Selecta Quality Product
I’veoften wondered just what women keep in their handbags, but I
certainly wasn’t expecting what Hazel (one Hungerford Arcade’s co-owners, in case you didn’t know) pulled out of hers to show me.The
object in question is a thin white plastic disc, 9cm in diameter,
with three bands of black lines that decrease in size running around
its circumference, a hole in the middle (just like you find on a
record) and the words ‘Another Selecta Quality Product’ in the
middle.
As the Arcade’s resident vinyl expert, I was duly
called upon to see if I could explain its purpose. With Hazel, Adrian
(the Arcade’s other co-owner) and Rita all looking at me
expectantly I was only too happy to oblige. You see the real clue is
in the numbers (78, 45 & 33.3) that run down the middle of the
disc, which just so happens to be the speed that vinyl and shellac
records are meant to be played at.
The item in question is
designed to check that your turntable is playing at the correct
speed.
I suspect that it dates from the 1970s but a Google
search failed to shed any further information. After testing on my
own Ariston deck at home, the disc didn’t seem to work with a torch
shining at the lines (if your turntable is playing at the right speed
the lines will appear static, if it’s too fast or too slow the
lines will appear to move backwards or forwards) so I can only guess
that it was originally sold with a Stroboscope part. The writing on
the disc makes me think it was sold as an after-market accessory
rather than supplied with a turntable from new, but this is only my
best guess.
I’d love to know more, so if anyone reading this
has more information please get in touch at adammsd@hotmail.com
Thompson
Centurion Records – Unit 50 Hungerford Arcade
