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.

The Weekly Archivist interview: Sound Engineer in the Radio Archives

Marius Oosthuizen
Sound Engineer: SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has seven Archivists who specialize in specific areas/languages of expertise with regards the audio collections being kept in the Archives. There are also Archivists who focus on requests, and we have a Sound Engineer as well that assists us with technical issues. This is part of the weekly interviews that will try to pose the same questions to each of the Archivists.

Marius Oosthuizen is the sound engineer, who also looks after our acetate collection for sound restoration. He has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 10 years, and he will be leaving us shortly.

Marius, please tell us a little bit about your life and career. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

I grew up in Vanderbijlpark, not too far from the Vaal River. I still have a very soft spot for rivers and willow trees. I did some studies at The Teaching College in Potchefstroom and did my military service in the SAP where I joined the video unit and I made training videos. I learnt the craft of video making from Will Roberts, the well-known actor. From there I joined the SABC. I worked in Radio Productions for 9 years. I worked on my own as a freelancer for five years, and rejoined the Radio Archives since 2000 as an archivist in restoration. At the end of April I will be leaving the SABC to pursue a career as the Audio and Video Department Manager for the University of Monash.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you give priority to?

I give priority to the legacy collection, the acetates. The careful handling, cleaning process and the dubbing of these discs and CD mastering.
A part of my day also consists of helping with requests, as well as technical assistance with sound related problems.

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve.

The acetate collection: the recordings go back to the 1920s. Most of these recordings were done on metal disc covered with Schalleck acetate mixtures.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

I have found that it is an incredible audio history on those shelves that need to be preserved for future generations.

Tell us why you enjoyed doing the work that you did.

Audio was not only a work for me, but an interest and a hobby as well. I enjoyed reading and exploring into audio and audio practices, especially pertaining to audio restoration.

Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM
The Weekly Archivist interview: Music archivist
The Weekly Archivist interview: News and Actuality
The Weekly Archivist interview: Sport archivist
The Weekly Archivist interview: Channel Africa collection

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in SABC Radio Archives.

Short overview of acetate discs

By Marius Oosthuizen, Sound Engineer, SABC Radio Archives

Marius Oosthuizen is responsible for the sound restoration of these old acetate discs in the Radio Archives.

Since the 1930s, most blank acetate discs have been manufactured with a base, usually aluminum ,glass was used during the war years and cardboard for inexpensive home recordings), that was coated with nitrocellulose lacquer plasticized with castor oil. Because of the lacquer's inherent properties, acetate discs are the least stable type of sound recording.

Acetates are records, usually recorded at 78 RPM, usually 10 inches in size recorders, which were on the market during the 1940's. They have an aluminum metal base, coated with black lacquer, which the recording stylus etches (cuts) the groove into while recording. Most recorders had a constant-pitch feed screw which moved the arm containing the recording-stylus across the record at a constant rate.

Acetate records for recording have blank labels, which are there  to mark the title, artist (or "recorder"), date, speed, and whether the disc plays "outside in" or "inside out". "Outside In" means you put the needle on the outside like most records (and the needle works its way to the center while it plays -- the groove moves the needle along). "Inside Out", or "Center-Start", means you must put the needle on the innermost groove, and the groove will push the needle toward the outside while it plays. "Inside Out" records are quite rare.

Transcription discs recorded by radio stations, however, particularly the 16-inch variety, usually have the second side recorded inside out; it is so the equalization changes are less noticeable....equalization (that is, treble and bass) changes, particularly with diminishing treble response, as the needle makes its way toward the center, and was particularly noticeable on these early records (but not noticeable to the human ear on modern stereo LPs).