[PLUG] Any Audacity users?

[Larry Brigman]

On 7/13/07, Richard C. Steffens <rsteff at comcast.net> wrote:
> John Jason Jordan wrote:
>
> >> Anyone else using Audacity, or some other program, to digitize 78's?
>
> > What you want to do in Audacity is Effect > Change Tempo, not Effect >
> > Change Speed. I don't know what magic Audacity uses to do it, but
> > Effect > Change Tempo slows the playback time down without changing the
> > pitch. You'll have to experiment with it a bit to get 78 rpm down to 33
> > or 45 rpm.
>
> Thanks. As soon as I get a new stylus I'll give it a try. However, what
> I'll need to do is speed up a 33 rpm recording to 78. (May be a semantic
> difference between us.)
>
> > And yes, you need a different needle. 33, 45 and 16 rpm use a needle
> > 1/3 the size of the old 78 rpm needle. You may need to change the
> > entire cartridge. It may also be hard to find the old size
> > needle/cartridge.
>
> I have found sources for a stylus specifically marketed for my model
> turntable. It's about $25, which seems a bit steep for a needle, but the
> old recordings would be damaged if I used the other needle, so it will
> be worth the expense. Also, the current needle would be damaged, too,
> from dragging through the dust in the bottom of the groove, not to
> mention missing most of the important stuff featured up a little higher
> in the groove.
>
>

Needles are expensive.  More now that there is not as much demand.
The last time I got a really got needle for my turntable it was about $30 but
that was for a $150 cartridge (about the cost of the turntable itself).