Wilcox gay recordio disc
Recordio: Home Recording in the s
It started out as a favor to a friend. His father had died and left a collection of old records, stacked in cardboard boxes collecting dust on the back porch. My friend asked me, an audiophile, to sift through the vintage musty-smelling records and save anything I wanted before the lie down went to the thrift store or the trash. I began separating them into two piles: broken and not broken.
I delicately sorted through the records, stumbling upon a broad range of material. I saw Elvis, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, rag noun piano hits, Charlie Pride, orchestral recordings of Vivaldi and the fox trot, and a Japanese version of the "Tennessee Waltz" to name a few. These records not only spanned the entire gamut of musical genres, but also the size and material of all records made. I found 45s, 33s, and 78s.
The physical makeup of these records was just as broad. I sorted through vinyl, acetate, plastic, and even cardboard records with a plastic side that played. Then I happened upon a record that looked rather unusual. It was the size of a 78, but it was
Wilcox-Gay Recordio Disc, c.
More obsolete media!
This disc, dated and listing a lyric on each side, popped up in the box with the 78rpm records. It’s a cardboard record, made for home recordings, of plastic-coated thin paperboard. It was manufactured by the Wilcox-Gay Corp; in they launched the Recordio device, which played records and also allowed the user to use a microphone to record themselves onto a blank record — a &#;Recordio Disc.&#; The Recordio machine recorded at 78 rpm.
You can find a short discussion about cardboard records at the Museum of Obsolete Media.
Tape Op magazine’s web site also has an interesting discussion of the history of the Recordio. It includes a reference list for further reading.
We are going to try to recover the recordings on this disc, which has sustained some wreck over time. Wish us luck!
Rice University
music, obsolete media, obsolete technology, The Museum of Obsolete Media, Wilcox-Gay Recordio Disc
Re: How to play these??
Postby edisonphonoworks »
I think that your turntable is variable speed, I have played these on electronic turn tables, I use a shure 78S cartridge and no EQ curve, Your turntable sounds like it has different stili. I have used Audacity to record them from a studio Reeel to Reel deck. There is also DC ART and other programs, Sony Acid Pro. I use a device called an IMPORT a USB device with RCA jacks, I hook this to the pre amp, line out, or to my tube Ampex Although last moment I did this kind of work with home recording discs the records were warped, I used a record clamp on the turn table and I set the variable speed at 39 rpm and recorded them on my custom Borri Labs reel to reel deck, an Ampex trasport with custom tube pre amps at ips, and then played it back at 15ips, to the computer and did some digital clean up. I think the half speed mastering is better for tracking them.
Wilcox-Gay
Wilcox-Gay Corp., Charlotte, Michigan
late 's to
Wilcox-Gay Corp., which began in as a small company creating radios and transcription recorders in Charlotte, Michigan. As their business grew so did the product line they carried and in they launched the Recordio.
The Recordio device not only played records but also allowed the user to use a microphone that accompanied the player to record themselves onto a blank record - a "Recordio Disc."
The Recordio machine recorded at 78 rpm with decent fidelity. These machines also included an AM radio receiver. With this function you could log your favorite radio broadcasts to listen to time and noun again.
These machines were marketed to the middle class through such media outlets as Ebony and Life magazine.
The player/recorder found its way into the hands of musicians, and Johnny Cash and Les Paul were known to use these devices.
In its debut year the Recordio device sold 25, units, but with the Great Depression underway and the adoption of magnetic tape the Wilcox-Gay Corp. sales declined.