Strange DD reproducer on ebay

[rizbone]

Not sure what the heck this is but it is interesting DD reproducer with what looks like the needle boxes from a Cheney machine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-ORIGINA ... 3ce2e6d0cb

[fran604g]

Not sure what the heck this is but it is interesting DD reproducer with what looks like the needle boxes from a Cheney machine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-ORIGINA ... 3ce2e6d0cb

Hmmm...you'd have to set the height of it awfully high to use it.

Fran

[Curt A]

This looks to be some type of needle bar adapter designed to use steel needles or diamond & sapphire styli for different types of records. There appears to be a diamond and sapphire stylus in the box... Is this a home made invention or has anyone seen anything like this before? It seems difficult to imagine attaching anything to a stock needle bar, so it must have been custom made for the purpose.

[De Soto Frank]

Frightening, and yet strangely compelling...

[alang]

I think that was probably a handyman's solution to a chipped or lost diamond tip. Looks old, so maybe before diamond styli were being reproduced? I wouldn't want to play any good record on it though.

Andreas

[phonojim]

I agree with Andreas - a modification born out of necessity when the diamond broke off. One sees a lot of these types of things which were done back in the day in an attempt to keep these machines operating at a time where parts were no longer available. This person obviously understood the problem and the solution needed, but had no way to get the correct parts for the job, so he attempted to fabricate his own fix - which probably didn't work.

Jim

[Edisone]

..with over $100 worth of curiousity about what it'll do to records.... If you could get the horn assembly high enough, it might work. I wonder how well Pathé records would survive under its attack .

Problem with most old musical items is that they continue to make some kinda noise long after they need serious repair - and 'some kinda noise' is often good enough to satisy people!