Edison Diamond Disc Test Pressings: Introduction, identification, and a rare unreleased Diamond Disc

An introduction to Edison Diamond Disc test pressings. How 78rpm record collectors (or in this case, 80rpm) can identify Edison Diamond Disc test pressings in the wild. We will also be hearing a rare unreleased Diamond Disc featuring Vernon Dalhart.

[@Luci-fd6ny]

Just woke up to see a notification for this video, no better way to wake up alright

[@MarkAtnip]

Wow... that's some high praise. I need to step up my game a bit. Thanks for the nice comment!

[@MrWolfSnack]

00:34 thank you for saying this. there's so much snobbishness, elitism, and gatekeeping in the record collecting community it's unreal. they think it's their own playground for the rich and nobody else can participate. im a new collector too and people like that are exceptionally unhelpful and just turns people off from the hobby. i avoid entire forums because of people like that who are allowed to exist there unpunished.

[@appleman59]

Thank you for the wonderful presentation. I specialize in collecting Edison records and have about 3 dozen of these test pressings. I was very active in the hobby of phonograph collecting and record collecting many years ago and was driven away by the snobiness of other collectors. But your video encourages me to once again enjoy the hobby.

[@MrRom92DAW]

The online discussion you described gave me flashbacks to a very similar one I participated in several years ago… for all I know it may have been the same one. It was one of few rare occasions I regrettably spoke from a place of inexperience without truly understanding what I was talking about, and I definitely wouldn’t want to be one spreading misinformation. I believe at that point even I was misinformed on what an Edison test pressing actually looked like, and I only served to perpetuate that. In any case, you’re doing a great service to properly educate collectors such as myself, so thank you for that!

[@MarkAtnip]

Thank you for your kind words. This discussion was in an online forum in November, so I think you are in the clear on this one : ) As Sir Charles Chaplin said. We are all amateurs. We don't live long enough to be anything else. Keep hunting!

[@Kennephone]

That unreleased record at the end sounds incredible, I've never heard any record that old with such little wear, I guess it probably wasn't played more than a couple times at most back then as it's a test.

[@verkehrsteilnehmer-berlin]

10:57 Sounds so well as would it be recorded with microphone and amplifier

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Such a cute song. Had it been released it would have been a big hit.

[@MarkAtnip]

He was a little wishy-washy during a couple of phrases and his performance was a bit flat. I am surprised they didn't make another attempt at getting a better take.

[@operadog2000]

Thumbs up for kindness. I'm new to the channel.

[@Tadfafty]

I have a few with rough edges, I wonder if they are test pressings. They were sold to me as being factory errors.

[@MarkAtnip]

It's possible. According to "Collector's Guide To Edison Records" by George Copeland and Mike Sherman: "..employees were allowed to take defective pressings home... however they were impressed with a prominent raised "DISCARDED" stamp prior to being distributed" If the discards had paper labels, the top (black and white) label was removed and the paper blank underneath was stamped with a "discarded record" notice in ink. They also point out that many of the discards play perfectly well, as the reason for rejection was mostly due to label issues. Are they stamped "discarded" anywhere in the label area or on the edge? Are they issued couplings? Sound like you have some fun research ahead : )

[@MarkAtnip]

As requested, here is a listing of EQ curves for a lot of U.S. issued 78rpm discs. I THINK someone from Archive .org compiled this list, but don't quote me on that. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/52x6c88ngjmsb9x6kufgk/78RPM-EQ-Settings.pdf?rlkey=9qn23wr5o5s2v6vzwqiz9qh8s&dl=0

[@verkehrsteilnehmer-berlin]

So they used the test pressing maybe as promotion disc?

[@MarkAtnip]

It is at least a possibility. I haven't found enough info about those early promos to know for sure, but presumably all of those early promo discs would have a blank label area or early etched labels, as they weren't doing paper labels at that point.

[@yestertreasures]

I have a copy of I Came, I Saw, I Fell/Honeymoon Lane with a rough edge and inscribed matrix numbers on both sides, however both sides are stamped with the catalog number(51090-R and L respectively). I Came, I Saw, I Fell has been stamped on the label base with "discarded", but Honeymoon lane has not been. The take numbers are A and B respectively. I'm not sure what to make of it, so I was wondering if you might be able to help discern whether it is a test pressing or not.

[@MarkAtnip]

Hello and congrats on finding a fun disc! Your disc isn't a test pressing. The 'Discarded" stamp indicates that there was a problem with the disc's production process. Employees were allowed to take home rejected discs, however they were meticulously stamped "Discarded" by Edison staff before employees were allowed to take them home. Two fun notes about these discs: First of all, according to Mike Sherman in the Collector's Guide to Edison Records, most discs were rejected due to issues with the label, not the grooves, so they generally play fine. Secondly, the official paperwork from the company implied that these discs were "loaned" to employees with the agreement they wouldn't be sold, under penalty of dismissal. That is a really neat oddball! Enjoy it and the story behind it. Have you figured out why it was rejected? Was one of the labels poorly registered? (that's a common reason)

[@yestertreasures]

@@MarkAtnip I'm not quite sure why it may have been rejected. There might be a very slight bit of light flutter near the end, but it's hard to tell. Neither side had a label when I acquired it, so I unfortunately can't tell if there was an issue there. I would have asked the previous owner if he knew anything about it, but this was a disc from Charlie Hummel's collection, which I got after his passing.

[@verkehrsteilnehmer-berlin]

I wonder, how much blanks they wasted, before they found the right position for the musicians to ensure the right balance.

[@codex3048]

Off topic, but are you still working on a baseball record discography? Do you have "I Wanna Go To The Baseball Game" by G. Carlton on the Liberty label out of Houston?

[@MarkAtnip]

Hello Andrew! Thank you for getting a hold of me about this one. It is in my database between records on the Levaphone and Life labels, however I don't have a copy. In fact, I don't even have scans of the label. Do you have a copy handy?

[@codex3048]

@@MarkAtnip You tube censors my comment, I guess because I refer to a site that begins with sound, and ends with cloud. It has a sound file and label pic if you search under artist name and song title.

[@DaveSchmrdr75]

I'll give you a puns up on this video. Yes, you can't spell Funeral without Fun.