Playing 78rpm records using modern turntable and cartrodge 

What a fantastic video! I’ve got a good sized collection of 78’s some BBC boxed sets bought for pennies and even on a poor setup, they sound amazing...if I were to do what you’ve done, I think they would sound utterly superb! Thanks for sharing

5:59 Your turntable has a pitch that can go 50% which means it can play a 16⅔ RPM records by setting the speed at 33⅓ RPM with pitch -50%.

What an informative and enjoyable video....gives food for thought :-)

Great advice finally! thanks for a true 78 lover.

Excellent video Matthew - how refreshing to hear your advice on cartridges for 78rpm. It stands to reason that the cartridge will reproduce whatever it is presented with - therefore if it is fitted with a stylus designed to play 78rpm you're sorted. There's too much jargon these days about equalisation, elliptical, spherical and the rest. I use Shure cartridges that are 40+ years old fitted with 78rpm stylii. They are fitted to modern day and latter day turntables and wired for mono with the tracking adjusted accordingly - and that's it. The results I achieve are as good as any I have heard elsewhere. Keep up the good work.!

I use a Stanton 500 with three size needle tips! My 3.0 is the VERY Best for My 78`s! Including EDISON! Strangely by accident I found out I get the best play for EDISON DD Records with one of the cartridge wires removed! So I put a switch on My turntable that I turn off when I want to Play a EDISON, Or a Pathe`! I had to make a Needle for Pathe` Records by using a sapphire ball that was on a rusted shank and a needle clip that was poor! Just Super glued the little fella on the needle shank, And it plays these records very well! LOVE This Video!

You Sound like an awesome lad. Thank you for the video. Greetings from a brother over North, Denmark

I love your acent oh my god! 😊 just i could listen to your voice for hours

Glenn Johnson Wish i had one of these turntables!Brilliant.

Sounds like the ballroom music from The Shining.

Very nice! I recently ordered a 78rpm stylus for my ION Photon LP turntable and I can't wait to play them. I just a whole bunch of 78 from an estate sale and after giving them a good deep cleaning, I was shocked to see that MOST of them are in MINT condition - some of them don't look like they've ever been played!

hi , love your video , as a man in his late eighties with a small collection of 78 s without a way of playing them i'm interested the player you demonstrated , in the old days we used individual needles that had to be changed after you had played six or eight records as the point of the needle would lose it's shape , happy days ,

Great video - thanks for the advice!

Music starts at 3:25

Sounds great. Some old shellac biscuits sound superb.

Very enjoyable video. It helps to see what another collector of 78's has done to get the most out of his records.... A few years ago I found a set of truncated elliptical stylii for the Stanton 500. There was a 1.0 mil for worn lp's and two others for 78's, 3.0 and 3.3 mil. The degree to which these stylii reduce noise and increase frequency response is quite surprising. You might be able to get something similar from Expert Stylus in the U.K. I use them only for copying 78's into my computer. I have Technics direct drive turntables to which I've added 78 rpm. Very satisfactory. Btw, I love the British dance orchestra records you played!

Fantastic video.

You can find true-mono cartridges and needles pretty easily online, but I can see that your stereo ones with a good enough tracking power and the good shape can be really efficient.

Pressing 45 & 33 together gives you 78. . I've never seen that before. Amazing.

Great vid, very interesting. Just want to say that I use a sure m78 tracking at 1.5 to 2 grams with my garrard 401 with SME arm and also one in my garrard 70 mk11 with no problems or loss of quality. I agree that heavier forces won't affect shellac 78s but I also have some late 78s that are vinyl and these would be damaged by high tracking forces. These 78s were by Pye and Mercury, there may well be others....

Great! How do you equalise the sound, as different characteristics were used by different companies.

Good video! I must say as a fellow collector of 78s for about 10 years now, a great introduction to proper 78 rpm playback to those just getting into the hobby--you know your onions!! I didn't know the TTx could do 78 w/ variable pitch, that'll have to be the replacement for my old 3-speed Garrard SynchroLab 65B autochanger with Shure N91ED cartridge (with 3 mil 78 stylus of course)-my current 78-capable turntable. A bit dated and limited (I mostly use it with a .7 mil stylus for listening to my LPs and 45s) , but plays 78s well!

