78rpm: a guide to playback 

Anyone else feel like his voice is very soothing

I'm an Audiophile (Not an Audiosnob!) and I enjoy your Videos Very Much! You spend Quality time sharing analog formats and at times Digital, But what really makes ALL your Videos enjoyable is how you articulate each explanation from Your Perspective (What You Enjoy/Like about a Recorded Format, Audio Equipment or Tune! Thank you! Great stuff!

It's not millimeter!!!!!!!!!! It's mil which is 1/1000 inch. It has a 3 mil groove which means 0.003 inch.

I was really looking forward to hearing the battered Caruso record you kept teasing us with. As an avid 78 collector and uploader I appreciate anything that can help in bringing out the best in especially early records, my earliest is 1898.

I'm taking a drink every time he says 'typology.'

I play my 78's with steel needles on my vintage 1927 Victrola and my 1918 Brunswick phonograph. And they sound wonderful.

They sound really good especially the last record.

I just purchased a 1908 victer victrola, there is a gentleman who restores them and I cannot wait until I pick it up, definitely a piece a Jersey history

OH MY GOODNESS. I waited half an hour through your very informative and enjoyable video to finally hear the record>>>> WOW. MAGNIFICENT. I AM IN LOVE WITH THAT GORGEOUS RICH SOUND!! Thank you for sharing and making these great videos!. I just came upon some 78's. My entire vinyl collection was destroyed a few years ago and I am slowly rebuilding. What a beautiful sound!.

I really like your explanations about 78 rpm records. You are surrounded by records and I am in perfect harmony with a similar one I am 70 years old and music, whatever the format, has been a daily pleasure since my childhood . Bravo, you are a good guy and I salute you from France! Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!

*Italian mobster voice* “Say ‘typology’ one more time, I dare you!”

i have a modern 78 rpm on the Rivermont label. They do swing, dance and other 1930's big band type songs. The one I have is "Down in the Gallion" by Andy Schumm and his flatland gang. It was recorded in 2019, as it states this on the record. It is micro-groove and in stereo. Sounds unbelievable! The label of the record is designed to have that "30's" look to it. Even the paper sleeve looks like the period too.

Today's 78 should be far superior to any 33 1/2rpm because of the speed and the frequencies available at that speed. But let's not spit on the sound quality of the old ones. The sound capture of those days made from a single microphone was pretty impressive. The sound engineer's of the day knew what they were doing. And amazing work has been done by remastering engineers of today of restoring these recordings to pristine sound. A fine example of this is the complete reissue on cd by RCA of all known recordings of the Benny Goodman trio and quartet of 1936-37. Fabulous! The restoration was so good I almost couldn't believe I was listening to a recording from that era. Check it out. If you like classic jazz of this type, you will be astounded!

Get your greasy fingers off the grooves!

i was so interesting, never ever think that will be so interested in old records:)

I think I played The McGuire Sisters' Endless about 20 times from your video - gave me goosebumps. It's the best sounding version on RU-vid :D Anyways, I'll be trying to add it to my collection. So far I only have USSR 78 rpm's.

Despite the little kid crying in the background, this is one of my favorite videos.

That Lead Belly would be awesome to own! Congrats on getting that.

Some years ago I posted a video demonstrating the effect of using different styli on a 1940s 78rpm. In the first half of Part 1, I played the entire side using a stylus intended for stereo LP records. You can hear the stylus bouncing around, as it is way too small for wide groove. In the second half of Part 1, I played the same side but with the correct 3mil 78rpm stylus. In Part 2, I played it with an even larger 3.5mil stylus, and then again using a 4mil ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fLVyePWXmYk.html

Very informative and quite thorough. I was not aware of the existence of the Stanton styli set for 78rpm records nor the Rek-o-Kut's equalization preamplifier. Both are very useful budget tools.

I like your mentions of "Typolgy" English is a fuzzy language and you do well with your using of it.

Really great video so far. Look forward to watching the rest of it soon.

I have quite a few 78's and a Dual 1229 3-speed turntable, M75 cartridge with N75-3 stylus for 78's and DM103ME which I believe is Dual's number for the Shure M91ED cartridge for the rest. My most prized 78 is Anton Karas playing 'The Harry Lime Theme' and 'Cafe Mozart Waltz' from the film 'The Third Man'.

