Some people know the more famous old-time music, but there’s so much out there that isn't as famous — it's just been lost to time. I thought it would be fun to collect some old 78 RPM records just to hear the songs that may have been forgotten.
The thing about 78s is that you have to change them every three or four minutes, so I needed to digitize them to be able to listen for a while. And heck, if I digitized them, I could share them. Lofi music is hot stuff, and you don't get more lofi than scratchy old 78s!
And here we are.
Scroll down for more about the equipment I use, a little about the music, all the videos. And, of course, you can get in touch if you have questions.
—Andrew
The equipment
The heart of the system — and the only significant expense — is the turntable. It's an Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB, and that "USB" is the key. It connects to a PC to allow for easy analog-to-digital conversion. In simpler terms, it turns the music on the record (analog) into a (digital) MP3 file.
There's an important step in between: The software that ’hears’ the music and saves it in a digital format. That's Audacity, a free program that's been around for ages and is "the world's most popular audio editing and recording app." (Another option is Adobe's Audition, but why pay for something when there's a better, free alternative?)
Finally there's the computer. It's a 10-year-old PC that happens to be running Linux Mint, but I could have used Windows Vista (which is what the computer came with) or even an old Mac. The point being, the PC itself isn't a factor.
The music
I wish I could say I was picky about the music, but in reality I just scoured eBay for collections of old 78 RPM records that were listed as playable (as opposed to "for crafts".)
So far I have about 75 songs — some with solo singers, some with quartets, some purely instrumental. A handful I've heard of; most were new to me.
"Ripping" the music is simple but time consuming — obviously it takes at least three minutes to copy a 3-minute song. Then I used Audacity's noise removal to get rid of the worst of the hiss, and then used loudness equalization so every song is at the same volume (−16 LUFS, if you're interested).
The videos
The YouTube channel is, not surprisingly, Lofi 78 RPM, and that's where new videos are posted. Occasionally I'll livestream all the music, too; just click the "Live" tab.
The videos use random photos I've collected that show life in the 1900s through 1930s. (Unfortunately, I don't know the details of the content.) I used an old program called Photodex ProShow Producer to make the slideshows.
Get in touch
Got questions? Comments? Criticism? Kudos? Just send ’em to me at andrew@lofi78.com!
