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That 78 RPM record you are holding in your hand can be anywhere between 50 and 100 years old.  You can’t just throw it on a turntable and play it or it will be destroyed.

Typical grooves on a 78 RPM record are wider than those on LP's (33 RPM) and 45's.  Playing a 78 requires a special stylus, or needle, which is much wider than what you would use on an LP or 45.

Typical generic 78 needles are elliptical and have a pointed tip. The pointed tips of a generic 78 needle tends to dig in to the bottom part of worn groove and don't fit well. A better fit is achieved with a Truncated Stylus whereby the tip is somewhat flattened off. Another advantage of the truncated stylus is that no matter how well the record was cleaned, there always seems to be some significant amount of residual filth and debris remaining in the very bottom of the groove. A truncated stylus rides higher above this debris, whereas a non-truncated conical or elliptic ends up having to literally plow and gouge its' way through the mess.

New Laser Technology

There is a new technology that uses lasers to read the grooves on a record instead of needles. While it shows great promise, especially in restoration work, it's still in the laboratory phase and probably wouldn't be available for commercial use for several years. It's also very, very expensive.

RIAA Equalization

Prior to 50's there was no standard equalization to achieve the highest possible fidelity and smoothness of response. This ended with the establishment of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) which established a single agreed on equalization curve. Remember that old 78 RPM records were made prior to this standard. Old records played back on equipment that has built in RIAA EQ curves (such as most modern day amps with phono inputs) will sound muddy with tinny highs. Record these "flat" without RIAA. That will probably require a special pre-amp between your turntable and computer input. After you get the audio onto your computer you can fiddle with the EQ to try and match whatever the recording used for equalization. It's a trial-and-error thing.

Cleaning

We've covered this elsewhere, but is needs to be repeated: old record recording surfaces were not made out of only vinyl but often times shellac, lacquer or acetate. Shellac and substrates made from even cardboard like material can not accept the chemicals like those used on vinyl records - alcohol and acetone in particular. Make absolutely certain the cleaning solution contains no alcohol or acetone. Use of these will destroy the record. Use distilled water only and live with the results. A drop of mild, liquid dishwashing soap added to the distilled water will help.

Do not leave any old records immersed in water. Many contain a porous fiber core that will quickly absorb the moisture. These must be dry cleaned only. Here's what will happen if you don't heed this: the substrate will swell and the surface de-laminate.

Before magnetic tape and wire recorders, early home audio recording onto blank discs was very popular. Several companies had disk cutters placed in department stores where a person, for 25¢, could make a short 1 minute, 78 RPM recording. Many of those disks still survive. Most of those discs are acetate over a cardboard fiber substrate. Don't try to wet clean them.

Because of the porous nature of cardboard and the acetate surface, you may be looking at a record covered with fine de-lamination lines. This is from the moisture in the atmosphere and the uneven expansion and contraction of the different materials. Some of the earlier discs were actually a hard wax surface over cardboard. Audio restoration is possible but is does takes significant experience and professional-grade equipment.

Diamond Disks ?

You probably never saw one of these but there are many around. Thomas Edison started work in 1911 on his own improved discs and the result was the Edison Diamond Discs. According to the hype at the time they could played without wear, would not warp and sounded better than existing 78 RPM discs. Diamond Discs used a diamond playback needle while 78 RPM records used a steel needle. Diamond Discs have a playback speed of 80 RPM, are a hefty 10oz, ¼ inch thick and hold about 5 minutes of audio.

The most important difference was the way the audio information is recorded. With 78 RPM records, the needle inscribes the audio laterally, or moving left and right. Diamond Discs use a vertical cut or up-and-down method.

Millions of Diamond Discs are still around today. Their sound quality is pretty good. Back then they cost between $1 and $2.

You do not need Edison reproducer to play them. Just drop one on your modern turntable with stereo cartridge. Don't try to use a Victrola steel needle player because that will damage the discs.

Restoration is about the same for any old 78 RPM record. Use your normal LP needle and just play them. If you want better reproduction, you should buy a 3.7 Mill stylus to play these as the grooves are quite a bit wider than modern LPs 0.7 Mill or so. A modern 78rpm stylus is the 2nd best choice.

As to the speed, just record them at either 78rpm or you can also use 45rpm if that's all your turntable offers. Adjust the speed to 80rpm using your software. Even though these records are in mono, make sure you record in stereo so you extract the vertical signal components and hear the record as it should be heard. Once you have your stereo recording, just choose the File Conversion function in your software to convert to mono. This will give you the vertical component.

The important thing to remember - if you have any old record and the material on it is important - it's best to leave the restoration work to a professional.