Hiya,

I've got a pile of Recordio records that I've never heard as I've never
wanted to play them and risk damaging them. It's time to take the plunge
and start transferring them to the PC so I can burn CD's out of them. I
have several types of the records - the acetate sort and the cardboard kind.
Several of the acetate ones have big semi-circular chunks that are flaking
off, so I imagine those are pretty much a loss, but seeing what can happen
I'd like to get these transferred pretty soon.

I've done a bunch of audio work on the PC, so the question really isn't
on that side of things. Rather, I'd like to find out which of my turntables
would be most suitable for the transfer. I've got an MGA ST-11 automatic
table, not exactly my pride and joy but it's my only modern table with 78
speed. It's got one of those flip-over sorts of styli, and I know that the
78 side has never been used.

I've also got a Dual 506 with an Ortofon cartridge (don't know which
stylus) and a Pioneer PL-51 with an Audio Technica M12E cartridge. Those
last two tables do not have 78 rpm speed, so I would speed up the audio
later with software. I've heard that using a 2.8mm needle is best, but I'm
not sure if these are available for every cartridge out there.

I also have some tables of the correct era, but they are console types
and I'd have to hack in an audio output. I would also have to find one that
actually works. One of them is a recordio recorder/player but I'm not
sure that it works either. Would it be best to use the Recordio since
that's the type of turntable it was created on, or use the more current
gear?

I'd also really appreciate any advice on cleaning these disks. I
obviously don't want to damage them since they seem rather delicate, but
some even have some mold on them that I'm not sure will play through.

Thanks so much for any advice!

--
- Bohus Blahut
(BOH-hoosh BLAH-hoot)

modern filmmaker