DISC TRANSFER

Pressings, direct recordings and metal parts can be handled, in all groove radii and profiles, mono or stereo. A wide selection of pickups, styli and turntable equipment permits optimum playback of discs up to 17 1/4" diameter.` The situation with disc recording characteristics is even more complicated than with tape, and we have developed our own apparatus for mono work, called "The Front End" (qv), which offers the facility of constructing any advertised replay curve. Stereo transfers are accomplished with the prototype "Stereo Front End", which will shortly be available in a production version. Discs frequently require cleaning before transfer. Exactly how this is achieved depends on the disc material. The general run of vinyl LPs and singles is cleaned with a modified Keith Monks machine. Pressings containing fillers, such as most 78s, call for a different approach, where the disc is quickly wetted, washed and dried to avoid damage caused by filler expansion due to moisture. Acetates frequently require special measures to remove obstinate white deposits on their surfaces. The disc medium is now well over a century old and, not surprisingly, some discs can only be found in a broken or pitted condition. We can, if necessary, piece broken pressings together for transfer and ameliorate the effects of surface pitting and needle damage.