[Dixielandjazz] Transfering 78s >> T'aint Simple But A Fun Challenge

[D and R Hardie]

Hi  Again,
Sound Studio can also change Pitch.
Dan Hardie
On Sunday, April 9, 2006, at 08:37  AM, D and R Hardie wrote:

> Hi all
> Audacity does have the capacity to change pitch
> Dan Hardie
> On Sunday, April 9, 2006, at 12:08  AM, BudTuba at aol.com wrote:
>
>>
>> In a message dated 4/7/2006 10:32:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>> anton.crouch at optusnet.com.au writes:
>>
>> The  procedure is to record the 78 disc to the computer at 45 rpm and 
>>  then
>> correct the pitch using an audio editor. I don't know if CoolEdit  
>> and/or
>> Audacity have this capacity but some editors certainly do. The  
>> process
>> assumes that the signal is coming to the computer pre-amplified and
>> equalised.
>>
>> If you are (dare I use the word?) an audiophile, you may  also want to
>> correct the equalisation error introduced by the 45 to 78  process.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Even IF you have a turntable with 78 RPM speed, recording the old  
>> 78's at 45
>> RPM is has advantages because the dynamics of turntable  buffeting the
>> tonehead back and forth and the intensities of clicks increases  with 
>> speed.  The
>> frequencies of noise due to scratches and worn grooves is  also 
>> relatively
>> constant regardless of speed so when the frequency is restored  back 
>> up by
>> converting back by a 78/45 ratio, many of those sounds  disappear in 
>> the upper end and
>> can be further reduced by equalization  filters.  (Anyone wanting to 
>> know the
>> exact steps I take with Cool Edit can  contact me offline for 
>> instructions
>> and samples.)
>>
>> One might argue that playing the 78's at 45 RPM makes the low end 
>> suffer,
>> but I have not found that to be the case as long as you have decent 
>> cartridge on
>>  the tonearm.  The 78's were limited at the low end to about 150
>> cycles/second and that becomes (45/78)*150 = 86 cps which is well 
>> above the  response
>> range of hi-fi cartridges.
>>
>> Another factor in transferring 78's is how to best remove scratches 
>> and
>> digs.  I have found that recording in stereo is anther prudent choice 
>>  because
>> even though 78's were monophonic, some defects will affect one side  
>> of the
>> groove more than the other.  Therefore in some cases, just copying  
>> the clearer
>> side of the stereo tracks to both tracks can make garbled passages  
>> sound better.
>>  Cool Edit has a good scratch filter, but the time to apply  it can 
>> be fairly
>> extensive.  Consider that a 3 minute recording becomes  5.20 minutes 
>> long as
>> recorded at 45 RPM, the removal of scratches and digs  (which is done
>> mathematically by the program inchworming only and looking at the  
>> waveform), can take
>> several minutes longer than the 5 minutes depending on how  high you 
>> set the
>> discrimination level.  Of course, this depends on the  speed at which 
>> your
>> computer can operate, but as a rule of thumb, if you record  at 
>> 44,100 cps and
>> your computer operates at 500 mHz and 10 instructions of code  are 
>> required by
>> the computer to assess one sample of the groove and more  
>> instructions to
>> remove one scratch once encountered (my guess) then your  computer is 
>> inchworming
>> along the groove at 50 mHz or approximately at same rate  that your 
>> recording
>> was laid down. (50,000 cps ~ 44,100 cps).  A 78  with a lot of noise 
>> takes
>> longer than one that is quiet.
>>
>> Consequently, I looked around for other programs for removing  
>> scratches and
>> clicks and found Ray Gun Pro.  This works on a different  engineering
>> principle called Fourier transform applicationand finds the defects  
>> faster than
>> inchworming.  Again, one needs to experiment to determine the  best 
>> settings, but I
>> have found that by setting the scratch removal part of Ray  Gun at 50 
>> percent
>> maximum, that the proof sound of the desired recording sounds  
>> minimally
>> changed by the Ray Gun algorithms.  This is conveniently done by  
>> pressing the
>> PROOF button and listening back and forth with and without the  
>> algorithm
>> applied.  Used in this fashion, Ray Gun leaves a few scratches  that 
>> still need to be
>> removed by Cool Edit, but many of those are visually  apparent as 
>> thin spikes
>> when you look at the waveform and can be removed  manually or again
>> automatically by Cool Edit, this time working on a cleaner  recording.
>>
>> Finally, my take on EQUALIZATION:  I tend to use equalization  with 
>> the goal
>> of making the recording as pleasing to me as possible rather  than a 
>> strict
>> adherence to restoration.  Especially in the early days of  
>> recording, people
>> expected a rather thin sound from their records made and  played 
>> acoustically.
>> So I suppose that trying to create a resultant that  duplicates that 
>> total
>> aural response may be technically correct.  However,  there is sonic 
>> signal  that
>> can be differentially amplified by  equalization curves to sound more 
>> like
>> the sound in the recording room must  have been.  Of course, one 
>> man's pleasure
>> can be another's poison, but I  find that raising the low frequencies 
>> from 100
>> cps to about 400 and then  flattening off the response to about 10000 
>> cps
>> will enhance the final product  for me then rapidly lowering the 
>> response over
>> 10000 cps.  This also takes  experimentation and even asking unbiased 
>> listeners
>> to pick which resultant they  like best (if you are attempting to 
>> produce CDs
>> for further distribution to  others).  I suspect Dick Broadie spent 
>> many an
>> hour tweaking knobs for the  excellent restorations he has made with 
>> reliving
>> the experience of listening to  the early bands had they been 
>> recorded with
>> modern equipment.
>>
>>
>> Roy (Bud) Taylor
>> Smugtown Stompers Jazz Band
>> 'we ain't just  whistlin' dixie!"
>> 585-415-3985  Cell
>>
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>