DCC Archive Will 78s Ever Come Back?

Or some Who 78's. Talk about extra dynamic range!

 

Good point, Bradley: 78 RPM turntables are really hard to find! Although I did see a used Thorens recently from the very early '60's that plays 16 / 33 / 45 / 78 RPM records. It came out of a console type player / stereo console / furnature type thing. I'd have to build my own base / stand / thingie.

I'm thinking about it.

But where would I find 78 RPM records??

 

People, new 78 RPM turntables are being made, and they are wonderful (and cheap, compared to audiophile turntables).

Go here:
http://www.78rpm.com/

Scroll down and click on "Nauck's Audio Department". Then scroll to "Turntables".

Bingo. Great players, pretty darn cheap. In fact they play all other speeds, too.

As to finding records, Kurt has auctions, but his stuff can be very pricy.

Better to go to estate sales, garage sales, and Goodwill stores. Many, many 78 records out there! Some 78's sound so fantastic, you won't believe your ears. I mean, think about it: 78's were recorded "direct to disc", and play at a whopping 78 rev's per minute. That's fast. Many are truly audiophile quality....

Good luck.

 

Yeah, Bradley!

I found a German made ELAC/Miracord turntable from the 1970's for 5 dollars at a garage sale, and I've been using it for 8 years. I put a cheap (but great sounding) Shure M44E cartridge with the Shure green 78 RPM replacement stylus in it and let her rip!

 

Angel, yes, you are describing the ELAC/Miracord turntable. Hard to miss. It has that interesting early 1960's German design. I've seen Grundig tape recorders from that era that had the same look.

"Boppin' The Blues" by Carl Perkins on Sun. 1956, right?

That was actually the first Sun record I ever heard, being described as such. Sure, I heard Jerry Lee and Elvis, but never Carl Perkins here in LA.

I was driving to Bob's Big Boy on Van Nuys Blvd. (the Bob's that the cruisers used to hang out in during the 1970;s. I had the radio tuned to a progressive rock station here in LA called KMET. The jock, Jimmy Rabbit, played "Boppin' The Blues" and I almost had to pull over to the side of the road I was so jazzed. I sat in the car and waited for Rabbit to back announce, so I could find out who and what that was.

A long time ago, but when I tried to find the song back then, the record wasn't even in print. This was way before the Sun stuff began to be reissued. So, I found it on a Sun 78 in one of those 78 RPM record auctions. Paid five bucks (a lot of dough for me back then...)

The 78 record does sound good. The actual tape is kind of dull and thumpy. It sounds to me like the 78 was cut using an optical limiter, a Pultec EQ, punching up the upper midrange, and cut with that funky Sun Records cutter head. Must have had 10 watts on a good day. But that underpowered cutting amp is one of the reasons the Sun 78's sound sooooo much better than later versions. The "clipping" of the tube electronics in the lathe made for a neat tubey sound, totally impossible to duplicate....

Sorry for the length of the post, but I was remembering the good old days. Sigh.