The subject line may be slightly misleading- what I'm actually facing is cellulose to digital conversion.
While helping my mom to move last month, we came across a box titled "Bob's old records" which we assumed was some old paperwork. We were pleasantly surprised to discover the box actually contained some old discs that my grandfather had saved. "Bob" was a musician during the swing era, playing most of the major ballrooms from San Diego to Seattle during the 20's and 30's. It appears that some of the discs are live recordings, and quite a few have typewritten or hand-written labels which leads me to think they are not commercial releases. The box also contained a number of photographs which confirm that my grandfather was a member of the groups featured on these recordings, so most likely these discs were saved because he performed on them.
The turntable I have available will only play at 33 or 45 rpm, but many of the discs are 78's- I'll have to adjust the speed in Audition either by changing the sample rate or using the pitch bender tool. If anyone has experience with a project like this I'd welcome any advice! I'm also wondering whether it's safe to use a modern stylus on these old discs, most of which are cellulose. Cleaning the discs is another issue I'm not certain about and I won't attempt it without advice. The audio chain will be: Disc player>SonySTR-DE405>Sony M10(line-in@24/48). I assume the signal from the turntable will be in need of amplification before it reaches the recorder.
My ultimate goal would be to upload these recordings to the Community Audio section at archive.org, along with as much information as I can glean from the labels and photographs (names of band members, date and location of recordings etc.). Then I can add links on Ancestry.com for future generations to enjoy. For anyone curious, here are a few of the bands:
Vic Meyers Band (1924-1926)
Raymond Paige & His Orchestra (Hollywood Hotel radio broadcasts- 1936 & 1938)
Sophie Tucker (date unknown)
Miff Mole and His Molars (date unknown)
Packard Hour radio show with Dick Powell (1938)
Once again, I'd appreciate any advice from the knowledgable members of this forum! When finished I'll post links in the Kickdown section.
Smokey