Just as there are certain best conditions for all instruments and for the voice, so too there are certain best conditions for the Victrola, and the search for those best conditions will be a source of much pleasurable experimentation. The acoustic properties of no two rooms are exactly alike. They depend on the size and shape of the room, the height of the ceilings and the character of the furnishings, but the Victor system of changeable needles and tone modifying doors afford all the necessary latitude needed to produce the most satisfactory results in any home.
We would strongly recommend that you try all the varieties of Victor Tungs-tone Styli and steel needles with the modifying doors at certain chosen apertures and in the various available rooms until you find the combinations giving the most satisfying results.
In this connection it might be well to point out that a full tone Tungs-tone stylus or needle is particularly suited for a large music-room and that when the Victrola is to be used in a small room or even a room which is comparatively small, the soft tone Tungs-tone stylus or needle very frequently will give better results. It sometimes happens that a particularly good effect is secured by placing the Victrola in a room adjoining the one in which the listener sits, and using a full tone Tungs-tone stylus needle.
The operation of a Victrola is exceedingly simple, but the few prescribed rules should be followed literally until they become a fixed habit.
In starting a record, release the brake and allow the turntable to make several revolutions to attain its full maximum speed. Then take the circumference of the soundbox between the thumb and two first fingers of the right hand and lower gently until the reproducing point comes, gently, into contact with the smooth, shiny rim at the circumference of the record. That is the right way and the only right way to start a record.
In stopping the record without the use of the automatic brake, the soundbox should be lifted off and doubled back until it lies on the taper tone arm or other rest provided for it.
The dealer from whom you purchased your Victrola will see that it is properly assembled and that the speed of the turntable is set at 78 revolutions per minute. That is the speed at which all Victor records should be played, and we most strongly advise that the speed regulator be not tampered with under any circumstances, except when it may be necessary to reset the regulator in order that the turntable shall actually turn at 78 revolutions when the soundbox is not in contact with the record.
From time to time it may be necessary to test the speed of the turntable to see that there is no variation from the designated speed of 78 revolutions. This may be done by putting a record on the turntable and inserting a small piece of paper between the record and the turntable so that a portion of the paper protrudes. The actual number of revolutions per minute may then be counted by holding a watch close enough to the turntable so that the eyes may have a simultaneous vision of the paper “marker” and the face of the watch.
Be sure you keep your records in the albums provided for them, for dust or dirt should not be permitted to accumulate in the fine spiral groove which contains the sound wave impressions. Records should be dusted off with a brush or soft rag before and after playing. If this is done systematically and the records kept under cover they will need no other attention, even over a period of many years.
Use Victrola needles or Victrola Tungs-tone Styli. These products are the result of many years’ experience and thousands of dollars’ worth of experimentation. They are built to conform to the exact requirements of our records, which obviously will be better understood by us than by any one else.
A permanent point can be permanent only because it is too hard to wear—in which case it must inevitably wear the records. The Victor system of changeable needles permits you to replace a worn stylus or change a needle instantly with the result that perfect reproduction can be secured at all times without serious wear on your records. The changeable needle system does more than that, for it enables you to use the same discretion in playing records as the artist who made the record would himself use if he knew in just what kind of room he would be required to play.
Keep your records indexed. It is a very small matter, and once the habit is formed it is easy to find the record you want the moment you want it.
Victrola Record Albums consist of ten record envelopes, numbered 1 to 10 and bound into book form. Each album bears a letter of the alphabet. Inside its cover is a printed form to index its contents. Enter here the name of each record and its artists, and the envelope number. You should use, in addition, your Victor Index Book as a “directory” of all your records. If you enter in the Index Book the names of each record and its artists, the letter of the album and the envelope number, it will be an easy matter to turn directly to any record needed.
It will be seen that there are two extensions of the gold circle at the circumference of Victor record labels. On these the album and album envelope should be marked. The return of each record to its proper album and proper envelope is thus assured.
The first essential in the arrangement of any program is—variety. Following a big dramatic number there should be an emotional let down, although obviously it should not be so great as to be incongruous. It is best to go from a violin composition to a song or from a big concerted number like the Sextette from Lucia to some quieting composition for string quartette.
Another important point is that you have music of all possible tone colors to choose from. There are solos by voices of all kinds, but there are also solos by violins, ’cellos, trombones, cornets, flutes, saxophones, harps, xylophones, chimes—in fact, as we have said, solos by every known instrument and other numbers by all the known combinations of instruments are available to the Victrola owner.
With the Victor Catalogue to draw on, one might easily give a more or less formal concert program every night for years without exhausting the possibilities and without any sense of sameness.
The final choice of records must always be left to the individual buyer. We have already pointed out that personal taste differs widely in music, but with the idea of giving you all the assistance possible in a general way, we have compiled a few special lists. The nearest Victor dealer will be glad to give you every assistance in building up your own library of records, and play any records you may wish to hear without obligation.