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Re: [ARSCLIST] Visual evaluation of 78s
A thought to add to this. Years ago I bought a 78 rpm record for a
few coins in order to hear it. It appeared to be in poor condition.
and played very poorly. After cleaning with detergent and a shaving
brush, it looked excellent and played very well. I might have retired
it to the garbage bin if I hadn't cleaned it.
It also might be pointed out that very rare records, today, can be
processed with audio software, often producing a very good result. A
cracked record, if it hasn't been played a lot producing damage along
the crack, or a record with bad needle scratches can often be run
through audio software removing the clicks that are heard on each
rotation. A lot of records that were thrown out in the past, today,
would have new life thanks to the digital revolution.
How the records are played is another factor. Some records that play
very poorly with a standard size stylus play well with a custom
stylus of the right size. A friend years ago who issued LPs from
rare 78s sometimes copied them to tape played in reverse - from the
inside to the outside. This sometimes made a considerable difference.
There are examples of unpublished records that are better versions of
the music than the same titles published. Some appear to be
unpublished because the singer was too close or too far from the
horn. Unlike the times when these recordings were made, they play
well on modern equipment.
Malcolm Smith.
On Aug 6, 2008, at 7:59 AM, Clark Johnsen wrote:
To my mind there are two types of problem.
-- Surface blemishes are relatively easy to see and span the range
from
actual cracks and gouges and dimples, to small-area abrasions of
different depths -- plus fingerprints and mold, never good signs.
-- Groove wear in a well-handled (or machine-handled) disc can
easily escape
notice until a grayish pall from too much use overtakes the usually
hard
surface of the groove walls. This condition is far less easy to
rate in its
intermediate stages, although a corollary indicator can be the
condition of
the center hole.
clark
On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 2:01 PM, John Ross <johnross@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Is there a set of established standards for visual evaluation of
78 rpm
discs? I'm working with the owner of a significant collection to
catalog the
discs and ultimately transfer them to digital form. I would like
to include
a preliminary note about the apparent condition of each disc as
part of the
preliminary catalog.
Obviously, the ultimate evaluation of each disc requires playing
it, but as
a first step, I want to go with a visual examination.
So I will welcome your pointers to any kind of commonly accepted
terms for
describing 78s. Thanks in advance.
John Ross