Resources required

[Benicio Del Toffo]

One of my work colleagues is in a 'Yellow Pages' situation. Her Mum used to sing back in Black & White days and the recordings only exist now on brittle bakelite 78s.

What she would like to do is have these transferred onto CD for posterity. I reckon she'd need to get each disk professionally cleaned, so that would be step A, do you think that's advisable and if so, where would be a good place to take the discs?

As for the 78 - CD transfer, would there be a sound engineer-type place where she could take them, or would it be easier to track down someone with a 78 compatible turntable and a CD recorder?

It's all a bit alien to me as I don't buy anything other than 12" slabs of vinyl and sometimes those little silver discs.

Any help would be appreciated and would make you look extra knowledgable in front of your peers! Plus I'd sort you out with my next set of freebies.

Benicio

[wooly]

ben - probably the best way round this is to seek out a good one-stop solution to the problem, ie, find a good engineering place with the necessary tools to transfer from 78 to cd. as you say, it requires a specialist deck with the right speed and necessary kit to handle the brittle 78s.

she's not going to want a large run of cd's, so finding someone with a "no minimum run" policy is essential too.

i checked out the classifieds in this month's "sound on sound" mag, and notice two companies in particular which might be worth an enquiry.

RMS studios (well established) - do a restoration service. they may handle 78s. you can get them on 020 8653 4965.

also, Sound Cuts seem to offer a similar service - they advertise that one-off cd's are not a problem. you can phone them on 01273 201363.

i dare say there are quite a few more, but these two might be worth a go i reckon. if they can't help, they'll probably recommend someone who can.

[LDJB]

Ben - if you have no joy with the professional route I can copy them straight onto CD for you (yes, my decks go up to 78&#33 but it would be just as it sounds - straight from 78 to cd. Give me a shout if all else fails - I'd be happy to help.

[wooly]

right!!!

well, if lee does that - then passes 'em to me, i can master it a bit.

provided there isn't too much material to sort...

a plan!

[Lord Thames]

A bit late here, but can I recommend the services of a friend of mine?

http://www.videoark.co.uk

Although the site deals mainly with video, she deals with audio too - and does a damn fine job, if I may say so. I think it's worth a try.

[Benicio Del Toffo]

Merci beaucoup to all of you. Bless your little cotton socks.

I'll pass on the info to my colleague and she can make her own mind up.

As for the freebies, I'm gonna do some more eBaying soon, so I'll be sorting out what I need and don't need. Give me a couple of weeks and I'll post up some more goodies requiring just the price of the postage.

Cheers,

Benicio

[theeman]

just on the 'cleaning discs' note - be super-careful with 78s and if you trust anyone with them, make absolutely sure they've really worked with 78s before. use the wrong cleaner and you'll be watching them dissolve.

secondly (just posted about this on soulstrut funnily enough) if you find a pro place that handles 78s, they may be able to offer a selection of 'widths' of needle (often sapphire, which does much less damage than diamond to 78s). wider needles sit higher in the groove and avoid any muck or steel-needle damage in the bottom of the groove.

sometimes this can make the difference between a reasonably listenable and completely trashed recording.

my dad's got loads of old jazz 78s hence the knowledge...

[bongolia]

and if you start talking about *really* old 78s then the RPM starts to vary. it was only standardised in 1910 or something, and only to 78 exactly in the 30s. can't imagine her mum's that old though!

and the really old stylus types are crazy - wood, bamboo, all sorts of things.

as for decks that go up to 78 - you're supposed to change the cartridge first, not just whack the speed up.

[LDJB]

[QUOTE]as for decks that go up to 78 - you're supposed to change the cartridge first, not just whack the speed up. [CODE]

It's OK - I'm standing by with the Bamboo

[bongolia]

good good!

hmm, wonder what to play next...

[Rich Hero]

There you go, showing off your 18" again. I see it's dress down Friday for you, Bongo. And does that mean that I have to change the cartridge on the HandyTrax before I can play 78's

[bongolia]

i suppose so, although a quick needle drop probably wouldn't hurt. a lot of old portables have those funny double sided styluses that you turn round to play 78s...

[bongolia]

i imagine changing a cartridge is a bit of an arse though - or does it have a detachable headshell?