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I have over 10,000 78's and enjoy giving them a spin. I use both a Technics SP-15 and a KAB modified SL-1200MK5. Stanton 500 cartridge with appropriate stylus and a KAB Souvenir EQS-MK12 variable EQ phono preamp with signal summed to mono.
Prior to the advent of tape following WW II, all 78's were cut Direct-To-Disc, in essence live recordings in studio without any sort of overdubs or multi-tracking. Because of this recording technique, these records have a direct and immediate sound to them, quite appealing despite limitations of shellac pressings and mono sound. And of course the music of this bygone era can be wonderful.
A few recent spins:
Follow Ups:
Just saw a great doc on Joe Bussard on Youtube. The legendary 78 RPM collector. You must be the Joe Bussard of jazz hehe!
"The torture never stops"Greetings Freek.
not heard of him before. A quick search on all music.com tells me that I have to look for his LPs now.
I am sure that you have already checked popsike.com for the value of that Blue Note set, but I would never get rid of it anyway. Congrats on a great find.
How do you clean old 78s?
I use a manual Nitty Gritty being sure NOT to use any fluid containing alcohol. Yeah, it's a pain, worthwhile only for discs like the ones shown.
Nitty Gritty sells a fluid called PURE 1 for 78s. I use it for my shellac records.
For Edison diamond discs I use 91% pure isopropyl alcohol. I would use even more pure stuff if I could find it.
For vinyl records (78s as well as Lps) I use PURE 2.
Phil
I also look for just the 99% isopropyl at one of our local department stores, Fred Meyers. It used to be everywhere in our city, but most local stores carry only 91% or even 70% now.
As far as I know, less alcohol percentage may not be that bad, since the remaining fluid percentage is water anyway. Hopefully it is distilled or purified water. Therefore, all we need to do is use a lower dilution of the 70% or 91% alcohol in order to achieve the desired percentage of alcohol in our cleaning solution.
Hi Alaskahiatt,
I have not had a problem with the 91% stuff and I used the 70% stuff before that.
I'm guessing that if you keep it from the edge or the center hole you should be OK. The playing surfaces are Condensite which is a plastic Edison's chemists developed. It is said to be similar to Bakelite. With care and records in good condition I think the lower concentration stuff should be OK. I have some Diamond discs which are pretty raggedy near the edge. With those records I'd worry about the solution getting to the core via the small cracks and causing further delamination.
Phil
I should have been more clear. Or did you mean that you use only the 91% alcohol on the diamond discs without diluting it?? Boy, you sure are correct about avoiding those outside edges of Edison diamond discs when using water. Some of those damaged Edison diamond discs look like a stack of pancakes.
Hi Alaskahiatt,
I just use the 91% isopropyl alcohol on Edison diamond discs, although if I were to bring home an Lp from a thrift with sticky, nasty stuff on it I might be tempted to try it. On Lps, I use Nitty Gritty's PURE 2. Shellac 78s get PURE 1. I have only one Pathe record and while it is vertically encoded and spins at 80 RPM it looks like shellac so I use PURE 1 for it.
Phil
nt
Hi Dave,
Yes PURE2 has alcohol. If you suspect a record of containing shellac do not use PURE2 on it. Any record made before WW2 most likely has shellac in it. For later 78s tap on the edge and compare the sound to an Lp. If it sounds the same as an Lp you are probably safe with the vinyl cleaning stuff. Another clue is that the vinyl records may say unbreakable on the label.
Phil
Contains alcohol (death to shellac)
I know you talked about 78 rpm VINYL, but just to be on the safe side.
Yes, most definitely! If in doubt, use PURE 1 as it won't hurt vinyl.
I have a few standard groove vinyl 78s as well as micro-groove vinyl 78s on which I use PURE2, but If you are not sure use PURE1.
Phil
You can get 99.9% on Amazon, I've gotten it for other uses where azeotropic wouldn't suffice. It's not cheap, but you can probably last a while on a quart.
Hi Todd,
Thanks! I just checked. It is ~ $10 for a quart. I probably paid more than half that for the 91% stuff and I had to look for that. 70% is common.
I'll get some on my next order to Amazon.
Phil
They are in pristine condition! That Nitty Gritty sure does a good job!
cactus, you've likely heard this story. In an interview Doug Sax said it was being so impressed by the sonic, life-like qualities of some older D-t-D 78s that inspired him to try that procedure with a modern 33 recording. And so Sheffield Lab was born. ;^)
I'll bet they sound wonderful, but your pups don't appear to be impressed.
"The piano ain't got no wrong notes." Thelonious Monk
The complete story at the link below.
Thanks for that expansion on my sketchy story.
However, considering the source, I'm surprised they state the tape recorder was not introduced until 1948?!
"The piano ain't got no wrong notes." Thelonious Monk
I remember reading that magnetic tape recording did not come to the US until after WWII. However, the Germans were using it as early as the 1930s.
The third wave of development in audio recording began in 1945, when the allied nations gained access to a new German invention - magnetic tape recording. The technology was invented in the 1930s, but remained restricted to Germany (where it was widely used in broadcasting) until the end of World War II. Magnetic tape provided another dramatic leap in audio fidelity — indeed, Allied observers first became aware of the existence of the new technology because they noticed that the audio quality of obviously pre-recorded programs was practically indistinguishable from live broadcasts. From 1950 onwards, magnetic tape quickly became the standard medium of audio master recording in the radio and music industries....
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
or read somewhere that Bing Crosby brought the first tape recorder to the US from Europe at the end of WWII. He hated doing his radio show live.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
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