The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello, all,

A few months ago, I purchased a record online that the seller said had heat damage. Because of the low price, as well as having had a positive experience with the seller beforehand, and this being my favorite song by the featured artist, I was willing to take the risk, and so I bought it.

Fortunately, the record played just fine (it was also in pretty good playing shape, with very quiet surfaces and really no groove graying). Well, it did, for the first two dozen plays. Eventually, a spot on the heat damaged area (see images) got carved out by the needle (I was playing it on my Victrola, so I'm not entirely surprised), and now there is a 4-second skip about 0:45 into the song on the B-side (my favorite side, too!). It appears that with each play, it gets a little bit more damaged on that spot than beforehand.

I do not know if I will recieve criticism for this, but I continue to play the damaged side since I enjoy it that much. Also, it is widely listenable online. I've tried coloring the damaged grooves in with a grease pen a little per the advice of a different record collector, and that seems to help a little, but it still skips about 2 seconds.

What I want to know is if there is anything that can be done (aside from never playing it again) to mitigate the amount of damage done to the weak spot by playing it. I don't have a modern turntable with an ultra lightweight stylus, not that I particularly want one at the moment. If you have any advice, please feel free to leave your thoughts below. Otherwise, I am looking for a replacement copy of Brunswick 3277, by Ben Selvin and His Orchestra, featuring "That's Annabelle" and "Oh! If I Only Had You". I'm willing to buy one in V+ condition or better.

Nothing to do but find another copy. Play this as much as you like, there is no way to fix it...

I think that could be solvent damage rather than heat damage. They can look fairly similar. Shellac is soluble in alcohol and various other liquids. Either way, as Curt has said, there's no repair possible.

FredSugarHall_fan wrote: Fri Jun 07, 2024 6:58 pm I do not know if I will recieve criticism for this, but I continue to play the damaged side since I enjoy it that much.

Not really! We are not museums funded with state incomes. The record is yours, bought with your own money, and you can listen to it as much as you want in whichever way you choose.

About the damage, I have records that show this sort of craquelè look all over their surface. Personally, as others have already written, I have never ascribed it to heat (although it may be). I also was a bit concerned about playing these records with heavy pick-ups, but after many years I have perhaps to note that the surface is less delicate than what the eye would tell: they don't chip or miss speckles, they don't seem to wear out quicker than usual, and I also don't seem to hear any particular noise.