[78-L] 78-L Digest, Vol 24, Issue 27

[Dennis Flannigan]

*A question for the audiophile restoration folks*. I found a 78 Sunday, it
is Listen 1459, Gene Boscacci Trio, vocal by Bonnie Tutmarc (Bonnie Guitar).
Since I'm soon interviewing Bonnie, it was a surprise. Found at Half-Price
books in Tacoma. There are some good country sides there for 1-2 dollars.

That aside. Record appeared in V+ condition until I played it, it jumped
from a one inch deep edge warp. What to do? Ah, Audacity to the rescue. I
recorded the 78 at 45 rpm, then converted with Audacity and got a good
recording. No bumps or jumps. Actually spoke with Bonnie last night and she
remembered recording the two sides as a favor to the songwriter. They are by
any standard, modest recordings.

That said, on to my question. In recording 78s and then using Audacity for
speed correction, have I found more than just taking the warp away, do I
improve the final quality in any other ways? I have some really hammered
Black gospel and R&B records I got recently. Should I record those at
a slower speed and then convert
to 78 rpm? If 45 rpm is good, is 33 rpm better? In short, does slowing the
speed enhance the quality of the final digital recording?

Dennis Flannigan