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

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!

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.

Thank you! Do you know how where I might find different groove widths for record companies?

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)

@@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.

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 : )

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?

@@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.

I have more than will fit in a reply comment : ) I always encourage people to make them sound they way they want to listen to them, unless they are being transferred for archival or reissue purposes, in which case they should generally be recorded flat (with no EQ modifications) 24 bits and 96kHz uncompressed .wav is the current archival standard. With advancements in computers, many hobbyists are capable of doing fair quality archival flat recordings that can be made listenable. Of course, professionals take this to the next level, beginning with a good clean record, then measuring the groove width and choosing the right stylus size, etc... But I am a firm believer that if you record your records and enjoy listening to them, it's a good transfer even if it isn't "archival".

@@MarkAtnip Thanks! Is 48kHz 32 bit too low? I'm also trying to figure out how to measure groove width. Do you know of any sites with reliable information on that topic, specifically British 1928-1930s record companies.

@@MarkAtnip What if you have a built in pre-amp, is it better to just record as is? Or to cancel the RIAA with a digital RIAA inverse?

A turntable with a built-in pre-amp wouldn't be used for archival work, so if you are making recordings of your records for yourself, try out both and listen to what you prefer. I am going to post (either below or somewhere on this page) a LONG list of EQ settings for a majority of U.S. 78rpm discs. I THINK it was originally sent to me from Archive.org.

@@JustABowlOfCherries I am sure that info is out there somewhere, but I don't have it. Does anyone know if that info is in the DATES book? (Date All Those English Seventy-eights; by Eddie Shaw) As for the bitrate... 48kHz isn't too low for your personal listening. I know of many collectors that use 24 bit 44kHz for their own transfers, since they won't be used for archival work.