Recording Edison Diamond Discs

[mace]

Hello all,
Can someone please give me some pointers on how to effectively record and restore Edison Diamond Discs (I have a bunch of them)? I know that they are vertically cut and all, but how might I set up my cartridge either for mono or for stereo and are there any special settings in DC8 I should be using. Sorry if this thread is posted elsewhere, can you just point me there if so. Thanks so much.
Regards,
mace

[Craig Maier]

Hi,

The key element of Diamond Disc restoration vs other restorations is their vertical cut (hill and dale) nature. You should transfer the recording via a stereo cartridge into Diamond Cut. Then, use the file conversion filter set "From Stereo to Mono (L-R)" to extract the vertical component of dispacement and to reject the lateral component. After that is done, de-click (just like you would with a lateral 78) using the EZ Impulse filter and then De-hiss using the Continuous Noise filter. Or, try using the EZ Clean filter.

The key is that you do not need to custom wire your phone cartridge to mono. The software performs that task electronicall (and better than a wired cartridge can do it).

Craig

[mace]

Craig,
Thanks so much, you made my day.
MKace

[Craig Maier]

BTW - while you are making the transfer, it will sound terrible. It will only sound correct after the conversion via (L-R).

Craig

[mace]

Sorry, but I'm having trouble doing the file transfer. I have the stereo file as the source and I go to the file conversions in the filter menu. I select stereo to mono L-R, and select run filter. The destination window appears blank after only a second. What am I doing or not doing? Sorry but I haven't used this before. Thanks.
mace

[Craig Maier]

Hi,

Do not know what would do that; I have never seen that. Are you running the system in Classic Edit mode? Is the source file really two channels? What is the sample rate of the source file and what is the resolution (bit depth)?

Does anything happen if you select Stereo to Stereo?

Craig

ps - I just thought of what could do that - if the file was recorded in mono to begin with - - - two channel mono - - - that would give you a L-R signal that is zero.

[Craig Maier]

Hi Again,

Maybe you can send me a 5 or 10 second snippet of the original file as taken directly from the Diamond Disc. Send it to -

dctools@aol.com

Craig

[Craig Maier]

Hi,

Been thinking about this - - - I think that you had your preamplifer set to monophonic. So, the signal was summed to mono before the transfer to your computer. You need to set the preamplifier to stereo (and no "Y" cables should be used in the signal chain).

Craig

[Craig Maier]

Hi Mace -

The problem is what I expected. The file that you sent is dual-channel monophonic, not stereo. Your preamplifier may be set to mono or your phono cartridge has its two signals "Y" connected together or something like that. Use the XY display to see the problem; there is a discussion in the users guide/helpfile on the use of the X-Y display as a tool to diagnose these sorts of problems.

Craig

[mace]

Hi Craig,
Thanks, yes, my external sound interface was sending a one channel mono signal which resulted in both channels in DC8 to be mono, not stereo as you predicted. Once I changed the setting, the file conversion worked flawlessly. Thanks for your help.
mace

[Craig Maier]

Hi,

Glad to hear that it is fixed. One other thing; look in the helpfile/users guide to determine the optimum stylus for Diamond Disc Transfers.

Craig

[Craig Maier]

Hi Again,

I just looked it up in the DC8 Helpfile - (Diamond Disc Stylus):

Edison 80-RPM Diamond Discs: 3.7 mil spherical or non-truncated conical stylus.

Craig