Nice video. As a kid I had an old wind-up phono and playback speed was easily adjustable so an off-speed record could be played very easily.

I did this a week ago on my channel with an old russian 78. It sounded amazing!

First things First, get a 78 needle, not a narrow thin modern needle, otherwise it'll sound all hissy as the tiny needle slides about in the larger 78 groove

I'm using a techniques sl 1200g ,AT 95E there are 3 different stylus widths including 3 mil for 78's . There are some newer 78's that use the same groove width as LP's .

Thanks for posting this. Very helpful. I have quite a collection of 78's but no method of playing them and was thinking a modern turntable would be great.

By the way, my turntable is a Garrard 301. My 78 RPM cartridge is mounted in a Thorens TP 13A arm. I wish I had one like yours with the flexible speed adjustment that would allow playing those way old off standard records. I use 2 arms on the Garrard and switch between them depending on what I am playing. Thanks for posting!

Sounds very good

Could You Tell Me Who The Bands Are And The Name Of The Tracks On The Imperial And The Edison Bell Radio Labels. THANKS

I have recently learned that acoustic gramophones track at like 130 grams so 6 is way lighter! Perhaps a bit on the heavy side for vinyl even despite the initial spec listed for vinyl being 6 grams and I have seen 1960s instructions say to track no heavier than 10 grams but for shellac 78s 6 is certainly not too bad. I finally got some 78s myself this weekend as part of Record Store Day after discovering my favorite local record store has a small 78 section so I got 6 78s including a Disney album on 3 records. Now that I have my SL-1210GR and a 3 mil stylus for my Nagaoka MP-110 on the way, I'll be all set!

I modified my Harman Kardon Rabco ST-7 linear tracker for 78 (set it on 45, flip a switch I added). I'm using a Shure M91 Hi-Track with a 2.7 mil stylus for 78s. Works great.

It sounds fantastic especially with that imperial record !

Beautiful sound ;) Fantastic deck there going for a lot of money on ebay and that's if you can find one in mint condition.

Thanks for making this video. In the past I had dismissed these Numark turntables because they looked rather flimsy in photos (and some of Numark's entry-level turntables are indeed very lightweight)... but a friend told me about his TTX and I was amazed at how heavy and substantial it is. He needed to sell it, so I bought it from him. I've been very pleasantly surprised by it. I think this will prove to be substantially easier than refurbishing a 50 year old turntable, which had been my previous plan for listening to 78s. :)

If you want budget, quality, and insane reliability, check out Califone record players. I’ve had mine for a few years now, it has a flip side stylus, one side plays 33 and 45, and the other side plays 78, (it’s a dual .1 mil and a .3 mil) it has speeds 16,33,45,78 and it has a adjustable weight and some form of auto anti skate. The 1130k (mine) has 8’ speakers (I believe, they’re rather big) that are part of the case and detach when ready for use. It has adjustable treble, bass (can be turned off to improve sound of a acoustic recorded 78) and in total weighs about 25 lbs. the buff is the amp and all sound hardware is built in. And it gets extremely loud.

I have some shellac 78 records from 1902-1910. They all have loud noise that sounds like bacon frying. What causes that? Anything I can do?

3:25 Sounds great even with you recording it on your phone!

Nice to see you discovered 78's, nice also that you are able to get a sound from that equipment, but! You'l be amazed when you discover the true sound quality hidden between the grooves and how youre sound can come alive instead of that nosy, flat, lack of bass, lack of dynamic if you use the correct equipment. You need a heavyer arm, a heavy proper true mono cartridge and matching compliance between pickup and arm. Then you need a preamp with equalisation curves for old records, there were more than 30 different before RIAA was invented. Old corrections and early "compressors" had components that is phase shifting at the master recording and also that is corrected back in a proper preamp, computer equalisation doesent do that. Correct crossover point between constant velocity and constant amplitude is important. And so on. playing 78 are far more complicated than you first think but they have higer dynamic db range than a CD, over 100 db range and low frequency can be measured down to 10-15 hz...if played with correct equipment. Cost is not an issue, you can find most stuff collecting dust at fleemarkets. Thrust me, a 50 year old Astatic or GE mono cartridge is far better than all new stuff in the market, including all you mention, with some exemption, extremely expensive Ortofon or Japaneese hand made cartridges.