Really like your video! I can really appreciate anyone like yourself, who would be passionate enough about this subject, to make a video, on the proper set-up to use, to get the best listening experience out of one's 78rpm collection! Kudos on that!! Btw; the artists name is pronounced "Led" Belly, with a "short E" sound, just like the metal of the same name and spelling. Ron

So i could play a 78 on a turntable with the 33/45/78 speeds, only changing the stylus?

Thanx a lot pal, great lesson of 78s now I know enough thanx again!!!!!!keep spinning

Very interesting (a bit long) video, thank you. I was blown away by the "album" history, never heard about it. Although I won't be buying 78s, it was interesting to see and hear the old ones.

I think there are a few things that were not sufficiently addressed but which you did touch upon and some that were not mentioned that would make a second episode very worthwhile. One thing that was not mentioned which to me is very important is the whole issue of handling, storing, buying and posting. Shellac records, unlike vinyl, were not designed to be posted, at least not nowadays when people have no idea how to package them and most mail handlers don't giving a dime about properly handling a package. If the sender packages a few shellac records as if they were vinyl records, they will certainly arrive in multiple fragments . There are videos/websites on how these should be packaged for postage but some of them are at best offering very optimistic advice. Similar caveats apply when buying crates of these a yard sale and then proceed to stick them in your car's boot without a proper container/care: you'll end up breaking some or most of them. The other things that were touched upon were the importance of having the correct styli and cartridges and it was correctly pointed out that not all are equal or suitable for all 78rpm records. The wrong stylus can damage the sensitive shellac, particularly if a modern stylus made for playing microgroove or even long play records is used. These have a much smaller diamond tip which bury itself down at the bottom of the groove and cause a lot of damage. Vice versa, if a stylus made for shellacs is used on a modern vinyl 78rpm, it will likely ruin it too. There maybe old vinyl 78rpm records out there that are not cut as microgroove so one must know what it is. Finally, the steel needles used on gramophones, just as sapphire tip cartridges were designed to wear out as they are played on shellac because shellac wears out with playing. On the other hand, diamond tipped styli which won't wear out anywhere near as fast but you can bet it'll be the shellac record that will be worn out sooner, particularly if the stylus manufacturer's usage guidelines are not adhered to. If in doubt, just play your shellac on a old gramophone rather than a modern deck - you might be positively surprised!

Wow, they sound great on your turntable with the proper stylus. I actually love listening to 78's on the old wind up fully analog machines, and I'm an obsessive audiophile. There is something amazing about hearing them how were listened to back then, and also it is surprising how they can actually sound with a good reproducer. Some of them sound very cool. You can even use natural materials for the needles so you won't damage the grooves of the records if that is a worry.

I heard some squealing in the background. What typologies of progeny does you have?

I enjoyed watching this too. Thank you.

The Smithsonian Institution's IRENE system [Image Reconstruct Eliminate Noise Enhance] or the ELP Laser Turntable can really extract 100% of the music on these discs with MUCH greater fidelity and less noise/distortion*, than with conventional stylus playback, *provided that the records are CLEAN.

The presented Coral "Endless" record was issued in Germany by Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft in 1956, transfered and cut from the original US mastertape with the german pre RIAA-curve "CCIR"/"Teldec", with a significant difference in the rolloff (3180 Hz !).

I thoroughly enjoyed this video!

we had a player which needed a spring wound up by inserting a lever on side ... the wound up spring released its energy by a mechanism which controlled speed to 78 rpm ... we had a small collection of bollywood songs and last record we had bought was a film *upkar* (1967) song *mere desh ki dharti* ... our prime minister lal bahadur shashtri had just concluded a war with pakistan and upkar was a patriotic film ... a neighbour lent us a few 78s ... one of which was bobby darin's *come september* ... soon after i saw a record of a *ganga jamuna* (1961) song *do hanso ka joda* being played on a 45 rpm record which i am sure must be a reissue of same song which was issued in 1961 as a 78 rpm record ... many bollywood songs needed to use both sides to complete ... for example we had a song from *mughal e azam* (1960) *zindabad zindabad ei muhabbat zindabad* which needed both sides ... most bollywood songs were published as pairs taking one side each ... for example we had a record of two songs *ae jane jigar aese main agar* and *loji bujh gayi bijli pyar ki* from *mehlon ke khwab* (1960)

this video quality is nice

So early records were made from 'bug shit', that's just crazy

I was searching for 78 stuff and then a Kitty, Daisy and Lewis record appears on the thumbnail, so I had to click

Sir, Thanks for showing off the Polydor 78 rpm record.

