78's

[jesserparker]

any of you out there playing 78 rpm's still? if so, what kind of setup are you using?

as of now i feel i have the choice of either buying a secondhand thorens or the like and having an entire second tt dedicated to 78's, or. . .

if i could in any way add a new controller to my existing outboard motor to add adjustable 78rpm to it. . . or something of that variety.

anyhow, just wondered if and what rigs any of you out there are running for 78. thanks

[sreten]

You can use a 78 stylus for your cartridge.

Or have interchange headshells, here weighting the headshell
so you don't need to readjust the arm is a possibility.

Some turntables have two arms fitted.

Many turntables can be modded to give 78 rpm, either electronically or a with a custom motor pulley.

Depending on the PS type to your motor it could be easy to mod.

I don't run 78's.

sreten.

[Havoc]

I recently bought a new DJ turntable for this purpose (JBSystems High Q30D around 250 euro). I don't know why, but a lot of new DJ TT's include 78rpm. And to have a variable speed is also good, as not all 78rpms are 78rpm! Some of those I have around are marked 80rpm. So having 10% variable speed is useful.

As for a cartridge. You can try to find a generic 78rpm one Apparently, the radius can vary quite a lot. 2.8 um to 3 um is some kind of general purpose median value. Stanton for example has 78rpm styluses for their cartridges, and can provide custom ones if you want it.

[Havoc]

Forgot something: 78rpms do not use RIAA. So you will need either a special preamp that has all the EQ's, or use a flat preamp, record it to pc, do the EQ in the pc and bring it out from there.

[jesserparker]

as far as arm & cartridge & phono amp for them go i think i've got a handle on that, i mainly just need either another deck, another motor, or a way of modifying my current outboard motor to rotate at 78 rpm (with of course adjustablility enough to go from around at least 76 to at least 80).

if i can either modify mine, or add another motor to my existing deck i can easily add another tonearm to the setup.

[DeonC]

Hi Jesser

I am using a seperate TT for my 78s, in this case it is a Technics SP15 (my main TT is a SP10 MkII). Most important is to get a proper outboard phono-stage for your 78s. They won't sound correct without it. And like Havoc said, it is important to have speed adjustment. Then you just need to enjoy it

Enjoy,
Deon

[jesserparker]

what phono stage do you use currently?

[DeonC]

Nothing at the moment, unfortunately. I was going to DIY one , but then a lot of the parts needed for the project got lost during a house move, and I've not been able to replace them yet. I still want to finish that project, but there are so many projects vying for the little amount of spare cash I have that it will have to wait for a while. One of the projects ironically enough is to build shelving to store my collection of 78s in the place I am staying in now. Ah well, I will get to it soon enough. For the moment though I will have to content myself by playing normal LPs.

Enjoy,
Deon

[planet10]

I have a stash of old TTs, duals, garrards etc that do 78s... The duals are most likely to be fully functional... free but for the shipping (of course if you are in the neighborhood come by and take away )

dave

[Havoc]

I use a simple flat input stage and so to the pc. Correction will be done in soft and then to CD. After a bit of noise and click reduction. But this project is on hold for the moment because of pc trouble.