The 78 RPM record era in India was the most important and produced the greatest vocal music from 1930-1960 in my opinion.
As a young boy I saw my senior relatives buy the Shellac records in 1944 onwads at a price which was high for most people. In 1944 there was a one rupee surcharge for records of KL Saigal and Pankaj Mullick. I think this extra premium went to the singers !
I listened to the wind up portable and Horn gramophones with sound boxes using metal needles, but missed the era of Thorn and wood needles.
Last week I sold a surplus CD player to an English man, who turned out to be a collector of 78 RPM old Opera records. As an Opera fan myself and collector of old singer’s records I was very interested in listening to his 78 RPM reproduction system at his house. He had 2 such systems; one with a horn gramophone player with a sound box using wood needles which lasted for one side only, and he had a needle sharpening device. The sound close to the horn was loud enough and surprisingly free of surface noise from the record, the only concession to modernity was the wind up mechanism which had been replaced by an electric 78 RPM drive.
The second 78 RPM system was all electric with a tone arm with a Cartridge which accepted wood needles and the reproduction was through an old Amplifier and Loudspeakers. The sound from this system was equally good and devoid of high frequency surface noise, but allowed recording on to CD, but the needle had to be changed after each playing. I was told that he used bamboo needles which are available in UK. He was obviously knowledgeable from his youth days of all the makes of gramophones and records and commented that the Indian Shellac records were of better quality because of better Shellac quality in India.
I cam back with memories of my old Indian 78 RPM collection and the replay system I had used in India/Pakistan. My last system was a Pye of Cambridge Blackbox Record player as many in India/Pakistan would recall. This came out around 1955 and produced good valve sound from record changer which had 3 speed drive turntable from Garrard or BSR. After this experience I have located and bought a Pye Blackbox in working order which I hope to receive in the next few days.
Going back to record players in In India around 1944, there was a shortage of imported needles and these were of copper, brass or steel construction and often not changed as often as they should have been change. What these steel needle did to the Shellac record is now
painful to contemplate. When moving to UK I had taken with me 3 favourite 78 RPM records, one of Kamla Jharia and Pankaj Mullick, and one of these has been sadly accidentally cracked.
I thought the above may be of interest to some members.
M. Ahmad,
United Kingdom
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That was a very informative & nostalgic description of dealing with "Shellac Records". Probably for the first time I have learned how to express 78 rpm discs properly!! Very encouraging.. I too plan to find & buy a real vintage GRAMOPHONE in near future.. just for the sake of NOSTALGIA!!!!!!!!
Pradeep.
New Delhi, India
Thanks.
Ahmad
============================================I remember very perfectly.... those shellac records were called as "Lakh ke Tave".. you know what is LAKH ? its a substance used to fill up the gap of Gold ornaments, like Choodiyan!! and what is TAVA ? it was the flat black utensil of of our kitchen, on which we used to roast our ROTI!! The bread!!!
So, a flat black round thing made of LAKH... the Shellac... would be called as "TAVA"...
Never Mind.... Old good days were old good days...
Dr. VVK Pujari
India
Thanks, for the Lakh ke Tave info. I did not know this nomenclature although I know the words Lakh and Tava. I am still using the Tava for cooking Chapati, once in a while.
Ahmad
==========================================================Dear Mr. Ahmad,
Your experience and the write up about vintage gramophones is very nostalgic and enchanting. I hope you should have received your Pye Blackbox by now. May I request you to take some photographs of the ancient machine and post in this thread, in order to increase the level of nostalgic hormones in our bodies ?
regards,
Hiren Patel,
USA
Hello Hirer Patel, The gentleman I referred to is Mike Wood. He is very knowledgeable about wind up gramophones and other gramophones and has many spares for the vintage gramophones. I gave him my Pye Black Box to refurbish.
He has done so and had to replace the ceramic Cartridge and the player now sounds very good on LP and 78 RPM records; I have only a few 78 RPM records. Mike is a cabinet maker by trade. I have asked him to renovate the top lid which had some scratches and he will do this shortly. I will take some photos then, and post as you suggest.
Ahmad