2. analog
  3. 165695-129831

Who Else Has a Collection of 78 RPM Records?

I was just given a collection of 78's. I ordered an Ortofon 2M 78. Got a good price on it.
I have not played a 78 RPM record since I was a child. Anybody have any recommendation about cleaning. There is a mildew smell to the covers. My guess is it is very bad to use anything with alcohol in it to clean them as alcohol will melt shellac. I plan on cleaning all of them and giving them proper inner sleeves. Many of them are stored in collection books, not the original covers which were usually just paper. 

I would appreciate any advice on care and management! 
128x128mijostyn

Showing 2 responses by dover

dover
2,173 posts
 
I have a small collection - I use the Kirmus for cleaning. Just water.

Only suggestion I have is that after doing some research I purchased a Nagaoka NMP3.0mil stylus to use on my Nagaoka cartridge becuase most modern 78 styli off the shelf are 2.5mil which is a bit too small for the early 78's. The larger stylus can help to reduce noise.

I dont play them much but have some interesting stuff like Rachmaninov conducting Rachmaninov, early jazz etc. For a couple of hundred dollars to explore these records I thought it was worthwhile.
dover
2,173 posts
 
@mijostyn
Yes - 65um is 2.5mil.
There some useful info here on stylus size for 78's.
https://www.esotericsound.com/CartStyli.htm
I went for 3.0mil because most of my 78's are pre 1940's
More to discover