Subscriptions:  If your subscription is unused, or exceeds a balance of $5.00 (USD), and you wish to cancel, Please email Meloware, and we will refund the balance to your credit card. We cannot adjust individual accounts based on specific downloads, so please be careful to save them in a way that you can continue to enjoy them.

  Audio CD Orders:  You may return your CD for refund within 30 days of receiving it. Please notify us of your intentions, and reasons for your dissatisfaction. We will provide you with instructions for returning your CD and will credit back your card or mail you a check when we receive your purchase in undamaged condition.

  When viewing detail title descriptions, you will notice a pair of negative numbers resembling a fraction, beside the ‘Noise Floor’ category. This provides you with an idea of the amount of surface noise which will be heard on the recording. It is a measurement in decibels, and is in the format of (beginning of record)/(end of record). Sound energy is measured in units, called decibels (dB). Zero is defined as the loudest sound possible. A sound which is -3dB will be half as loud as maximum volume. A sound at -6dB is one quarter as loud. Noise levels in the teens will be quite noticeable, Levels in the minus 20’s will be very quiet. It should be understood that before 1910, the commercial record industry was still in it’s infancy. Higher levels of surface noise were a natural limitation in the technology. This is not normally an indication of record wear. New records of this time would have less than 30dB of dynamic range (compared to 90dB for a modern CD). We have also tried to provide a record grading system (E, V+, etc.), but this is very subjective. We hope that a combination of both gives a good representation of a record's condition.

  Our record grading system is a bit different from other sites you may have visited. This is a grading for the restored recording, not the condition of the source record. Many of these original discs may have had skips, loud ‘chunks’ and cracks, or pronounced scratches. Many hours have been spent correcting as many of these defects as possible, and will not be heard when playing these titles. Even so, there are still limitations on just how much can be done. Gradings of ‘E’ will usually represent a recording with no groove wear, but may have a varying degree of surface scratches and impulse noise. An ‘E’ record will sound very clean and is extremely desirable among collectors. The plus and minus signs indicate an improvement or lessening of this basic grade. Gradings of ‘V’ indicates that there will be some groove wear present. Record wear is first noticeable on peak volumes. More extensive wear tends to damage the higher tones (harmonics) of a recording. A grading of ‘V++’ may have only slight deterioration in the loudest tones. Groove wear in a ‘V’ grade record will be noticeable through the entire record, but will still be playable. Please understand that this grading system is only an opinion, and not an actual measured value, like the noise floor numbers.

  Almost never! We don't like it. There is still no method we have found which will remove large amounts of surface noise, without carving into the higher overtones in the sound. Even light amounts of noise reduction often leaves behind strange and annoying audible artefacts. Besides, we have a duty not to mess with history, and represent treasures of the past in a condition they never existed in. The human ear and mind learns to filter out meaningless information. As you listen to acoustic records, your mind will quickly adjust and collect the entertainment more easily. After all, you still can understand someone speaking to you while it’s raining, can’t you?
  The only time we use noise reduction is as a very selective restoration tool. ‘Swishing’ noise, caused by an off-center record being played with worn needles, can be improved by a very limited, momentary use of noise reduction.

  Glad you asked. We are fortunate to own several Western Electric 4A phonograph reproducing heads. These were in common use during the 1920’s in radio stations and theatres. There are a number of exciting reasons why this 80 year old instrument still can produce better transcriptions than most modern equipment. For all the gory technical details, read our article here.
  The Western Electric 4A also produces a tremendous amount of audio signal, so there is no need for added amplification, which often will add more noise and distortion. We record directly to a computer, using a professional sound card, which is set to 24 bit sampling at a recording rate of 44.1 Khz. The resulting restoration is then converted to standard CD format.
  One added note about the final product. These restored recordings are filtered. Rumble sounds in the lower frequency range (and below any actual sound from the original recording) are removed. Rumble sound is mostly caused from an uneven record surface. The highest band of noise is also filtered. We have never heard any meaningful tones above 10Khz, and cutting out everything above this makes a quieter performance. Indeed, 95% of all the sounds are below 4Khz. Other people doing this kind of work will cut their higher frequencies much closer to this lower number. We have also tried this, and don’t like it. That ‘air’ above the highest tones of the record keeps the audience from feeling like they are listening in a damp closet! We want you to hear everything these old discs had to offer.

  1. When you subscribe to this site, your account is given Mp3 downloading privileges, which is based on the amount you paid. The status of your account is measured in minutes of the actual playing time of the recordings. It has nothing to do with how long it takes to get a download. More details about the Mp3s and download instructions are available here.

  2. CD audio customers build their disks online, placing any combination of titles they wish on the CD.  Your order is downloaded from our website, and your unique CDs are produced with your selections.  Each high quality CD-R is simply identified with a marker, placed in a slimline jewel case, and a printed title list is included.

We use archival quality MAM-A Silver CD-R disks to produce your compilation. These CD-R disks have been carefully manufactured to tolerate damaging heat and handling. MAM-A´s phthalocyanine dye technology allows for superior and stable recordings, compatible with the widest range of various CD players. The manufacturer claims that these disks will be readable for at least 100 years, when stored at room temperature.

  3. Hundreds of hours of audio engineering, recording and restoring the originals with the best technical tools, expertise, and dedication we can offer.

  4. Thirty plus years of hunting in flea markets, antique shops, auctions, annoying old people, contributions from other collectors, heavy lifting, storage costs, to be able to find and maintain some of the rarest commercial recordings, still in existence.