NEW TYPE RECORDINGS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27513, 6 October 1950, Page 4

NEW TYPE RECORDINGS

DUAL-SPEED PLAYERS ARRIVE

New Zealand collectors of recorded music can now hear the echo of the battle which is raging in the industry overseas. Will records of the future be confined to long-playing discs turning at 33 and one-third revolutions a minute, or will the old three and four minute 78 revolution pressings hold their place? With the appearance of the first dual-speed radio-gramophone sets in Dunedin music stores, collectors have realised that they will soon be embroiled in the potentially costly controversy.

Only a limited shipment of the dualspeed players has arrived on the market as yet. They are of the double tone-head type with adjustable speed turntable. So far, none of the longplaying recordings are available, but dealers expect to get at least sample pressings before the end of the year. As yet, however, they have no indication whether they will be available in any quantity. “We have enough worries with the present records without additional problems,” one dealer said yesterday. Arguments regarding long-playing records are going on overseas, but certain points are clear. In favour of the new discs are these features: They are quiet. The familiar hiss of the needle in the groove which has provided a constant diapason to conventional recordings has been overcome with L.P. (“long-playing ”) recordings. They are almost unbreakable. They are convenient. A single 12inch L.P. recording can give about 20 minutes’ playing time on each side. They are cheaper than ordinary records when the length of playing time is taken into account.

Against these very tangible assets may be listed three disadvantages: The L.P. records need a special type of gramophone motor, making existing equipment obsolete, and they need a special needle —usually jewel-tipped. The fine grooves on the records can be damaged more easily than the coarse grooving on the present type. , The quality of reproduction is no better than at present. Those collectors who prefer serious music will be almost certain to welcome L.P. recordings as they permit the playing of a major work in its entirety, without the annoying gaps between sides and the even more annoying necessity for turning the records every four minutes. On the other hand, ihose who favour popular music will doubtless prefer the accustomed three-minute records. Collectors need have no immediate fears. It is certain that it will be a year or two before the L.P. discs are available in quantity on the loial market. In any event, the companies which make and distribute recordings are not going to force the market in any way—normal 78 revolution per minute recordings will be distributed for many years to come.