The “discs” in question were not digital, but hard wax or lacquer phonograph records. During the late 1940’s the Wilcox-Gay Corp. of Charlotte, Michigan, manufactured the Recordio 1C10. This was a unique device, part tape recorder and part disc cutter. Originally intended for music students, it was equally functional for touring pro musicians or in the home. Disc recorders of the day could only cut audio directly to disc, but the Recordio allowed recording to tape first, then a transfer to a 10-inch, 78 rpm record blank. The tape could be erased and re-used, but it was also possible to make and edit a tape recording before committing it to wax, all inside one machine. Advertising copy for the Wilcox-Gay Recordio hyped the device as having “full-range, hi-fidelity reproduction,” although it most likely topped off at 5 to 7 kHz at best. To compare, the professional “broadcast quality” RCA 73-B disc lathe had 10 kHz response.
