Category: Talk

For the past two weeks, I’ve been hard at work on this new video – featuring an unboxing of three boxes of African 78 rpm records I acquired nearly a month ago.

After I shot the unboxing, I saw that some of the label shots were tough to read so I re-photographed all sixty record labels and added them in for more clarity.

I also felt the video was a little weak without any music – so I did something crazy – I went back and recorded quick “needle drop” digitizations (raw input – no EQ, no de-clicking) of all sixty records in this collection and added them to the video to make it a bit more interesting.

All of that took a while – and keeping all the sound files straight was a tough chore! But I think you will agree that it is sooooooo nice to immediately hear a sample of what is on the record.

Please let me know in the comments which of these records you’d like me to produce full digital transfers of first!

0:00 Introduction
1:02 The Story Behind This Collection
6:55 Box One – The Unboxing
19:22 Box Two – The Unboxing
35:19 Box Three – The Unboxing
50:44 Conclusion

I hope you vicariously enjoy the experience of discovering and experiencing this wonderful box of African music with me. I have so much to learn and have already identified some great resources online that I’ll share with you:
http://afrodisc.com/
http://afrobib.com/
These two sites contain label discographies and bibliographies of books, articles, and dissertations written about African music.

https://www.flatinternational.org/links.php
Great page of links to websites related to African music.

Here are some things I learned about myself during the making of this video:
* My hairline has receded even farther than I had thought 😂
* I clear my throat often and very annoyingly 😂
* I smack my lips a lot before starting a sentence 😂
* When you are live on camera, it is easy to misspeak and mispronounce words 😂
* Mon français est horrible 😂
* Sharp razor blades work much better than letter openers when cutting through reinforced packing tape
* I need a haircut 😂

Hi Everyone – just wanted to post a quick update to tell you about a few recent problems I’ve been having with the channel – and let you know about some of the new videos I have planned going forward.

I’ll always keep uploading digital transfers from my 78 rpm record collection – but will also be doing some on-camera videos to talk about jazz, jazz history, record collecting, 78 rpm records, and perhaps even crop rotation in the 14th century.

The first video I have planned is an unboxing video where I’ll share with you the contents of three boxes containing around 60 African 78s I recently received from Europe. These boxes have been sitting unopened and really don’t know exactly what is in them – so I am absolutely going mad with anticipation and can’t wait to share them with you.

I promise video quality will get better as I get more experience with the new camera (better lighting is something I’m working on). Thanks for hanging in there with me and I hope these new videos will be fun and informative.

Let me know in the comments what you think of this addition to the channel.

Many people have asked me if you can save a 78 rpm record that has been broken or cracked. Here is my story of how I was able to repair this copy of “Wildwood Flower” by the Carter Family (Victor V-40000).

Last year I found this scarce Carter Family record in the wild – unfortunately, it was cracked in half! Fortunately, the crack was clean – and was still holding together somehow (by the label?) on its own. I really wanted to save this record if possible!

Here’s what I did:

First I very carefully placed the record between two sheets of smooth granite tile so that just one of the edges (with the crack) stuck out. After putting a heavy weight on top of the tile and carefully running my finger across the grooves to ensure they were perfectly smooth, I applied a small amount of elmer’s glue to the edge of the record across the crack.

I turned the record over and glued the bottom side – then did the same thing to the other end of the record. Once the crack was stabilized at both edges of the record, I applied a thick layer of glue across the label where the crack appeared to give it some additional stabilization.

You can see the parts that I glued in the video. When Elmer’s glue dries, it is clear, so it blends in pretty well with the record.

Playing the record was successful – though you could hear a very light audible tic. This tic was easy to remove when I made this transfer. The only downside of using Elmer’s glue is that it dissolves in water, so I won’t be cleaning this record anytime soon.

Have you repaired a broken 78? What’s your method?

Listen and tell me what you think in the comments!

When many people think of 78 rpm records, they think of scratchy worn records that sound quite poor. It is important not to judge these records on that dirty worn copy of Paul Whiteman’s “Whispering” that has been overplayed with dull needles and then sat unsleeved in your great grandfather’s basement in a bin with sandpaper and loose nails.

In this video, I compare digital transfers of a very worn and beat record to a rather pristine (though not perfect) copy of the same record.

You’ll alternately hear copies of Columbia A-3978: “Memphis Tennessee” composed by Perry Bradford as performed by The Gulf Coast Seven.

Using the VJM grading scale, first we’ll hear a G/G+ copy, which you will recognize in the video by its worn label and scratched surface.

A “G+” grade is used to describe a record that is “Grey throughout but still serviceable. Music begins to sound muffled. Heavy scratches.” A “G” grade is used to describe a record that is “quite seriously worn and scratched, but music level is still higher than surface noise.”

Then we’ll hear an E copy of the same record. The E copy has a pristine label and shiny smooth surface.

An “E” grade indicates the record is “still very shiny, near new looking, with no visible signs of wear, but a few inaudible scuffs and scratches.”

Columbia A-3978 was recorded on August 7, 1923 in New York.

Credits:
Gus Aiken, unknown artist – cornet
Bud Aiken – trombone
? Garvin Bushell – clarinet
Ernest Elliott – clarinet, tenor sax
Leroy Tibbs – piano
Sam Speed – banjo

VJM Grading Scale
https://www.vjm.biz/grading.html