Orignal X-Ray Record
As I often get contacted by people who have bought, or want to buy, Bone Records (usually from a Russian or Georgian source), asking if they are genuine, I have updated my previous advice.
It is difficult to tell definitively without actually examining a disc individually, but from the image, the look of the surface (and often from the content), I can tell that many, if not most, of them are modern. That is fine if you know what you are getting, but fraudulent if they are being sold as “original Soviet-era bootlegs".*
Records such as THESE are not original
As a result of the X-Ray Audio Project, a lot more people know about bone records, and understandably some want to own one, so inevitably a market has developed, with crazy prices being asked. And where there is money to be made, there are people wanting to make it. Even I have been contacted by people offering to sell records they I can tell they have cut themselves.**
Generally I caution people against buying online, but if buying from Ebay, Popsike etc., ask for a guarantee that a record is from the original era (1940s - to mid 1960s) - and not just recorded recently on old x-rays or on an old machine.
And be careful with regard to the following:
Modern x-ray record of Marc Almond performing Vadim Kozin’s song Druzbha (Friendship) at Rough Trade Records 2017
1. The "Cigarette" Centre Hole
In a secret apartment or a basement workshop, the bootleggers didn't have a precision drill press.
The Authentic Sign: Look at the centre hole. There has long been a lovely legend that the centre hole was made by a burning cigarette. I am not convinced that is true, given that radiography film of the era was flammable, but on a genuine record, the centre hole is usually irregular and has slightly torn, brownish, or thickened edges.
The Modern Fake: Modern reproductions often have a neat, clean, circular hole made by a standard hole punch or a laser cutter. If it looks "factory perfect," it probably isn't an original.
2. The Shape: "Almost" Circular
Genuine records were cut by hand from large rectangular medical X-ray sheets using shears or a basic compass-knife.
The Authentic Sign: The edges are rarely a perfect circle. You might see wobbles in the circumference or even straight-ish segments where the scissors didn't make the curve. Some are nowhere near circular.
The Modern Fake: Perfectly symmetrical circles are a possible red flag for a recent reproduction.
3. The Look
The Authentic Sign: The X-ray image itself should look like a vintage medical film. Look for blurred edges, dull contrast and sometimes handwritten notations. You might see a song title or style handwritten in Cyrillic/Latin script.
The Modern Fake: Many fakes use high-resolution, modern digital X-rays or even laser prints. They look sharp, and are often clean, clear and have a blue tint. Vintage films were often cloudy or had a tint inherent to the nitrocellulose of that era.
If the image is very clear, or is of a skull (always much rarer than ribs and indistinct images) or something dramatic with jewellery or artificial parts, it is probably modern.
4. The Grooves
These records were cut, not pressed. This means a needle physically carved a path into the surface.
The Authentic Sign: Authentic records usually have scuffs, scratches, and groove wear from being played on heavy, primitive gramophones, sometimes with steel needles.
The Modern Fake: Some modern records don't even have real grooves—they are just digital images of X-rays with grooves printed on top for effect. If you can’t feel the texture with a fingernail, it’s a prop. Those that do have grooves will often skip - as recording on modern X-rays is difficult.
5. The Tactile Test
The Feel: Genuine vintage X-ray film can become brittle. If you flex it (don't!), it might crack. Modern acetate or vinyl-based reproductions are much more smooth and flexible.
The Smell: This is for the truly dedicated. Authentic nitrocellulose film from the 40s and 50s has a faint, specific acrid or chemical smell (similar to old cinema film) as it degrades. New fakes either dont; semm - or smell like modern plastic.
6. The Music
This is the easiest giveaway, Often the songs on the discs aren’t known, are some obscure Russian folk track, or by an emigre singer. Rock’n’roll and jazz are much rarer now.
If the song or artist dates from after the mid 60s (when the X-ray culture largely died out), then it is almost certainly modern. If it is from the 70s onward, definitely. The sound of a modern X-ray is different from that of an old one - they tend to be quieter with a lot of high-frequency ‘swishing’ noise rather than a more vinyl/shellac type crackle and hiss. Obviously you may not be able to tell this without hearing it.
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*Of course, modern X-ray records can be cool - we cut them ourselves as part of our live performances and demonstrations - but just don’t be fooled by fakes and understand what you are buying.
** In some ways, this is in ‘the spirit of bootlegging’ . Even in the original X-ray era, punters never really knew what they were getting.
Just a final note. We are only interested in buying original records for the archive, not for profit. We don’t sell
If you have records you can contribute, please be in touch.