When you play a pre 1950's record with a later player, the equalization is wrong. The time before, when they cut the record, they used a low cut filter below 200 Hz and didn't boost the treble. In the 1950's, the low cut filters below 500 Hz and high frequencies will be boosted. So the 1950's or later player boosts low mids too much and eliminate high frequencies.

This is great information, thanks!!!!

Quick trick to play vertical-cut records: you'll need a stereo cartridge with the larger 3-mil stylus. Reverse the leads on either the left or right channel then use a mono switch if you have one.

By way of clarification - it's quite in order to use the cartridge supplied with modern day equipment as long as you fit a stylus specifically designed to play 78rpm. In addition you may wire the cartridge for mono - who wants stereo surface noise...

I like your technical experience and recommendations.And your equipment is nice,grade A.I think you have to be careful not to drop those 78s.I heard that they shatter.

Internet Archive is in the process of digitizing thousands of 78 records.

Cool, he sounds like father Guido Sarducche on Saturday nite live in the 1970s.

MGM started 78rpm in 1946 until 1959 in US CANADA and UK. INDIA 78rpm was until 1964

the tango record sounds Amazing

Very interesting and informative video

there are times when you will want a STEREO cartridge and playback, for example if you have one groove more worn than the other. with a mono cartridge you can't choose a groove, you have to take them both. there are also times when you want a larger-than-spec stylus so it will ride higher above most of the record wear. and for some records a conical stylus works a bit better than an elliptical.

My channel is nearing 2000 uploads. Loads of 78s and phonographs! Good video!!

Very cool. 🎶🎺🎶

A good compromise for someone on a lower budget is to get an ordinary cartridge but with a 78 stylus (I got an Audio Technica AT91 cartridge, which was supplied with a 78 stylus). Then either wire it for mono or simply press the mono button on your amp (if it has one). I track it at the recommended 2 grams for that cartridge. As for equalisation, as I'm not aiming for an exact reproduction, but simply one that 'Sounds OK', I simply use a graphic equaliser to balance the sound to what sounds best for me. It won't be perfect, but you can get a reasonable sound for minimal cost.

Nicely done...appreciate the video. As for the 2 year old snarky comment by Abcde...grow up!

That was interesting. Thank you very much.

There was a record store day real se of one of the songs by the beach boys that plays at 78 rpm and a vinyl reissue of an Elvis record that plays at 78 as well.

I'm a little curious as to why he advocates elliptical styli (of which there are so few for 78s) but then also says he's gotten the best results with an AT-MONO3SP which has a conical stylus. Then again, cartridges and styli are fairly subjective with the exception of LY styli not reading old 78s properly due to sinking to the bottom of the groove.

Vintage Music Company, Mpls. 38th st and Cedar. Players, repairs and thousands of 78s. A treasure house and encyclopedic owner.

- Does 78rpm vinyls in microgroove (same as normal 33rpm/45rpm) exist ? - If so, do we still need a spécial cartridge/special head ? - which one is better : heavy shellac or vinyls (78rpm) ?

I have a 1928 HMV electric Victrola. I recently found a 10 inch 78 audiodisc blank recording of my grandparents' wedding, but the surface is too soft to be played on my Victrola..the needle causes immediate damage. Does anyone know how to listen to it?

for real-time declicking, nothing beats the CEDAR DeClickle process.

I heard, that shellacc records from the late 1940's till the end will play the best with the 1950's stylus (65 µm), records before this with 90 µm, acoustic records with 120 µm and Edison Diamond Discs with no paper label plays good with the micro groove standard 25 µm, later paper label with 65 µm. When a record is worn or possibly glued, it plays the best on an early electric record player with exchangeable steel needles.

Very informative video. Well done. Keep up the tempo.

where does one purchase the stylus kit, (links) that's pretty cool.

It's pronounced "Led" Belly. Lead, like the chemical element. Like Lead paint. Lead Belly. It's also pronounced R.I.A.A, where you just say the letters. I don't think anyone tries to sound it out like a word.

Amazing Video Thank Youuu!!

