UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Re-mastered 78's

Ted Kendall · 19th Jul 2018, 9:51 am

I think the problem with the post-war Decca material was an excess of filler and poor grading and mixing of the same. I've had really nice Django Reinhardt discs, otherwise E+, disfigured by lumps of unmixed filler expanding and popping the playing surface with a flap a millimetre across. Granted, there was a shortage of shellac - some of the small label American pressings of the time play like cinder tracks - but Decca could have played the hand they wre dealt better.

Something I forgot to mention is that, although EMI's UK pressing was all on stock shellac post-merger, nearly all the remote outposts - France, Germany, South America, Australia - retained the Columbia plant and methods, including laminated pressings. Thus, for example, George Formby and Django Reinhardt can sometimes be found on Australian pressings of wonderful quality. This wasn't just the pressing - the preparation of the metal was usually top-drawer, too.

19th Jul 2018, 9:51 am	#44
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,675	Re: Re-mastered 78's I think the problem with the post-war Decca material was an excess of filler and poor grading and mixing of the same. I've had really nice Django Reinhardt discs, otherwise E+, disfigured by lumps of unmixed filler expanding and popping the playing surface with a flap a millimetre across. Granted, there was a shortage of shellac - some of the small label American pressings of the time play like cinder tracks - but Decca could have played the hand they wre dealt better. Something I forgot to mention is that, although EMI's UK pressing was all on stock shellac post-merger, nearly all the remote outposts - France, Germany, South America, Australia - retained the Columbia plant and methods, including laminated pressings. Thus, for example, George Formby and Django Reinhardt can sometimes be found on Australian pressings of wonderful quality. This wasn't just the pressing - the preparation of the metal was usually top-drawer, too.