Who is the artist on the Imperial 78 and Edison Bell 78? Beautiful songs!

Never herd a 78 sound like that.

Very cool that turntable has such a wide range of speeds. I want to modify a technics 1200 to play 78's, but I don't know how much range the fader would have for changing speeds.

i have one of these turntables. you can adjust the pitch from +/- 10% 20% and 50%. on 50% you can adjust the speed from 1] 16.66rpm to 50rpm on the 33.33rpm setting 2] 22.5 rpm to 67.5rpm on 45rpm setting and 3] 39rpm to 117rpm on the 78rpm setting [any speed you like between 16.66rpm and 117rpm]. if you have any 16rpm records you can play them on this.

The gramophone company record with the transcribing angel on the center. Was that their label before they obtained the HMV name with the nipper dog looking into the horn? The reason why I'm asking is because I have a Berliner Gramophone made in Canada for European markets. Its a type GT. Gramophone. The T stands for a type G but with a rear mount bracket and taper arm style tonearm. this was Canadas first rear mount model from 1907. ( Even though the states Victor models had them till 1903.). On the bottom it has a faded yellow paper label with the transcribing angel on it. The metal tag is a Berliner HMV with the Serial number on it as well. what year did the Gramophone company obtain the nipper logo?

Wet chips and the more robust nature of the materials used in older records (?) withstanding, won't you damage the groove if you play it at the wrong speed ? Is there a transcription technology that uses lasers i.e. non-contact reading of the record ? That would avoid adding further damage to these old records before asttempting digital transcription.

You ignore the problem of equalization. If you play a 78 through a preamplifier with RIAA equalization, you will get a high end that is severely rolled off and an accentuated low end. This is because LP and 45 RPM records are recorded on lathes that reduce the low end and accentuate the high end. the reduced lows allow more grooves while allowing the stylus to stay in the groove. The highs are accentuated to cover the surface noise that is present in all record materials, even vinyl. The equalization allows the playback to be in proper perspective, 78s were recorded with almost no high boost, and much less low frequency reduction. You ccan buy control units that have the pre RIAA curves, such as AES, NAB and RCA, but they are expensive and hard to find. My quick'n'dirty solution is to use the tone controls to turn down the bass enough to get rid of the "tubby" sound, and increase the trouble until you get back the sizzle on the cymbals and the "bite" in the brass and the shimmer on the violins. You will not find a 78 that has much high frequency content above 5000 Hz, so a little application of tone controls will give you a sound similar to a solid AM radio station, and give you back a proper sonic perspective. By the way, I use a Shure M44, and I track it at 3 grams, and I don't have trouble with groove jumping, even in 78s with cracks in them. This is not intended as criticism, just as additional information. Thanks a lot for a good job of posting. .

What is the name of this music-piece?

What are the names of all the songs used?

What song is on that imperial record?

🎉 Good afternoon. May I know the price or cost of this TT and 78 RPM special cartridge too

Great video! What is the title of the first song?

Great vid Matthew . I use the numark Pro tt2 both very good as you say for 78s

whats the name of first song?

Great video. But I just want to point out the two Grado’s you mentioned can track 2 - 5 grams. 78c is conical & the 78e is elliptical. Both are setup as mono internally. I have the 78c. Enjoy your records!

Observation: Your cartridge may need to be moved back for correct alignment. Generally, the stylus tip should be directly under the leading edge of the headshell. They design them as such to make it easier for people to get the lateral geometry close to perfect. Not as important with very forgiving 78s, but doesn't hurt to get it right. You'll notice much better anti-skating tendencies.

I have the exact same turntable (Newmark TTX). It is the perfect turntable for the "78" records and you can play the early 'speed 80' Columbia's and Brunswick's etc. at the exact speed by tweaking the variable speed control to about +2.6%. Also being magnetically driven, you don't transfer noise (rumble) from a synchronous motor as on some other decks.

which song is playing at 8:30?

