[QuadList] Bell Tone Record--Try ASRC list--

[Ted Langdell]

On Mar 15, 2014, at 1:56 AM, Scott Thomas wrote:

> 
> A TV director I follow on Twitter had this question:
> https://twitter.com/LiveTVDirector/statuses/444589406549065729
> "This Bell Tone record is the only known recording of my great uncle Leo from 1941. He died in WWII. How do I play it? "
> 
> The link has the image of the record.
> 
> I figured this would be a bit more involved than just getting a turntable. Any ideas?

You are correct.  

Stylus type, dimensions, shape, tracking force, turntable direction and speed all play a role in not damaging the disc, and getting the full fidelity from the recording.

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections list might be helpful. 
Start here: http://www.arsc-audio.org/index.php

A series of closer pictures showing the label, logo, surface of the disc, particularly with a fine-division ruler or something else to show the groove spacing could help. 

Measurement of the disc thickness might offer some clues.  

The writing on the bottom of the bell isn't clear, but may have some helpful details.

Since the logo bears reference to being registered with the US Patent Office, that might offer some information about the company involved, location and possible dates.

http://www.uspto.gov/

A search of both trademarks and patents might be necessary to determine whether the Bell Tone logo was registered before the Patent Office became the US Patent and Trademark Office.

I did a bit of searching and didn't seem to come up with anything related to either a recording company or a type of recording method.

Anectode:

I had an aluminum disc my now 99-year old dad recorded on a trip to the Empire State Building in the early 30s.  It was packaged with a bamboo stylus for (safe?) playback on a 78 rpm phonograph with removable stylus pickup.  

On a trip to the Empire State Building in 1968, I think that the same booth he used to record his disc was still there... in the elevator lobby of the observation deck, if my gray matter storage system is working well.

I can't recall what I used to make a transfer multi-decades ago.  I think I managed to kluge something to use the bamboo stylus. 

Ted

Ted Langdell
Secretary
Skype: 	TedLangdell
e-mail:	ted at quadvideotapegroup.com

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