Victor Program Transcriptions

[Bucky]

Would anyone have a preset for Victor program transcriptions they?d care to share? I find these behave quite differently and would be most grateful for a guiding hand.

Many thanks in advance

[Craig Maier]

The only thing that I know about them is that they are made of shellac like 78 RPM records only they are recorded at 33 rpm instead of 78. I know that they play for roughly 10 minutes and require a 78 (not a 33 rpm LP) stylus. I think that they were made beginning around 1930. I suspect that the noise signature must be quite different than a standard 78 because of the dramatically slower speed. That would mean that impulses would tend to be longer in time duration. I suspect that would mean that I would attempt to de-click these using the Expert Impulse Filter using 78 mode with larger values of the Size setting compared to the typical 78 situation. Let us know if that helps any.

[Bucky]

Craig: Appreciate your response and help. Yes, noise is substantially different and yes, your suggestion of larger size settings helps. I?ll continue to experiment. The audio is amazingly thin ? likely why these discs ultimately failed. Fascinating bit of history.

[Craig Maier]

I found a few Victor Program Transcription recordings in my collection and transferred them and cleaned them up. I transferred them using an RIAA preamplifier (figuring that to be the most common type out there). I used a 2.7 mil Truncated Elliptical stylus. My soundcard was set for a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a resolution value of 16 bits. Turntable speed was 33 1/3 RPM.

The multifilter preset is attached. Note that it uses the VPA to correct the RIAA EQ at the beginning of the process. You may want to adjust the last filter in the lineup (bandpass) for optimal results, especially the high freq control.

I achieved good results with this setup. Your mileage may vary.



Craig

Note: You will achieve results closest to mine by using the same transfer technique (RIAA Preamp and a 78 stylus of similar size). I do not know how well this preset will work under other transfer situations. More specifically, if you transfer using a flat preamplifier, then you will need to modify the VPA checkboxes appropriately.

keywords: RCA Victor Program Transcription Filter

[Bucky]

Brilliant -- many thanks for the preset. I'll give it a try this coming weekend.

[Bucky]

Very impressive results! I tweeked for flat pickup and noodled the bandpass a pinch. Bit of mids boosting and got a very nice sound. Apprecate your help greatly.