Scratched acetate 1943 record sound saved in the SABC Radio Archives

A 1943 acetate record with a large scratch was fixed by the SABC Radio Archives' sound engineer, Obakeng Phiri.

It is a 1943 song about "Generaal De la Rey" (composed by C Lamprecht) and sing by Betsy de la Porte. On the 15th of September it is the 100 year anniversary since the South African Boer War general died, and the material is needed from the archives for a tribute programme.

The scratch

This is the original sound.

As archivists we do not always have the specialised skills of the sound engineers, and we sometimes struggle to fix the formats when they are damaged. It became very apparent when the sound engineer was called in and he could do his digital magic.

Obakeng Phiri working his magic on Wavelab

The fixed sound that was sent to the journalist to use in her programme for News Actuality.




Thanks to specialised skills!

The archivist could now update the catalogue, and save the fixed version electronically for future use as well!


Blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.