O holy night - The cathedral singers

[Swing Band Heaven]

This is a transfer from a UK Regal disk and it features The cathedral singers singing "O holy night" You can either stream it direct from my Box file or download the MP3

O Holy Night - The Cathedral Singers

[Valecnik]

Thanks for posting in an MP3. I downloaded it and will listen to it more than once in the coming days.

Can you share your recording technique?

[Swing Band Heaven]

Well, I won't say this is a detailed run down on what I do or even if this is the best way...I merely used the equipment I had lurking in my house - some of which hadn't been used in years! I made a youtube video covering the basics..it was meant to be very tongue in cheek...I really should re-make but just haven't got around to it yet. But basically I use a turntable and feed the signal into the audio "in" on my laptop. I use some software to record the sound and manipulate it and then use the software to create an MP3 file.

Perhaps my next you tube video (when my stuff arrives off the container) will be to re-do this one. But for now here it is...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0yWz1_46Nk[/youtube]

[Valecnik]

Well done! I have all the equipment. I would need the software and some patience to figure out how to get the feed from my amp to the pc. When I'm ready to try this again, I may ask you for some consulting.

[Swing Band Heaven]

I think all I needed to buy was a lead to connect my record deck rca connectors and convert them into a mini headphone type jack. Minimal cost. But it is all very fiddly as I had an issue with the deck pushing out too powerful a signal to the pc and the sound was all distorted. But I managed to get around that. Other issues I had was getting the right stylus - a standard 78 one will play ok but for better results you may need to go bigger and also go for an eliptical shaped one. The cost mounts up which is why I still use my 3mil conical stylus which I can get at a cheap rate off ebay rather than the 3.2 truncated eliptical I would really like to have. I just can't justify the cost - when I'd much rather buy myself records with the money.

Different 78s from different periods had different groove sizes and they varied widely - even between different sides on the same disk! A standad 78 stylus may play fine on a 78 from the 1950's but the same stylus may skate along the bottom of the groove of a 1930's victor and produce much poorer quality sound.

[Valecnik]

You are right. It is all very fiddly and I'm not good at that stuff.

My turntable is equipped with a 3 mil conical, 3.2 and 3.5 eliptical and you do notice the difference. Either one would be an improvement over the 3 mil. 3.5 is great for Edison discs and for more worn records, earlier records, (generally). 3.2 is better for clean later records, especially the electrically recorded ones. I would like to have one or two more sizes but you are right, they are expensive!

Btw, if you have any more nice Christmas records on MP3, please post if you have time. Thanks

[Valecnik]

You are right. It is all very fiddly and I'm not good at that stuff.

My turntable is equipped with a 3 mil conical, 3.2 and 3.5 eliptical and you do notice the difference. Either one would be an improvement over the 3 mil. 3.5 is great for Edison discs and for more worn records, earlier records, (generally). 3.2 is better for clean later records, especially the electrically recorded ones. I would like to have one or two more sizes but you are right, they are expensive!

Btw, if you have any more nice Christmas records on MP3, please post if you have time. Thanks

[hillndalefan]

Phenomenal job, SBH! The groove size and speed [and equalization] possibilities have been the bane of collectors forever, making it neccesary to try possibilities until they sound best. I recently found out that Victor changed groove sizes slightly [making it larger] in 1926--I guess they thought a larger groove was needed for "orthophonic" recording. Great work--keep it up!