Very interesting an informative video Matthew.A chap after my own heart !.I have been collecting records and the devices that played them it seems all my life.Reproducing 78s on modern equipment has always been dissapointing, which I had always guessed down to the ' unsuitable ' cartridge as indeed the case, a Shure M95ED with 78 stylus and am going to look into finding the Stanton you have demonstrated to great effect.Just proves how good the recordings were in their prime more than 80 years ago .By the way, what is the title of the Imperial record and is it Jack Payne ?.It's been going round in my head for days !.By the way, I think the 8" E-B Radios were actually 80r.p.m.I had an E-B Electron portable and the speed control had an 80 reference mark.Keep up the good work !.

What is the name of the song at 9:56?

What brand is the 78 needle that you use? Is it Columbia? Victor? Neither one? "Victor" in the U.S.A., is probably "His Master's Voice" in the U.K.

Wow this is fascinating! Did anyone hear a considerable wow and flutter as the pich was lowered on the second recording? I recently started listening to LPs again. Long story!

Whats the name model of the cartridge ?

The Head is good calibrate, sound is a pretty, pure!

Hi Matthew, very excellent video. I converted a Pioneer PL2 direct drive to play 78s and it's OK but the pitch control only goes +/- 3 or 4% maybe. So I can play old batwing Victors and 80rpm Columbias and they sound pretty good. But I'd be stuck having to do pitch shifting in the PC if I had a Pathe fastie. Oh well, what I really wanted to say was that I agree with you about the Stanton 500. I am running exactly what you are in my Pioneer at 4 grams...sounds beautiful indeed! Take care & thanks for the video!

THe Shure M44-7 is a VERY old pickup, and is STILL being made. I play 78's with one, along with an N44-3 stulus. It is colored GREEN, which makes me think they are 2.5 mil tips. As long as the front of the cartridge is not dragging on the record, you can continue to increase pressure until the surface noise reaches an acceptable level.

I just picked up an Ada Jones album. Cool to here her mentioned here. I play on a 1920 Columbia Grafonola, but I like your method.

what turntabel is it

Most interesting and infomative video Matthew - a chap after my own heart !.Could you please tell me the title of the Imperial 78 you are playing - possibly by Jack Payne - keep up the good work !

I have been fascinated by your video and have gone to look for your recommended Stanton 500 series cartridges only to find them no longer avilable. I have looked at the Shure M447 range, but they are rather expensive. Before I go ahead and buy one, do you have any other ideas as to what i can use please? I have an Audio Technics ATLP 120 and a spare headshell. The rest is up to you! Please offer me some advice; it will be valued. Looking forward to hearing from you. Many thanks.

Great presentation from which I've learned much. I'm a collector of all speeds.Later 78s were vinyl so how many grams of pressure to play them? Same as LP?

***** Thanks for your comments. I have had experience with the cart you mention. 2.5mil would be best for late 40s 1950s 78s as the groove is smaller than older records. Also, the shure m78 is just bridged with a strap to get mono (this would be the same as pressing a mono button on an amplifier etc) removing the strap on m78 will make it a stereo cartridge. For general playback of normal 78s I have the Stanton in mono. Here is a video of a transfer I have made using this setup, you'll notice surface noise is much quieter than if I had used 2.5mil (note that not one size fits all for 78s, a 2.5mil might work better on certain records than other sizes): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_UEjqApj-Wk.html

Nice video. The cantilever of the stylus dictates the tracking weight too. To much weight on a 78 stylus will prevent it from performing well if the cantilever is flexed upwards into the cartridge. In severe cases the cartridge may contact the record. Styli come with recommended weight values too.

In the U.S.A. the Audio Technica AT-VM95C dual moving coil cartridge for 78's is $39.00

whats the name of the first song, it sounds epic.

My musical taste is pretty diverse as well. It ranges from things like "Mars, Bringer of War", by Gustav Holst, "Do You Believe In Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful, "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra, "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, "Super Rad!" by The Aquabats, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65, "Zombie" by The Cranberries, "Gangnam Style" by Psy, and of course "Everything Is Awesome!!!" by Tegan and Sara. In fact, my interest in vinyl allows me to branch out with music albums and artists, which is not something I usually do otherwise.

After viewing your fine video on 78s I put together the following Numark Pro TT2, Numark Headshell, Stanton 500 Gold cartridge, pfanstiel 3 mill stylus. Got a hum, so removed the ground strap as directed from the left ground/blue pin. Still have the hum... turntable is grounded to the receiver. Hum is on the right channel ...if red input is unplugged from receiver stops as also does if balance is switched to the right. Used turntable and cartridge supposeably never used ...1 of 2 pack. Any ideas? Also cartridge seems to just clear the record when playing. How did you adjust your tone arm height?

