RE: 78 transfers

[Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <yiddish...>]

Dear Matt, Shirli, and Brian,

Thank you very much for your responses and advice.  I very much appreciate 
it.

I realize that I didn't name the problem properly in my earlier post.  The 
problem is not a hum that improper grounding causes, but rather the 
scratchy noises that 78's have.  (We know how to deal with hums - that is, 
once the damn record player is hooked up.)  I would like to get rid of the 
scratchiness when I transfer the 78's onto cassettes or CD's.  My husband, 
Josh Waletzky, who has 25 years of professional experience in dealing with 
scratchy 78 recordings in his historical documentaries, says that getting 
rid of the scratchiness without losing the quality of the signal requires 
very expensive professional equipment.  Yes, you can get rid of the 
"noise", but then you will also lose some of the signal, i.e., the voice, 
if you do it on your home stereo, he says.  Using a preamplifier can help, 
but you will still lose part of the range of the voice/music signal, he   
says.  He himself has performed this music transfer in studios several 
times, but it is very an expensive proposition, requiring very expensive 
equipment.  Even professional sound editors don't buy this kind of 
expensive equipment for their editing rooms, but rely on the paid services 
of professional studios.  I was hoping that, since so many new mp3 players, 
home CD-ROM writers, digital recorders, and other audio products have come 
on the market in the last 2 years, that someone here might know of some 
new, affordable solution for home use.  If it available now but not 
affordable yet, I will wait to get this project going in a year or two.  (I 
am already waiting 15 years.)  Some people may be willing to give up some 
of the voice quality to get rid of the "noise", but I am still trying to 
see if such a compromise can be avoided.  We own at least 200 Jewish 78's 
and hundreds of LP's.  Several Yiddish groups I know are trying to figure 
out the same problem.  And gaining a new closet has suddenly become a very 
useful idea.

It would be great if anyone learns about such a new product would let us 
know about it.  I am sure that lots of Jewish Internet radios will also be 
interested in solving this problem.


Reyzl


----------
From:  Mattflight (at) aol(dot)com [SMTP:Mattflight (at) aol(dot)com]
Sent:  Saturday, November 10, 2001 1:27 AM
To:  World music from a Jewish slant
Subject:  Re: 78 transfers

Reyzl, to answer you question on how to get rid of hum.  I haven't heard 
your
results off your turntable, but hearing the word hum makes me think that it 
is not the 78 but something electrical. This is were a spectrum analyzer
comes in handy.
    The current in America is at 60hz. I am guessing that the hum that you
are hearing is at interval or one of the octaves above it (60hz, 120hz,
240hz, 480hz, etc.). I would first to make sure that your stereo system is
plugged into AC power strip like you plug a computer into. Also make sure
that all of your RCA cables are in good shape.
    It could also be your record player and 78 needle that are creating 
this
noise. It is best to get the majority of the noise out of the way before 
you
try to clean anything up with an EQ or computer program.




How do you get rid of the 78 hum?



Matt Temkin - Mattflight (at) aol(dot)com
    Assistant Archivist; Klezmer Conservatory Foundation
    Jewish Music Percussionist


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