[78-L] Acoustic disc playback speed?

[Jim Shulman]

Unfortunately, Victors are all over the map--it's not possible to pin them
down to a specific era for a uniform speed.  The best results come from your
own ear and pitching.

Jim Shulman
Wynnewood, PA


-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Dave at Audio Tech
Transfer
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 3:45 PM
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
Subject: [78-L] Acoustic disc playback speed?

Greetings from Wyoming,

One of my biggest frustrations with playing acoustic discs is trying to
determine correct playback speed.  I'm aware of the advice to listen for
certain notes, judge whether they're sharp or flat and adjust accordingly.
Which doesn't help as I'm not a trained musician and I don't have a clue.  I
think I can get pretty close with recordings that have singing or voices,
but instrumentals are a real challenge.

In doing research on various websites devoted to 78s, I've found advice
(which varies) but often cites these guidelines:

Victor (early acoustics to 1909)          71.29 RPM
Victor (later acoustics 1909-1925)      76.59 RPM
Columbia (acoustic)                          80.00 RPM

The general consensus seems to be that Edison DD are 80 RPM and they do
sound correct at that speed.

I'm just not sure about the Victors and Columbias though, and I don't trust
my ears completely.  I'm currently transferring a large number of my 78s to
WAV files in preparation for a radio show I'll be doing at a local college
station.  So I'm understandably concerned about accuracy.  I also have the
occasional customer bring old acoustic discs for transfer to digital, so
customer needs are a consideration as well.

Any tips on arriving at correct speed would be appreciated.  I'm using
Technics direct drive turntables for playback, so I've got capability to
adjust pitch within a +/- 9.9% range.

Thanks,
Dave aka Cactus Cowboy              
_______________________________________________
78-L mailing list
78-L at klickitat.78online.com
http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l