Looks like theres not much left for me to add...
I would pick a robust cartridge, I wouldnt use the very lightweight things that were in fashion at the end of the LP era. 78s use much higher recording level, putting a lot more stress on pickups, and high speed off centre records apply more stress than slower ones. Shure and Stanton spring to mind as being good quality and tough with it.
Typical tracking forces are around double compared to 33s, so a 2g pickup might like around 4g. Mechanical players used something like 1 oz tracking force, giving record life of around 50 plays, and needle life of one track.
78s were recorded with no eq, so putting them through an RIAA preamp will always give the wrong spectral balance. But in all honesty the frequency response of these recordings was so hit and miss that it doesnt matter, just adjust graphic eq until it sounds good.
Finally an online search might be easier than ripping, as there are others who've put plenty of time in and done the job already. And of course a few tracks came out on both 78 and 45.
FWIW some 78s have been turned into genuine stereo recordings. Early mechanical recorders were typically used in pairs, one on the left of the stage, one on the right, because of low reliability. If you can get both versions of the record, and in some cases you can, and can then sync them together you can get real stereo. Its probably a hopeless amount of work, but I know its been done professionally.
For 78 diehards, its not too hard to make your own 78s using aluminium discs. Record with a steel needle, which is good one play only. Never use steel needles for playing ali records.
I saw a diagam for an answerphone in a 1930s encyclopaedia once that used 2x ali 78s, one for outgoing message, the other to record incoming. I guess the 3 seconds or so it took to get upto speed must have confused a few callers.
People that have never had 78s might not know that some early 78s were one sided, there are early ones with angels carved on the back.
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