Alright ....how do those old records sound so fantastic? You must have a record cleaning machine, or you are Dorian Grey. All said I never thought of picking up a Stanton DJ table for 78's. However you make a strong case for that idea. This was one of the most fun RU-vid posts ever! thanks!

The Shure M78S carts track at 2.0g to 2.5g which is quite adequate for the records, and they're really quite good. Plus, they're wired for monophonic sound, unlike your Stanton. Also, they come standard with a 2.5mil stylus, which is what you should be using on electrically recorded shellac discs. The 3mill stylus really should only be used on acoustically recorded discs and heavily worn electrics. Using a 3mill on an electric isn't going to hurt it, played at the proper force (6g really *is* too much,) but you're not getting all the sound possible with that wide a stylus. I say you should get an M78S, dedicate that to your 78s... and keep the 500 for your good stereo vinyl.

Who is the artist on the Imperial 78 and Edison Bell 78? Songs are great!

As for a great 78 cartridge, try the Ortofon Concorde.

Are you using a dedicated 78 phono stage as they use different equalisations to modern lp's.

I don't entirely agree about tracking force as I've gotten good results at 3 grams or less. I also have a record that loops at more than 2 on my turntable but then the ounces on my gramophone don't have that issue. One cartridge that ticks all the boxes of having 3 mils, heavier tracking, and being true mono is the Audio-Technica VM670SP. The Grado 78C/78E is also rated for heavier tracking than standard LP Grado cartridges (2-5 grams) which I am getting so I can have a true mono cartridge since my Nagaoka MP-110/78 combo is a stereo cartridge and highlights more surface noise due to reading verticality. The Audio-Technica AT-MONO3SP is a high-output moving coil cartridge with a recommended 5 grams but it has a 2.5 mil stylus. Someday I might try the Ortofon SPU CG 65 MkII which has a recommended 4 grams, 2.5 mil, and is also incredibly high-mass so it's a good thing I have the auxiliary weights for my SL-1210GR. Different conditions of 78s require a range of styli from 2.5 to 4 mil but 3 mil is a good all-rounder. Of course your opinion is your opinion and I have heard good results on many 2.5 mil styli.

do you need a special needle to play a 78 ?

Cool

do 78s require different types of needles to play?

this a great record

Song at 8:50? Just think of the people that enjoyed the sound, Maybe even how special of a song it might have been

I can hear a lot of hiss from the record. I am not sure you need to get the needle deep into the grove, as that's where all the debris etc. is. I have Stanton 500 with an after market needle for 78s. I find it sounds better at 2 grams. If you increase the weight i find the cantilever is bending and the cartridge is almost touching the record! Not sure you are correct about tracking heavily for better sound.

Are 78’s always that noisey? I’m coming from wav & flac masters, but I don’t recall 33s or 45s being quite that noisey either...

I have quite a few Caruso 78 records on Victor one sided labels. They are all true to speed. I wonder if the fault lies with your specific label?

What turntable and cartage for under $1K ?

3:48 No it's not and 3:55 yes there is. plenty actually and there is distortion too.

I use a Stanton cartridge for my kam turntable I got the turntable for only £20 all working

Hi, nice video. As you explained, pity the recording was was not a little better sound. It’s a bit of a misnomer to call the shelac recordings 78s (yes, I know collectors call them that), when as you stated the Enric Caruso was not a 78! Early records could have a speed of anywhere between 60 and 130 rpm. It was until around the 1930s when all records were standardised to 78rpm. The Caruso record was 1902, does it have the speed written on the label or did you just work out what speed it should be? Keep up the good work.

For anyone wondering the song at 3:20 is ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bLRCXIz60Sc.html

Superb Turntable, may I know the cost of this turntable

There may not be any "surface noise" but there is constant hissing.

I've been recording them at 45, then speeding the audio up in re-encoding..

Surely 10% reduction from 78rpm is 78-7.8=70.2 - i.e. 2.2rpm faster than it should be on the Caruso record....?

What is the name of the song on the Imperial label?