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80 year-old recording comes back to life
Among the recordings Sonya Eddy sent me, a number of them were old acetate records from the 30s and 40s. I wasn’t very familiar with this format; they feel about as heavy as a dinner plate compared to a vinyl record. The recording is from February, 1942, featuring The Vagabonds specialty group: Marvin Smith, Ray Friend, Will Richards, Jim Chase, and Dave Simpson accompanying. Goodnight Beloved closes with Back to Old Purdue and a radio emcee introducing the group.
I played/digitized them on my standard turntable with varying results. After some research, I learned that acetate records use a different size needle from a bygone era.
“With the resurgence in vinyl popularity over the last decade or so, vinyl enthusiasts are now venturing into their ancestors’ attics and secondhand stores to enter the realm of 78 RPM records! Playing a 78 RPM record properly is a little different than playing a 33 1/3 RPM or 45 RPM record. Audio-Technica’s ... turntables will allow the platter to spin at the 78 RPM speed. But the correct speed is only part of the solution – a proper 78 RPM stylus (needle) should also be used when playing 78 RPM records on your turntable. Please note that a 78 RPM stylus with a diameter of 3 mil is necessary for shellac records (pre-1958) and a stylus with a diameter of .6 mil is designed for 78 RPM vinyl records.” Source: audio techica
I did some research and found a 78 rpm audio restoration specialist in San Diego, who could digitize such recordings with a quick turnaround. According to Eric Van Der Wyk of King Tet Productions, acetate records from this era were often family recordings that weren’t intended to have extensive use. A lot of these records can only handle a dozen plays before deteriorating.
The results are amazing. Below is the example of my original recording, and after that is the same recording from the specialist. He really brought these recordings to life!
Original version (warning: turn down your volume a bit 😉)
Compare that to:
Restored version
Not bad for an 80 year old recording! All that remains is minor hissing, and pops on the recording, which I could probably fine-tune with software. But the quality is good enough to leave as is, unless anyone out there would like to take a stab. Enjoy them! (And thanks again to Sonya.)
Commentary
Thank you
S S Eddy
on 11/14/2022