You might want to contact the engineer at one of the older,
well-established radio stations in your area.

I tried that a little bit, but it's been hard to find anyone left over
from the "analog era" - especially given the corporate takeover of nearly
every station here in Chicago. Still - it's a tremendous idea that I will
persue some more.

Sonically, the 'table is likely to have quite a bit of "rumble"
(low-frequency mechanical noise).

That's interesting. I though that I detected some rumble in the signal,
but I assumed that it might be something that needs adjusting.

I think, Mr. Howell, that you may be the ideal person to answer this
question. I have been working on an audio satire/comedy project in the vein
of Firesign Theatre. I have found a few LP's from the 60's that for lack of
a better word I'd call pre-fab commericals. These are not simply music cues
or sound effects. Rather each track is a completely produced generic
commercial with a music bed in the middle for your local announcer to read
copy. That's sometimes referred to as a "donut", right?

I'd like to transfer these tracks into my computer to do the editing,
and would like to use a good turntable to get the best possible sound. the
records are mostly in very good condition, so I'd really like to capture the
best fidelity possible. I've got four turntables to choose from: The
Russco, B&O Beogram RX, Dual 506, and a Pioneer PL-51.

Are you or anyone esle here familiar enough with these models to express
a preference? Of course, I can do some cleaning up once the material is in
the computer but would prefer to start out with the best possible transfer.

I've worked in radio all my life, and I haven't seen a Russco
turntable in well over 20 years.

Would you say that the Russco was one of the standard bearers for
broadcast? the one I guy I met who recognized it only remembered that they
cost thousands of dollars - which would seem like an awful lot.

I've taken a couple of studio tours over the last few years, and there
are precious few turntables around - as you mentioned. I saw a pretty good
pro table at the college station a few blocks away from me - felt good to
see it there. Also, the PBS-owned classical music station WNIB still has a
few turntables, including a broadcast 78 rpm player. I'll see if I can
ingratiate myself to someone over there.

Mr. Howell, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my question.
You've provided me with more insight than in the several years I've been
asking about the old beast?

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

modern filmmaker