Thanks for your post, Peter! Very entertaining. And for the record, those Archeophone transfers are absolutely amazing. I should stop trying to flatten my HOTW's and just buy their cd's. ... Nahhhhh. :-) r. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Fraser" <pjfraser at alamedanet.net> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 1:56 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Hit of the Week discs > this is a pretty common problem, actually. i suppose it's the nature of > the beast. i love them just the same - among my favorite types of > records! > > i know of two solutions, one semi-destructive and the other not so bad... > > 1. get a stapler with a long enough reach and a pencil. put a pair onto > the pencil, back-to-back, then staple them together in the label area. > four staples, at noon, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. only 8 little holes but > still, no good for purists or for people who want to see the pic on the > back of Rudeee Valeeee... > > 2. get the smallest size binder clip (http://tinyurl.com/2dfxwa) and > clamp it onto the center spindle after putting the HOTW onto the > turntable. works pretty well. try putting a diamond disc under the HOTW > if the first arrangement doesn't work perfectly. > > and since we're on the subject, let me mention a couple of things i like > about them. > > first, it's fun to debate how to describe them in multiple quantities: > Hits of the Week? Hit of the Weeks? are multiple discs, each containing > more than one song Hits of the Weeks? > > and second, it's a real kick in the pants, if you're lucky enough to have > a big pile of them, to listen to them in chron order. as the depression > deepens, you hear the desperation creep into the announcers voice as he > pleads with you to develop the HOTW habit and get out to the newstand for > next week's edition. > > just googled and found some fun stuff out there on HOTW: > > http://www.archeophone.com/product_info.php?products_id=61 > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_of_the_Week_Records > > http://www.dismuke.org/how/ > > think i'll haul mine out and play a few! > > -- peter > > On Feb 26, 2007, at 11:04 AM, Robert Wright wrote: > >> Here's a question for the group: I just received a pretty large group >> of Durium Hit of the Week records, the majority of which are an easy 9 >> out of 10 condition (I'm not sure they weren't store stock, actually), >> and 7 of them are the rather desirable 'long play' versions with more >> than 5 full minutes recording time, often divvied up between two songs. >> They sound GREAT. I'd put the fidelity of these records up against >> anything released in the first electrical recording era, including >> Viva-Tonals, late Z-shellac VE discs, radio transcriptions, pretty much >> anything up to about 1950. When you mono the signal from a modern >> turntable, the cardboard rumble (common to picture discs as well) goes >> away pretty much completely. I don't see why more people aren't more >> passionate about these great records, even if the artists (Phil >> Spitalny, Rudy Vallee, Sam Lanin, et. al.) aren't exactly trailblazers, >> as they're fabulous examples of what recording technology was capable of >> in the 30's, and the arrangements are generally very difficult, >> musically speaking, and quite engaging to listen to. >> >> Anyway, the problem with them is that they have curved. I'm not talking >> the typical HOTW 120 degree curve (if 180 degrees is 'flat'), I mean >> these things are almost cylinders. And they're in otherwise pristine >> condition. It's nearly impossible to get them on the turntable and even >> then, only the inside half is playable (and I have a variety of >> transcription turntables for archiving and audio restoration, so it's >> not a "put a nickel on the headshell" kinda problem). >> >> So my question is this: does anyone know of a safe, reliable way to get >> these to flatten out? I've considered steam and weight, but the heat >> might melt the thin (I assume) cellulose layer and reduce the treble >> extension in the recordings, and I absolutely do not want that to happen >> (the top end is a big part of the appeal of these discs for me). The >> guy I bought them from said they'd been stored for years pressed flat >> between 12" 78's but nothing seems to have helped. Any ideas? >> >> >> Thanks in advance, >> Robert >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >