There have been a couple of comments mentioning that it sounds like the speed of the recordings might be off. It is entirely possible. Let me describe the process I’m using to get these programs from the records to the web.

I am using the 1948 Presto 64-A turntable (described and pictured in “About -> The iPod”) as I have no other turntable. The output from the tonearm is going directly to a digital preamp, and that is connected to my computer. Unfortunately the 33rpm motor on the Presto started malfunctioning about a year ago, which leaves me only able to play records at 78rpm.

So I play the records at 78rpm into a program called Audacity. It takes about 6-7 minutes to play a 15-minute program this way. Audacity has a preset effect for altering the speed of an audio file, which I run on the completed wave form. I spot check to make sure it sounds human, then save as a .wav file.

When I’m getting ready to upload a new program to Bandcamp, I open the .wav file in a different audio editing program, Cubase. Audacity is great for making the original recording and changing the speed, but it’s not so good for editing.  With Cubase I can manipulate the wave form to repair skips, trim dead space at the beginning and end of the files, and fade out the ending if I had to trim it (sometimes the edges of the record are in such bad shape I can’t play them right to the end).  Then the completed project is outputted to a new .wav file and uploaded to Bandcamp then cross-posted here.

With the help of my audio engineer husband I just did some checking and found that it looks like the turntable might be running just a tiny bit fast. He clocked it at about 78.5rpm, which is a very, very slight difference. However, when the recording speed is changed to 33.3 that difference gets stretched, so to speak. I just did a test with a file that I just recorded yesterday. First I changed it back to 78rpm. Then instead of using the preset of -57.265%, I slowed it down a tiny bit extra: -57.96%. He and I both think it sounds better that way, so from now on I will use that conversion rate instead. I can also fix the records that I’ve already done but not yet posted by running the fix when I’m ready to edit them. This will only add a couple of minutes to my editing time, so that won’t be any big deal. However, with trying to get the remaining records copied to the computer before we move overseas (while trying to get rid of everything we own, homeschool my three kids, and take care of life in general) there is absolutely no way I can go back and change the recordings that are already posted. But remember that you can download lossless files of everything on Bandcamp. If you have audio editing programs and want to play with it on your own, go for it!

The total time I put into a 15-minute recording start to finish can be as little as 30 minutes for a program with no skips to several hours for one in really bad shape. There are about 250 records in my collection (15 minutes per side), although some are only recorded on one side, some are too deteriorated to play, and others I’ve chosen to skip for now because they’re not actually radio programs but just random prerecorded music my grandpa put together.  I have somewhere around 125-150 records left to do. I’ll let you do the math for how much work I have ahead of me. I don’t really want to know.  :)

As far as inconsistencies in the speed of some of the recordings (where they sound kind of warped), there is absolutely nothing I can do about that. I just don’t have the time, knowledge, or technology to do it. But once again, those of you with more time, experience and better programs than I have are welcome to download and play with the files. The only limitation I’ve put on them is that they are not to be used for profit.

I’ve been doing some organizing over at my bandcamp page, where all my audio files are hosted.  I realized not long ago that it was already becoming pretty difficult to see what was there, so I’m in the process of organizing all my tracks into albums. Hopefully this will make it easier to browse around and find some interesting programs. So far I’m grouping together “like” programs–House of Squibb, American Melody Hour, Tony Martin, etc.–and grouping the remainder by year and whether it’s music or spoken.

I’ve also started adding album and track art to the programs. This past summer I spent some time at my parents’ house and was able to scan a portion of the huge collection of  work-related photographs that my grandpa had. I’m using those for the album art (unless I can quickly find an image online that better suits the album, like the Tony Martin picture). My plan is to add some notes to the album explaining what the picture is. I haven’t done this yet, but I will. I’ll still use pictures of the record labels for track artwork.

I hope you enjoy a little glimpse into my grandpa’s life through those pictures! For now, I’ll leave you with this one which is a new favorite of mine.

Keith Kinney at work, late 1940s?

I’m going crazy with digitizing right now. I’ll start posting some of this stuff soon, maybe this weekend. Are there any Tony Martin fans out there? Apparently my grandpa was one, or at least went on a Tony kick. I just digitized over 10 records of his show for Bourjois. Right now I’m doing a bunch of “Your Hit Parade” shows, which are really fun. Most of these records are in pretty good shape, so it won’t take me long to get them ready to post.

The death of my 33.3rpm motor has actually turned out to be a good thing. I can record records in less than half the time on 78, and there doesn’t seem to be any loss from changing the speed digitally.  I’d still like to get the 33.3 fixed, but it’s not a priority. Now, if the 78 goes out too… but I won’t even think about that possibility.

Anyway, just keep watching this space! And if you want to listen to some tunes to get you into the Christmas spirit, check out these posts from last year:  Christmas 1946, Christmas 1945.

As I’m mentioned before, some of my records are in really bad shape.  There are some that skip badly through part or all of the program. I can remove some of the skips digitally, but sometimes program material gets lost in the skips and/or repairs. This is especially true since the demise of my 33rpm motor. It seems like when I’m recording at 78, the higher speed makes the needle “jump over” spots after skips so there are dropouts. Other times the outer edges of the discs are damaged so badly that I can’t even play the record to the end (they play from the inside out). As an aside, if anyone out there can give me a suggestion of a place that might be able to repair a 1940s Westinghouse motor, please tell me!

My question is, do you want me to put those poor-quality, incomplete programs on the blog? Or do you think my time would be better spent in getting up the ones that are more “listenable?”  One consideration is that the poor-quality ones take a lot more time for me to edit. I can probably do at least two or three better-quality recordings in the time it takes me to do one bad one. Of course, if the content seems historically significant I’ll put the time into it. But for more “run-of-the-mill” music programs, what do you think? For example, I’ve already spent several hours on a Frankie Carle show from February 1944, and I’m not finished yet.  It’ll probably take me at least two more hours to get it into a form that I would want to listen to. And I wasn’t even able to record all the way to the end of the record because of a broken glass base and delamination. Should I keep working on that or just set it aside?

Please respond in the comments with your opinion.

I have everything working! I’m going to do just a few more tests this weekend, then I should be able to get back to digitizing, processing and posting.  I also now have access to a  professional-level noise reduction and de-popping program so my finished products should be better than before.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I’m going to start with some really bad recordings. Not only will that spare my new stylus (I’ll record those with the old one), but it will be a good test for the noise reduction program.  I’ll try to find something extra-special for my first upload.

Thanks again for your patience!

I finally got my new computer last week–hooray! I got Cubase installed yesterday (ridiculous the hoops they make you jump through to register and activate a free program) but I’m having problems getting signal from my turntable to it. The same thing happened when I tried to record using my husband’s work laptop, and sometimes happened with my old computer.  We never were able to get it to work on my husband’s, and the fixes I used on my old computer aren’t working now.

On the bright side, I’m on summer vacation from homeschooling my kids so I should have a little more time to devote to figuring it out.

Thanks to all of you who are still following me. Please continue to be patient as I get these bugs worked out!

Update: Bad news. It looks like the problem is either my phono preamp (which isn’t a big deal to replace) or the connection from the tonearm to the preamp, or something within the tonearm’s wiring. I’m hoping it’s just a loose connection somewhere. I’ll keep you posted.

I’m still here. Life has been very busy for the last month or so. I’m getting close to the end of the school year with my kids (we homeschool) so there have been a lot of activities to fit in. That’s why I haven’t been around for a while.

Then, just as life started slowing down a little, last weekend my computer died again. It’s gone for good this time. I’ve ordered a new one (yay!) but the projected delivery date isn’t until May 27. Hopefully it will come sooner than that, but who knows. In the meantime I have my husband’s laptop from his office. I’m trying to set it up to record but I’m having some problems getting Cubase activated. I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to get it working before too long, though.

Once that’s working I’m going to try to digitize some of my worst-condition recordings. I have a new stylus for the turntable thanks to a generous contribution through my PayPal account, and I want to do these bad records with the old one in case it gets ruined in the process.

The record player is also still having some problems, but I think I can keep it working if I’m careful.

Once I’m on summer break from homeschooling I can hopefully crank out a bunch of records in quick succession. In the meantime, as always, thanks for your patience.

Now that I have things running pretty smoothly on the site, I’ve decided to migrate my feed. So instead of having to go to CyberEars for the podcast, everything will be here (high-quality downloads will still be available at my bandcamp site). You’ll still be able to subscribe using iTunes, RSS, or several other podcast libraries–details to follow.

As with all the other changes I’ve made, there might be a few glitches as I get this rolling. I’ll do my best, though.   This is a test post to get the feed set up. I’m including the last three programs I’ve posted.

I just can’t catch a break lately.  A couple of weeks ago, my laptop died. That computer is the only thing I have for digitizing, editing and posting my recordings. Fortunately, my husband was able to repair it.  Unfortunately, the repair didn’t stick. Last night it died again–just as I was nearly finished with the editing of the next recording I was planning to post. To make matters worse, we’re away from home right now so we don’t have the tools he used last time at our disposal.

Hopefully he’ll be able to get it up and running again within a few days. But if he can’t find somewhere local to borrow the tool he needs (a heat gun) then the repairs will have to wait until we get home in about two weeks.

I have a really great recording to put up next, too. It’s a “House of Squibb” program from the day after D-Day, all really great patriotic tunes. So please bear with me!

Hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to stop making excuses. Sigh.