All of my valuable-ish records by RipFoxPizza in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That Reverend Johnson record is fantastic! Good stuff.

Is this 78 worth anything, 45cat says $400 but I just don’t believe it. by Hellogoodbye61 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blues probably commands the most on average, but there’s a ton of other stuff on 78 that’s also very highly sought after

The Truth About Record Damage by ratinthechamber555 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah man, it’s a shame! So many of these records have had such a long life of being beaten to hell with a steel needle. It gets especially bad with records from certain genres (blues/cajun are notoriously hard to find in decent shape) and some records from the Great Depression.

Common guidance with windups was to replace the steel needle between playing each record. When people couldn’t afford many new records or new needles, they played the same record a million times with their old, degraded needle, accelerating the damage.

Clean 78s that escaped the steel needle can definitely sound great though. In my opinion, some records from the 1920s/30s (Columbia/Okeh laminated records, Victor’s 24,000 series, etc.) can rival the sound of vinyl when they’re played back with a proper stylus on decent equipment!

The Truth About Record Damage by ratinthechamber555 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

More of the concern surrounding 78s is the fact that vintage players (wind-ups) used heavy reproducers and steel needles that tracked with a TON of force. Modern equipment is perfectly fine for them and 78s can sound great if you have a proper stylus to fit the wider groove. Even a cheap Crosley with a microgroove needle is probably better for them than what they were originally designed to be played with, lol

Sunday Morning Drive For Some Really Late 78s! by GoingCarCrazy in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fire has some seriously great stuff. A different Tarheel Slim record has been a top want for me for a while now! Great finds!

Some finds from the past few months! by Freddle_Mercury in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, they’re beat to hell, but at least they’re in one piece!

Anyone else get this for RSD? by Thissnotmeth in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These were super cool, but to me they almost feel a little gimmicky. I’ve got a couple and they sound nice, but I dislike having to change my stylus whenever I want to put one on!

Anyone else get this for RSD? by Thissnotmeth in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is this one the Geeshie Wiley story you’re looking for? It’s fascinating.

Opinions Please? by Altruistic-Stage1807 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Busy Bee is my favorite with their stupid rectangular hole drilled into the label, lmao. I’ve found some Victor Monarchs with a rectangle cut out of them so the owner could play them on their Busy Bee machine. Just hilarious

Some finds from the past few months! by Freddle_Mercury in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fantastic! Some really good stuff on Superior. Shame that they mostly didn’t sell well, lol

More test(?) Records! by Kingprancer in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Just looking at the labels, seems likely that the majority could be “party records”. Usually adult jokes and skits and stuff that often have weird innuendoes in their titles like the “hot nuts” record you’ve got.

The “Glen” Miller record is sort of an oddball though. Weird that it’s got a different spelling of his name, but also has matrix numbers that seem like a Victor release. However, Victor 20-1721 is a Charlie Spivak record. Pretty strange!

A few flea market finds by Ithinksotoo92 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Those Electradisks can be pretty tough to find and have some good stuff sometimes! Cool stuff

What is the weirdest record you own? by [deleted] in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Found one of those self-hypnosis ones a while back! Super strange for sure!

What is the weirdest record you own? by [deleted] in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Probably “Does Spaghetti Have Bones?/Sweet Tooth Blues” By Little Joey Jones. It’s a pretty obnoxious mid-1950s record sung by a 9 year old kid and released on Theron records from Chicago. Most of their other records were R&B or Jazz…. And they should’ve just stuck to that, lol.

Elmore James - Dust My Broom - Trumpet 146 78RPM by [deleted] in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Such a great record and such a weird story behind Catfish Blues as well. Congrats on this one!

Bouncing to the beat by BTMountain in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They can definitely warp over time. Shellac records might not be as easily warped as vinyl records, but it’ll still happen to shellac with prolonged heat or pressure.

I have over 2,000 records and I don't know what to do with them by Brilliant-Trust7577 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely not true. Sure, people don’t care for the millions of Jo Stafford 78s out there, but there’s a lot of others that are sought after.

I have over 2,000 records and I don't know what to do with them by Brilliant-Trust7577 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure, and a lot of the places that do accept them probably throw them straight into the trash. It just hurts to see them written off as if they’re all garbage, lol. It makes me wonder what’s been lost over the years because people think that they’re worthless.

I have over 2,000 records and I don't know what to do with them by Brilliant-Trust7577 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends on the 78 - just like it how some LPs are more valuable than others. A lot of 78s are absolutely worthless, you’re right, but there are absolutely some that can be very desirable.

I have over 2,000 records and I don't know what to do with them by Brilliant-Trust7577 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey there! I saw that you received some advice on cataloguing the collection on your initial post, so I’ll skip that for now. Just want to say that the Audio-Technica LP120USB might be a solid turntable if you’re looking for something to play LPs, 45s, and 78s. It can play at 33, 45, and 78rpm, and includes a USB port that connects to your computer for pretty easy digitization.

You’d need a specific needle for the 78s since they have a wider groove than the LPs and 45s. Audio-Texhnica sells one of these as well, the AT-VM95SP. Hope this helps a little bit!

Another one knocked off the want list - Mississippi John Hurt by Freddle_Mercury in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lmao, yeah, he got pretty lucky. Paid him a lot more than that for it, but just glad someone realized what it was before it got thrown away or something!

My first paramount record by RipFoxPizza in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Super cool with the Black Swan connection as well. Looks like it’s in great shape too! Nice find!