I’ve acquired some shellac 78 RPM records, and a number of questions with them.
What should I use to clean them?
Are there any special storage/handling considerations when compared to vinyl?
Alas, many of them no longer have their original sleeves. Are generic replacement paper sleeves OK, or is there something better?
Can I safely play them in a electrical record player? Although a Victrola was also around, I doubt that is a good idea. Even if I assume these records are lateral cut, wouldn’t the steel needle damage the record since it is so old and brittle?
It is my understanding that most preamps will apply the RIAA curve to the input, but these records are pre-RIAA. Where can I get a suitable preamp, and is there such a device that applies a flat amplification, thus allowing me to direct the output to my computer and apply any corrections in software?
They respond surprisingly well to warm dish-soapy water applied with a sponge. You can even use it to scrub old stickers off the labels.
Are there any special storage/handling considerations when compared to vinyl?
First and foremost: don’t drop them. They’ll smash like glass. Otherwise, store them like vinyls: protect from heat and dust, and shelve on edge rather than stacking.
Alas, many of them no longer have their original sleeves. Are generic replacement paper sleeves OK, or is there something better?
Paper sleeves are just fine, as long as they’re not so raggedy that the disc will hit the floor the moment you pull it off the shelf. (See “don’t drop them” above.)
Can I safely play them in a electrical record player? Although a Victrola was also around, I doubt that is a good idea. Even if I assume these records are lateral cut, wouldn’t the steel needle damage the record since it is so old and brittle?
Even brand new steel needles wear records. (The ideal thing used to be to change the needle every time you played a side.) Also, there’s the tonearm. Modern tonearm force is measured in grams; in the acoustic era your typical tonearm weighed close to a pound.
I use a retrofitted modern turntable from http://www.78rpm.com . It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worked like a champ. You need special styli, of course; LP styli will just skate around in the bottom of the groove, where there’s mostly noise.
It is my understanding that most preamps will apply the RIAA curve to the input, but these records are pre-RIAA. Where can I get a suitable preamp, and is there such a device that applies a flat amplification, thus allowing me to direct the output to my computer and apply any corrections in software?
This is a tricky one. Years ago there was a filter (not preamp) called the OWL 1, which applied notch filters to compensate for RIAA curves. It’s no longer made (natch!).
Software is a grey area for me too, because even though I have close to 3000 78s around the place, I also have a Mac, for which no really good audio restoration software exists. If you are a Windows type person, you might look into DCart from Diamond Cut Productions. These guys have plenty of experience with 78 era source material and the program seems to have loads of useful features.
Whatever you do, DON’T use alcohol on shellac records. The alcohol will dissolve the shellac and permanently damage the record. Some commercial record cleaning fluids contain alcohol. You can do a decent job with a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent per quart of water. Use a very fine brush (not a toothbrush - too coarse) or crushed velvet to work the soapy water into the grooves. Be careful not to get the label wet, and always work in the direction of the grooves - never scrub across the grooves. Dry the record with a towel, then rinse it with pure water and dry it again. Be sure to let the record dry completely before you put it away.
Shellac records are brittle, so be careful when handling them. Don’t hold a record by the edge with one hand - the weight of the record can cause it to crack. Look at the surface of each record to see if there are any hairline cracks - if so, you need to be extra-careful. If you store the records in albums, be sure that the records haven’t slid into the hinge when you turn the pages - it’s easy to break a record if it’s caught in the hinge. Shellac is denser than vinyl, so be sure whatever shelves you’re using to store the records are strong enough. Store the records vertically (on their edges), not horizontally.
Generic paper sleeves are fine. Most 78s are no longer in their original sleeves, anyway. If the record is valuable or has a hairline crack, you may want to store it in a heavy sleeve, as this provides extra protection. I prefer to store all twelve-inch 78s in heavy sleeves (light cardboard, even), as these larger records are more prone to breakage.
Electrical playback is safe. There’s no way a modern electric stylus with a tracking force of a couple of grams can hurt a shellac record.
I guess you already know that an LP stylus won’t work well for playing 78s. The nominal groove width for 78s is 3.0 mils, while for LPs it’s 0.7 mils. To get good-sounding results, you really need a 78 stylus. What type of cartridge do you have, and do you know whether you can get a 78 stylus for it (it is easy to swap styli on some cartridges)? If there isn’t a 78 stylus available for your cartridge, I recommend the Stanton 500. This is a rugged cartridge for which 78 styli are readily available.
Believe it or not, 78s can stand up to many playings with steel needles, but only if the machine is in good shape and you change the needle after every play. The various moving parts on an acoustic playback machine tend to get stiff over time, and if you play a record on a machine that has stiffened up it can damage the record. As for the needles, they are made of soft iron and will wear away as the record plays. The needles are tapered, and if you use a needle too long the narrow point will wear away and the remaining point will be too wide for the groove. This can really tear up a record. Also, newer shellac records tend not to be as tough as older ones - as consumers bought better playback equipment it became less necessary for record companies to make the records stand up to tracking forces of several ounces. They opted instead for quieter surfaces, so a 78 from, say, 1945 is more likely to be damaged by a steel needle than one from 1925.
There are special pre-amps for this purpose. One is called the Souvenir VSP. It’s available from KAB Electro-Acoustics. According to this web site, the unit is currently being redesigned and will be available again in September. This unit has a bunch of different EQ curves, some noise filters, and a bunch of other features, including a mode that inverts the RIAA curve so you can do flat transfers. There’s a more expensive unit called the Souvenir MK12 that has even more EQ curves, and also has the ability to play back either the left or right channel (it’s common for 78s to have more noise in one stereo channel than the other).
Geez, you people talk as is they’re made of gold foil ready to shatter into a million pieces if subjected to a slight breeze.
Granted, I’m no serious collector and the records I pick up for fun from flea markets and yard sales have definitely seen better days, but I don’t find they need any particularly carefully handling. Actually, they seem quite rugged and it takes a decided effort to break them.
I clean them with a damp cloth. Then I play them on my Columbia Grafanola, which is an acoustic gramophone. You should change the needle for each side, but I just do it for each couple records. It may be degrading them, but they’re already pretty degraded anyway. The ones I have that are still in fair condition I make sure to change the needle for every time. The tonearm weighs just under 5 oz.
I mostly go for stuff from the teens and 20s, so maybe the older ones were just built tougher, but I do have a few from later that seem to be holding up.