This thread got me looking. AFAIK Sheffield Labs is still making vinyl direct-to-disk recordings. I'm sure that there are others. (But their Thelma Houston "I've Got the Music in Me" recording will knock your socks off! I see that it's available as a "Gold CD" here: <http://www.rockian.com.au/new02/10076n.htm>) As to how a vinyl recording is made... Just point your browser to: <http://eil.com/explore/guide/vinyl_making.asp> There's a whole lot to it... Jim Chris wrote:

I *think* they might be a bakelite-like material. I have a few older recordings that are the ehavy material you are talking about, I never play them since they are so old. Not ceramic but similar and an early plastic, used for light switches and insulators too. We have a Lionel train set that the locomotive's and car's outer bodies are made of bakelite, as is the cover of the transformer for the set. Not sure what the plastic ties for the tracks are made of though. -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Chris Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 12:06 AM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup Don't know. I'm not a record expert, so maybe they aren't ceramic. I was told that was the material, and I know they are a hard, brittle, fragile glass or clay like substance (from the one that I broke). These are 1910-1920 era records (based on the fact that they carry the Victrola name, and IIRC, my Victrola has a 1913 date on the back) -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>