78rpm Victor Home Recording discs...

[SteveinAlaska]

OK, I'm the guy that is transferring 78rpm records to CD. I have been given the opportunity to transfer some historical home recordings done here in Fairbanks,Alaska in 1932.One of the pioneer aviators did these in his home.They are 6-inch Victor Home Recording discs that play for no more then 2 minutes each. (Glad I retired last January as it looks like I have about 30 of these to work with)

I tricked out my Dual 1019 with a Stanton 500 V3 cartridge and am using a set of assorted styli that come from Esoteric Sound. But my gear is not the question........question is has anyone tried working with OLD home recordings like this??

Any help, advice, thoughts, comments welcome.

 

[cusebassman]

Those needles are quite daunting... I know you need to use such a needle on a 78, but at the same time, I wonder if home recording discs wear faster during repeat playback given that they had to be soft to be "written to" to begin with (at least I assume that's how they would've worked)

 

[Tim Gillett]

This is probably not the right forum for such questions. There is an ANALOG ONLY forum further down the page but they are mostly interested in tape, and making new recordings rather than transcribing old ones.

I've done some of this 78rpm work .
You obviously know more than most as you have equipped yourself with a set of (I assume) various radius styli which should cover what discs you have hopefully. There are elliptical as well as conical styli. Elliptical come into their own on the inner grooves and to better resolve high frequencies.

Cleaning the discs, and with the correct materials and techniques is a really important first step. Dont use alcohol on shellac discs!

Experts select the stylus for best fit to the particular groove, using a microscope where necessary to examint the groove. Tracking weight and bias compensation are of course also important.

Your discs look in good condition from the photos which is a help.

Do you have a decent turntable? The Dual may be "OK" but it may also add some rumble and/or hum. Many Dual models used rim drive, which could be "OK" when new but as the rubber idler aged and hardened a lot of noise could get transmitted.

Do you have a good audio interface? Dont go straight into the standard mic of line inputs on a PC or laptop.

A few tips to start with. I'll see if I can find a few websites with all the good oil on them.

Cheers Tim

 

[SteveinAlaska]

Thanks for the heads up on which thread to post to facepalm:noob mistake!) Actually working with 2 Duals, an ancient 1002F which I have done a bunch of DIY mods since I salvaged it from a flood damaged console(but that's another story). I been kicking around the vintage audio, antique radio hobby long enough to eyeball & take chances on used gear so it working out there.
Just downloaded the trial package of DiamondCut 8 restoration software and will give it a try in the AM with the first pot of coffee. This software has a speed change feature means I may try my Rek-O-Kut N33H with the Shure stereo arm & cartridge.

So I think I got most bases covered