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In addition to the Laser-scan research at Belfer, Southampton University in the UK are working in collaboration with Carl Haber and Vitaliy Fadeyev at Berkeley on 3D image scanning of cylinders, as seen here: www.mech.soton.ac.uk/archivesound. The site isn't fully up to date and the audio comparisons aren't perfect, but it's still very early days and results are encouraging. It won't overcome the mould problem which Susan S and Steven CB have described, but will hopefully be a big step forward in transferring cracked or broken cylinders, amongst other advantages. Will ................................................... Will Prentice Technical Services British Library Sound Archive Tel: +44 (0)20-7412-7443 96 Euston Road Fax: +44 (0)20-7412-7416 London NW1 2DB http://www.bl.uk UK http://cadensa.bl.uk (online catalogue) -----Original Message----- From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan Stinson Sent: 20 September 2005 14:55 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] looking for advice on cylinders Hello, Tom: Actually, no, they don't. As we are experiencing in the development of our cylinder laser playback system, the laser beam picks up whatever the groove modulation has to offer, including particles of dust, wax, and malformations caused by mould activity. It seems, reasonably, that once the mould has arrived and done its _thing_, there is no fix. We have entertained other theories in retrieving the original signal from wax, all probably terribly expensive if they are even possible. Sometimes we have to face the reality that a thing is as good today as it will ever be again; our time is better spent on caring for more artifacts that will benefit from that care than on one thing for which there isn't much chance of improvement - not that we allow it to suffer further damage. It's like medical triage up to a point - stabilize the neediest and then go on to the rest. Resources in this business are quite strained most places, so we have to be as practical as we are idealistic. Susan Susan T Stinson, Curator Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive Syracuse University Library 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 315-443-3477 / fax 443-4866 >>> [log in to unmask] 09/19/05 6:44 PM >>> Hi Ms. Stinson: Thanks for this very interesting post. Question -- do the new laser-scan methods have a way to focus through or compensate for mold? -- Tom Fine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan Stinson" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> > I would point out one thing here that we have learned over the years - > it isn't really helpful to remove the mould, even if you can. Yes, the > presence of the inactive mould makes the recording noisy to play back, > but removing the mould leaves pits and other holes that makes playback > less attractive. We concluded that it's better to leave it alone. > > Sue ************************************************************************** Experience the British Library online at www.bl.uk Help the British Library conserve the world's knowledge. Adopt a Book. www.bl.uk/adoptabook The Library's St Pancras site is WiFI - enabled ************************************************************************** The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this e-mail and notify the [log in to unmask] : The contents of this e-mail must not be disclosed or copied without the sender's consent. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the British Library. The British Library does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. **************************************************************************