wjm@lcuxc.UUCP (B. Mitchell) (05/02/85)
Several thoughts on the playing of old records (78's in particular, although
much of this would also apply to old LP's).
First, for a mono recording sum the left and right channels together - if your
preamp/receiver doesn't have a mono or L+R switch, you can always use a "Y"
connector (available from Radio Shack) - you want one with one male and two
female phono plugs/jacks. Connect as follows:
Left channel from turntable -------------->>---\\
\\------ one preamp
/ phono input
Right channel from turntable-------------->>---/
The only problem with this is that unless your preamp/receiver has a left only
or right only input, you'll only get output from the one channel you connected
the "Y" connector to. If this bothers you, get a second "Y" connector
(one female, two male phono plugs/jacks this time) and use it to feed the
output of the first "Y" connector into both preamp phono inputs.
Second, be sure to clean both the records and the stylus frequently, since
older records may have more accumulated gunk in the grooves.
Third, if you have a large collection of older records consider a conical
stylus that is designed for playing them. Most modern hyper-elliptical, line-
trace, Shibata, etc designs are optimized for the stereo LP and may not work
as well with older mono recordings. Stanton used to make special stylii for
their cartridges and other cartridge makers may do so as well.
Fourth, single ended noise reduction systems (like the dbx nBX series of
equipment - do NOT confuse with dbx tape or dbx encoded disk noise reduction
which is an encode/decode (compress/expand) system and is totally different -
or DNR) can be useful in removing mild or moderate cases of noise, but are
useless when the noise is of the same level as the signal.
Fifth, a bit of creative EQ can be used to remove high levels of noise in
a particular frequency band, particularly if there is little or no music there.
Parametric EQ's are probably better for this than graphic ones, since you
can set the filter frequency right where the noise is. However, I've managed
to clean up some rather noisy older releases from a notorious West Coast based
record company with my Audio Control C-101 (a very nice 10 band graphic unit).
There probably is no one technique that works in all cases - this is still
an area which is more of an art than a science - good luck!
Regards,
Bill Mitchell ({ihnp4!}lcuxc!wjm)