[78-L] Record torture

[Tim Huskisson]

I never realised in the past how detrimental to the playing surface of 78
records the effects of damp, moisture and temperature can be.
Of course common sense should tell us that laminated records are made of
layers of different materials. Each material has its own properties and will
expand or contract at different rates with temperature changes. Any
lamination cracks or indeed any place on the record where the surface isn't
completely sealed will be susceptible to penetration by damp or
condensation. 

But non-laminated 78s can be affected less obviously. I've noticed that many
of my (even visually, E+) records (particularly 1920s era British HMV's)
suffer from excessive 'frying bacon' crackle on playing. I'd always presumed
that this was simply a result of the technology of the period. But some are
worse than others, and I've noticed that the reason would seem to be the
presence of tiny bubbles on the surface. You need a magnifying glass to see
them, but they are definitely present on the noisier records. I can only
assume that decades of exposure to the British climate has caused this -
or... in the past they have been stored in damp surroundings.

Regards

Tim Huskisson


 

-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of DAVID BURNHAM
Sent: 06 January 2012 19:05
To: 78-L at 78online.com
Subject: [78-L] Record torture

Not having anything better to do the other day, I decided to torture a
record.  We were experiencing the coldest day of the season, (-16 degrees
C.), so I took a standard Victor 78 rpm record in excellent condition and
placed it naked in a box.  I then placed it in my back yard.  The box would
shield it from wind and precipitation but would not protect it from the
cold.  The box was white so it wouldn't absorb any heat from the sun.  I
wanted as much as possible to simulate the situation that the records in my
outdoor storage units experience.  I have stored records in my garage for
years but one and a half walls of the garage abut the house so some heat
comes from that.  This record suffered further because I took it directly
from the warm house to the cold outdoors, (the heat variance in the units is
gradual), and then a couple of days later brought it directly back into the
warm house.  The record survived with flying colours!  No damage
whatsoever!  So I guess extreme cold and rapid temperature changes don't
hurt 78s after all.  

If we have another cold spell, this record may spend some more time in the
box, because -16 isn't by any means the coldest temperature Toronto
experiences in a normal winter!

db
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