily enough, so I was able to listen to them side by side.

Anyway, The Book (Tony Russell, Country Music Records 1921-1942) does not mention this mispressing or mislabeling, which is surprising -- generally mislabled or mispressed sides are noted as such. In this case, the book does note that the coupling of "Wolves Howling"/"Big Eyed Rabbits" was issued with French titles as well (also on Canadian Melotone.) Has anyone noticed this mispressing before?

I know this is an obscure, trainspottery question. But when I put the record on expecting the hot n heavy jammer of "Wolves Howling" and was greeted with "Moonlight Waltz" (tentative) I was very very confused. Google helps nothing.

i love you

i salute you

"Moonlight Waltz" was also issued on Canadian Melotone, so it's probable that this was a screw up at the pressing plant. I just wonder how widespread it is. Is it worth trying to get another copy on Canadian Melotone or should I just go for the Vocalion? Or the other Canadian pressing on Minerva? wolves howling is a great side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1511gO7SWw