I've heard mineral oil mentioned, but I wouldn't want to try it. It is messy. Whenever you use a liquid while playing you are creating a separation of the stylus from the playing surface which might also be reducing high frequencies and tracking accuracy. The stylus is skating over the liquid film.
That being said, it is important that wet playing only be done on vinyl,
styrene, lacquer, or plastics like this. NEVER on shellac. NEVER. Shellac shouldn't be played if it is even just slightly damp. A few
months before the demise of Hi-Fi Stereo Review (I think) there was an
advice column (I'm trying to remember his name, it might have been Ian)
who recommended playing shellac 78s wet. In fact, he said that he had
found it difficult to play 78s unless they were played wet. He also
mentioned that you have to frequently clean the gunk off of the stylus. Wet playing freed up the dirt in the grooves. Of course records should
be cleaned first, but what he didn't realize that the gunk was SHELLAC
and that after scraping off a layer of the record itself you have set up
a situation where the record is never the same and can't really be
played normally again. He had ruined his entire 78 collection and was
wondering how come he had trouble playing them normally. This
dunderhead had been doing this advice column for several decades and had
also written several books. I had always thought his advice was screwy
-- I remember one time him not knowing anything about guard bands
separating tape tracks.
Anybody remember who that jerk was?
Mike Biel mbiel@xxxxxxxxx
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [ARSCLIST] lacquer transfer From: "joe@xxxxxxxxxxx" <jsalerno@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, November 19, 2008 6:14 pm To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Has anyone ever found a coating or spray that can be applied to a lacquer to make for a quieter transfer, besides water?
I seem to recall a presentation by Seth in which he mentioned Tascam pinch roller lubricant or cleaner as a possibility.
joe salerno
Eric Jacobs wrote:Hi Jeff,
Just a note on Audiodisc blanks... In my experience the Audiodisc blanks seem to have more plasticizer than some of the other blanks. This is purely anecdotal from transfering many hundreds of these discs.
The extra abundance of plasticizer has benefits - the recordings tend to be quieter than other blanks, and they seem modestly less prone to laminate shrinkage and crazing due to plasticizer loss.
The down side is that they are more prone to palmitic and stearic acid formation than other brands of blanks. Again, this is purely anecdotal / observation.
Per my other email, stable temperature and low humidity are more critical for Audiodisc blanks than perhaps other brands (although stable temps and low RH are important for storing all lacquer discs).
Last, but not least, I would strongly recommend storing these discs in base-buffered sleeves. The base buffer in the sleeve will help minimize or at least stave off the autocatylitic reaction associated with palmitic and stearic acid formation, particularly if you don't have the driest of storage conditions.
Eric Jacobs
The Audio Archive, Inc. tel: 408.221.2128 fax: 408.549.9867 mailto:EricJ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.TheAudioArchive.com Disc and Tape Audio Transfer Services and Preservation Consulting
-----Original Message----- From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Jeffrey Martin Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 12:10 PM To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ARSCLIST] Lacquer disc storage conditions
I'm trying to advise a colleague who has recently discovered some 1960s-era lacquer discs in her collection. (They're recorded on Audio Devices Audiodiscs.) What are the preferred conditions for storing lacquer discs? She has access to cold storage (40 degrees F), cool storage (55 degrees F) and obviously standard office HVAC storage.
Many thanks,
Jeff Martin Chicago, IL