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Collecting 78-RPM records is not for the faint hearted. The happy collector of such a collection must also take into account the weight of each platter, roughly a half pound apiece. Has anyone moved a box of these fragile treasures without hearing something crack a little bit? For the Compact Disc generation who did not experience records growing up, 78-RPM records are made of shellac, and depending on the manufacturer and period of pressing, may have a wood core. If you are trying to play a favorite record that seems to skip you may become frustrated that this little piece of sound history is no longer usable. Actually it is a little easier than one may think to remedy and ultimately enjoy.

First inspect the record for signs of cracks, crossed grooves caused by the old record playing equipment that may have gouged the grooves, or a "rut" in the playing service also attributable to rough playing conditions. If you observe that the record is just dusty and dirty wipe it down with a soft, damp (not wet) cloth to pull up the grit and dust that resides in the grooves. You may also see that someone years ago may have spilled something sticky on the record. This causes the needle to jump over a "speed bump" like glob that lays over the grooves. Wipe this off firmly. If you do find a gouge or small chip, the easiest fix is to wipe and rub some bee's wax right into the injured groove. This will give the phonograph needle something to hold onto as it plays over the gouge or chip. Cracks are a little trickier because the grooves may misalign on either sides of the crack. This practitioner used to try to line up the grooves as best possible, ensuring that the record stayed flat around the crack, then applied a thin piece of tape around the outer edge of the record to support the area around the crack, which also keeps it from moving around, causing the grooves to misalign again. This can be challenging, but it is doable. The playback of such a damaged record will be noisy and could damage modern play back needles and cartridges, however. So beware.

Once you address the skips in your 78-RPM record you can really go the sophisticated route and record it into your computer using a large array of software available on the Internet that makes an audio file of your record. There are also some restoration programs, that are not cheap, that will help to adequately tone down scratch, rumble, and clicks from these old records. These programs also contain equalizer applications that really spruce up the sound. The experience of hearing a recording over 100 years old sounding fairly crisp without surface sound (albeit the recording methods prior to 1925 were acoustic, meaning the performance was recorded using a large horn that funneled the sound into a vibrating disc and needle that scored a wax disc, rendering a tinny sound) is a delight, especially when the record does not skip.

Learn more about this author, John Murphy Jr.
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