RE: Transferring 78s to CD

[Ed Sieb <sieb...>]

Hi Wolf and All,

Here is my contribution to this thread.....

Some Tips on Transcribing Old Recordings.

I?ve forwarded some of the pertinent messages to my friends Al Feder and
Linda Skernick, in
Killingworth, CT.  Al has a production facility that masters CD?s and has
worked with transcribing recordings. Linda is a well known Harpsichordist
and  ex-Klezmer musician herself.
See:    http://www.tinyradio.com/production.html for more info.
(also http://www.tinyradio.com  for the main page, [very interesting])

Now, down to the nitty-gritty.

You?ll need a high quality turntable with 78-RPM speed and an associated
arm/cartridge/stylus suitable for reproducing the 78?s. Generally speaking,
unless the 78 was recorded off-speed, a speed adjustment isn?t necessary.

You?ll feed this into a good quality phono pre-amp or suitable integrated
amp.  You?ll be taking the sound out from the ?tape out? outputs of the
integrated amp or phono preamp. Normally this set up will allow you to
monitor using the amp?s speakers or headphone output.  If using  only a
phono preamp (unlikely) you?ll still need an associated amp to monitor your
?program? material.

The next section may seem a bit pedantic, but I just figure it's best to
know all the options available. Please bear with me.

Now you have to consider three issues:
1)      What do you want to achieve? Are you simply archiving old material or
are your intentions more ambitious, and you want to actually re-master the
old recordings. This will dictate the what equipment you?re going to use
and your choices on the following issues:
2)      noise on the original 78?s
3)      sound quality on the original 78?s (i.e. equalization, tone or
thin-ness)

In the following discussion, I?ve purposely left out any specific
recommendation of equipment,  or software because the choices are
extensive.  As well there are people far more expert than me who can make
specific recommendations suitable to your specific situation. [I?m an RF
engineer, not a recording engineer. The audio guys don?t play with
transmitters, I don?t play with the Eventide, (OK, I do, but only a little
:-} )]

Section 1 -- Noise:
Most semi-pro and pro studios use some kind of ?Rice Krispies? filtering to
remove the clicks, pops and crackle inherent on old analog recordings.
There are several hardware and software solutions to this problem. You have
to consider the end product; are you merely archiving old recordings, or
are you re-mastering the originals.

If you?re merely archiving, then a simple hardware solution will do, There
are several ?boxes? on the market that do a respectable job of removing
most of the pops and crackle on old recordings. These devices remove only
the more egregious pops and clicks, while leaving the quieter ones and some
of the surface hiss intact.  Removing surface hiss is easy and all the
boxes do this, but a too aggressive hiss removal adjustment will destroy
the timbre of percussion.   I can do some basic searches for you and come
up with a list of manufacturers.

If you have no problem with noise, or don?t care about it, you need do
nothing more. Just continue to section 3, the end of the chain.

If you wish to actually re-master the original, then a software solution is
called for, and luckily, there are many excellent noise reduction programs
for the Mac. (In fact, the Mac is the computer of choice for this
industry.)  Using modern software, you can virtually eliminate all the
noise from the original recording.

Section 2 -- Sound Quality:
Again, it depends on what you want to achieve.  For simple archiving, other
than equalization correction, no further ?sweetening? is required.

For Re-mastering, again, you have a choice of hardware or software.
Normally, where the original recording lacks any significant high end or
low-end tonality, a very light application of a harmonizer can be useful to
simply liven up the sound. A delicate touch is required lest you ruin the
sound and add distortion.  Speaking of distortion, unless you want to get
involved with some rather sophisticated software, there is little that can
be done to remove the distortion on old recordings. Some of the distortion
is inherent in the original recording system used. Some distortion is
caused by wear of the grooves of the 78. While this distortion can be
corrected it is time-consuming and requires sophisticated software and a
certain expertise.

Where the original 78 is in good condition with little noise and wear,
careful use of a ?harmonizer? will fill out the high end and freshen the
sound. There is a device called a ?Big Bottom? which helps improve the low
end.  In cases where the bass is a bit subdued on the original recording,
this ?Big Bottom? is used to fill out the bass and low end. Again,
judicious use is called for.  However...

The use of a multi-band equalizer can be useful to boost parts of the sound
spectrum that are lacking fullness in the original. An equalizer is often
easier to use than the "harmonizerr" or "Big Bottom" and will often be
sufficient to correct any minor sonic flaws.

Section 3 -- Finally, at the end of the chain, you have your cleaned up,
corrected,  freshened up source. You can feed this into the line inputs of
your sound card, and record the sound file.  You?ll have to talk to the Mac
experts to determine the best software for generating CD?s on the Mac. As
others have suggested, turn off or remove your microphone to prevent
ambient sounds from being recorded along with your source material

All  this is an ideal, time-and-money is no object scenario. You might wish
to simply record the 78?s as-is, warts, clicks, pops and all right to CD,
but it?s always good to know what options there are.
Best and simplest solution:
Turntable -->preamp/amp(with headphones output) -->equalizer-->sound card.

My apologies if this is long-winded, or too complicated or too simplistic.
I invite other list members to add any comments and/or criticism to this
missive.

Good luck in your endeavour.
Ed Sieb

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