32:53 There's a video about a jukebox, what plays 45 and 78 with the same stylus. It recognize the speed by the center hole.

Can you show us your full set in order to head 78 rpm record? (Turntable, needle, pre amp, amp, speakers, any software interface, computer, connections, etc) Thank you

I have a decca 66, works fantastic but would like new recordings to play on the gramophone.

On the audio technica lp120, can I just change the stylus for rare 78 rpm record playing or do I have to change the cartridge also? BTW - great videos

I like the the first one Endless

Great video, I found you when YT recommended the Pink Floys digital vs analogue comparison, now I have subscribed To add to the knowledge base: a lot of records that get called '78s' are to be played at 80 rpm- Columbia used that speed forquite a while ISTR it was a patents issue.

The Lead Belly record was probably made in the early to mid 1940's and the light weight tonearm with a sapphire needle didn't come out until 1948. The old heavy needles (known as diggers) that would have been used to play it was all they had back then. This of course would result in a lot of groove damage resulting in sound distortion after multiple plays. Old 78's were expected to wear out after so many plays and at some point you would have to replace the record. This is why you should never play a decent condition 78 record on an old vintage record player, especially those made before WW2.

A little set of styluses that cost over $600. And a $2500 preamp for special equalisation.

How to find how old is your 78 rpm shellac vinyl

- Which one has the highest dynamics : 45 RPM or 78 RPM ? - And for the quality of the record, Can we find 78 RPM as good as, or better than good 45 RPM vinyls ?

sounds like you escaped doing the dishes again.

This is the world’s biggest request; those 12 inch 78 r.p.m. microgroove stereo vinyl single records should have hundreds of thousands of recordings from the late’50’s to today, even from all record labels, including the stereo version of Come To Me by Johnny Mathis from 1958.

You are using the word typology waaaay too much.

28:45 Doing the tango with my dog. Lol

What is the cheapest easiest way to listen to 78 rpm records??

Why can't I hear more than the first few bars of the actual song on that last record? Sounds like ska and I would've liked to hear a but more!

I have some 78 shellac records. When I play them they all have to varying degrees loud noise that sounds like bacon frying. What causes that? Anything I can do to deal with it?

I have a few Electrically Recorded Broadcast Long Playing 10 inch Shellac record.. Would love to get some information on this format!

I thought, they used for cutting the master wax (therefore dead wax) and for the record itself before shellac hard rubber.

Ortofon M Mono cart is a dream.

2:00 3mm groove in 78s and 1mm groove in 33rpm vinyl??? Measure it for yourself. 78s have about 0.026mm groove pitch and 33rpm vinyl in the region of 0.0098mm groove pitch (often variable). . Reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph_record#Shellac "Typology" is a system or the study of dividing a group of things into smaller groups according to the similar qualities they have, often in a theological context. It does not mean "type".

They had a Blind Lemon Jefferson 78 record come out last week on Record Store Day (11-18-18)

You are not accurate by saying that the "Kitty" album is the only 78rpm album released recently. Historic Masters have been releasing 'box sets' of 78rpms for many years. See their website.

Don't play dirty records and FGS brush you stylus between albums. How do you set your azimuth so easily with a cart change? It takes me hours to get it right.

This is a great record Is it out on CD or spotify

Hello can , you play a 78 RPM Record, Pavarotti ?

you do a super great job thx a lot

Stylus sizes are in mils, not millimeters.

How much do the styli last for? Is it true that they get ruined after a couple plays?

I guess that the maximum time limit for those 12 inch 78 r.p.m. microgroove stereo single vinyl records, is at most 10 minutes.

This is very interesting because I recently came across a full 12", red vinyl box set, but they payed at 78 rpm! I'm wondering if I should use a heavier tracking force (because of the high speeds) or if I should use a lighter tracking force (because it's vinyl and not shellac)

Weeyud. Totally like Weeyud. By the way, stop putting your fingers on the grooves. Your fingers have oils in them that deteriorate both shellac and vinyl.

Hudie Ledbetter’s name was pronounced led-belly. You misuse the word typology so much that I wanted to scream! It is simply TYPE of this or that! Get a copy of H.W. Fowler’s “Modern English Usage” as revised by Sir Ernest Gowers, and read Gowers’ article on “abstractitis”.

So, do you plan on doing something like this for earlier recordings like all the old Edison cylinders?