Recording in/sampling from 78' records

I've got a little frowing stash of 78' records and I'm very interested to hear what's on them but I don't think I can play them on my record deck as the acetate can damage the needle? 

Or can I simply record them in at 45rpm and then speed them up somehow? Anyone done this before? Would like a simple solution.

Hope you're all well. 

It depends on if they're shellac 78s or vinyl 78s - If the former you'll need a proper shellac 78 stylus as the grooves are about double the width of vinyl. Also I *think* (could be wrong mind) 78s are cut pre the RIAA curve, so the EQ will be a bit wonky (probably end up super bassy)

My old Numark DJ decks had a 78 speed setting and the 78 records I listened to via that sounded "OK" but obviously crackly/old/crap EQ (as stated above) which was actually what I was looking for in the samples I was making so it worked out ok.

I guess if you are at all worried, buy a cheap needle and see what happens

OK cool thanks - so if they're shellac get a different needle.

But if they're vinyl and I manage to record them in, should I just record in at 45rpm and then speed them up in software. My turntable only does 33/45 and a +8/-8 pitch adjust (standard 1210mk2 set-up). 

How did you guys manage that?

Nah they're all pretty hard acetate. Damn it!

Crosley (the older brand era) and Library Congress put out these record players for the blind that can handle 16, 78, 33, and 45 rpm discs, you might look into getting those. They were plentiful as they were used by various schools, libraries, etc.

Yeah it looks like a 78' stylus would cost me a surprising amount actually. Potentially not worth the effort, I'm just really intrigued to hear what's on these tho. 

If they're acetates that makes them potentially more interesting but also pretty fussy to store and handle.  You can really only get a handful of plays out of an acetate before it's ruined, and there are a lot of environmental conditions that can make the acetate flake off of the metal disc during storage.  They're really only meant to be played a few times as demos or used to make the mother that's then used to make stampers during the pressing process.

If they're acetates they are straight off a lathe and could potentially be the only existing copies of whatever's on them so they're definitely worth getting digitized somehow, but you might be better off trying to find someone local who has the gear and experience to do it (depending on the age, condition, and possibility that they're of historical interest).

This has a good overview of disc types and their issues:

https://www.nedcc.org/fundamentals-of-av-preservation-textbook/chapter1-care-and-handling-of-audiovisual-collections/chapter-1-section-2

Can you post a photo of one?

I have a huge amount of 78s (mostly shellacs) and cylinders, and yeah getting a 78 stylus may be a good way to go.  A fair amount of them weren't recorded at exactly 78rpm, so if your turntable (the audio technica ones have a 78 rpm setting) can pitch up/down, you can adjust for that.  Playing them on my victrolas is a bit harder to adjust. 

I currently have Pioneer TT-100 turntables that have +/- 50% pitch control, so I could potentially run at 67.5rpm...

Yeah I can only do 45rpm with a +-8 max pitch adjust. Not sure what max speed I can get considering that?  Sure I'll put photos/links here. Not sure if i can justify buying a 78 stylus at this stage. 

45rpm + 8% = 48.6rpm

Cheers. Will post photos of what these records actually are later.