Hi PappyCain
Yep, quite agree with your comments, but also bear in mind that at the time, the records were brand new (or pretty new). I'm old enough to have actually bought 78s at the time of release (omg -
that old!) and we didn't buy them covered in scratches lol. Anyway - I haven't removed ALL the surface noise, there's still that very slight hiss that you could hear from the needle. (Bamboo or steel for this one dad?

)