The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

How many plays would a regular black wax cylinder last before it wears out and also which is the best way to store cylinders?, are the original tubes bad????

I have Edison Gold Moulded records that I have played thousands of times with a model C and I have not noticed much difference in sound quality, that I have owned since the 1990s with almost constant play and I am sure they were played hundreds of times when they were new, I still hear clear S's and low surface noise so I would say they wear pretty good, as long as all the articulation points in your reproducer are moving freely, and that you check your stylus for wear, the stylus being smooth and not pointed, and the groove being U shape I think contributed to there wearing qualities. Some loud band records however do show some brown haze on the high frequency but not many in my collection. Keep your stylus clean, and put the records back in the box, and keep them at 60-72 degrees and away from moisture and they last a long time, I dare say they are more durable than the styrene 45 rpm records. Yes some say the original containers can harbor mold, so it is best to keep them in pegged boxes or cabinets, rather than boxes, if you live in a humid environment, I do think that using some lysol in the boxes (only not the records) and setting the boxes in bright sunlight will help kill most of the box problems, unless the boxes smell very musty, then I would replace them.

Thanks!, I don't live in a humid environment (I like in the uk!, all it does is rain and stays cold!) but I was thinking, you know those little gel packets that you get with things like new shoes to remove the moisture, if I placed one of those into each container would that cure the problem?, I don't have a cylinder cabinet ( I don't think they were made here) so all I can do is use the original containers!

I wouldn't call silica gel a cure, but it certainly will help absorb any moisture within the canister.
I guess the thing to remember is that silica gel doesn't absorb moisture indefinately, so you should either replace it occasionally with fresh stuff, or you can reuse the old stuff by drying it out, by baking it in the oven at 120 °C for about 2 hours, so it retains it's absorption properties.

I use the original boxes, but I wrap the cylinders in plastic to prevent them from touching the cotton liner.

As to wear due to repeated playings, I never noticed any on mine, although most of the ones I play are blue amberols. I don't have a lot or wax cylinders.