16 2/3 rpm: when to do NR?

[BigAl]

I worked on a 16 2/3 rpm LP a couple of days back (first time for me) and am battling to get rid of crackle. It doesn't seem to make any difference whether I do the NR before or after speed change (recorded at 33 1/3 rpm). Anyone care to share their workflow with 16 2/3 rpm records?

[DJBohn]

Hi Big Al,
As far as your crackle problem, I don't have any answer for you as I have never worked on any 16 2/3 discs. It does sound like the same problem I had a while back with some "home made" AudioDisc 78's. I do remember I had to use a lot of filters both forward and backwards and still wasn't completely happy with the results as they were so very noisy. Someone else may be of more help there.

When I was very young, I had a neighbor that was my age. His parents had a bunch of what I thought were very different records, at least compared to what I had. They were mostly 78's and some 16 2/3 discs. From what I remember the 16 2/3 RPM records had stories on them (children's stories? don't really remember - his mother was a elementary school teacher...) One of the sets I remember his showing me I thought was kind of strange. Those 16 2/3 RPM records had 2 different tracks on each side for a total of 4 tracks per record. But what was different was the second track on each side didn't start halfway into the record. It also started at the beginning of the record side - as a second lead in groove! Since I was a kid, I have never seen another record like that (let alone seeing another 16 2/3 at all). I just thought it was interesting. What's on the 16 2/3 discs you have, if you don't mind my asking?

[Dan McDonald]

There is a thread dealing with noise reduction when you also have a speed change to deal with somewhere here. I think the general consensus was that the best thing to do is to use the presets before the speed change if possible, at least for some things like the crackle/pops/clicks. In your case, it sounds like you would start with the settings for 33 1/3, since the rise and fall times, etc. associated with the noises are resulting from those speeds.

For general noise reduction (such as CNF) I think it would be best to go with the filtering after the change of speed because you'll be able to hear it better in preview.

That's what I recall, though. It might be best to search for that thread on here. It was a few years ago, but search for "speed change" and see what shows up.

Dan

[Craig Maier]

I have not restored any 16 2/3 RPM records, but Dans suggestion sounds correct to me. First, de-click etc at normal 33.33 speed then change the speed. Lastly, de-hiss using the CNF and apply any other filters that you deem necessary (averaging, median, EQ, etc).

[BigAl]

Thanks all will have another bash (and search the forum as Dan suggests).

Hi Big Al,
Those 16 2/3 RPM records had 2 different tracks on each side for a total of 4 tracks per record. But what was different was the second track on each side didn't start halfway into the record. It also started at the beginning of the record side - as a second lead in groove! Since I was a kid, I have never seen another record like that (let alone seeing another 16 2/3 at all). I just thought it was interesting. What's on the 16 2/3 discs you have, if you don't mind my asking?

The one I'm working on is called "The 100 minute laugh" and features a bunch of British and South African comedians as well as Art Linklinkletter and Victor Borge from the US. That's probably what makes the crackle more noticeable as there is a lot of speaking. Imagine 100 minutes on a single LP - beats CD!

I also had a 45 rpm multi groove record when I was a kid. It was a horse racing "game" where you'd get a different result every time you started the record. I don't remember, but I seem to recall about 10 different results.