[78-L] Removal of hiss - a different approach

[DAVID BURNHAM]

I know an audio engineer who does 78 re-issues who sometimes wets the record before playing it in order to reduce stylus friction and hence hiss noise.. I don't know what liquid he uses, i.e. oil, water, soap, etc. 


David Harvey 

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This isn't really a novel approach.  Often in my career with CBC radio, when we were broadcasting old 78s or even Lps which were noisy, we had a water bottle with an eye-dropper lid with which we would wet the record while we were playing it.  We did this mainly on old transcription turntables which had arms weighing a pound or two.  When using more modern light-tracking arms, it has to be done judiciously because if you apply too much water, the stylus will start hydro-planing, which can be distracting on live radio.  I think this was a method used when necessary by Clyde Gilmour, (a local collector who had a program called "Gilmour's Albums").

db