New to Talking Machine Have questions

Share your phonograph repair & restoration techniques here
Aaron
Victor II
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 3:08 pm
Location: Somewhere looking for a 9ft Brass Horn

Re: New to Talking Machine Have questions

Post by Aaron »

Brad wrote:Welcome Justme,

You have been bitten. Start making space now, as your home will quickly fill with machines. (for me - 7 years, 50 machines)

I can add a few things to what has already been said:

-Don't use alchohol to clean your records as it will desolve the shelac.

-I purchased from Wyatts a couple of months ago and he was very much in business http://www.wyattsmusical.com/ I buy my needles there. Best deal is by the 1000 (You will use them!) There are two types commonly available: Soft and Loud. Louds are loud, soft, not as loud. I pretty much use the soft needles and only use a loud when demonstrating the difference to an interested guest. Another good source for needles is APSCO http://www.antiquephono.com/

-There is not much you need to do mechanically other than lubricate it if it needs it. These machines were extremely well built and do not require much care. If you are interested in the mechanics, restoration, and repair, I would recommend you buy a copy of "The Compleat Talking Machine" It is great book with a wealth of information.

-Records - I pretty much stick to the Acoustic era (~pre 1926). Big band type of music is very prevalent and available. Jazz and Blues are harder to find and more expensive. Check out the record auctions by Kurt Nauck and Tom Hawthorne. I would also recommend hitting estate sales and flea markets. People have a hard time getting rid of 78's and you can get them cheap. Start buying cheap and see what you like.

-Advice - This board is the place. (Just watch out for Aaron :lol: )

Finally, yes, at $50 you got a very a good deal.
Justme,

I can't really help on this subject because other than 1 disk machine, I'm a cylinder fanatic. I am only chiming in to say, who's the bad person here? The 15 year old cylinder collector, or the 50 some year old man who's picking on him :lol: ;)

Aaron

P.S. I'm sure Brad will add something to this thread again after he wakes up from his nap and get over to his computer via his jazzy scooter :lol:

User avatar
Brad
Victor III
Posts: 939
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:12 pm
Personal Text: So many phonographs, so little money
Location: The Garden State

Re: New to Talking Machine Have questions

Post by Brad »

Hey Aaron! Who you callin' 50???? I don't turn 50 for 22 more days! :x
Why do we need signatures when we are on a first avatar basis?

Aaron
Victor II
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 3:08 pm
Location: Somewhere looking for a 9ft Brass Horn

Re: New to Talking Machine Have questions

Post by Aaron »

Brad wrote:Hey Aaron! Who you callin' 50???? I don't turn 50 for 22 more days! :x
:lol:

justme
Victor Jr
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:19 am
Location: In Serendipity

Re: New to Talking Machine Have questions

Post by justme »

Thank you for all the great advice. I can see how this can become a disease :D
**Katrina**

gramophoneshane
Victor VI
Posts: 3463
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:21 pm

Re: New to Talking Machine Have questions

Post by gramophoneshane »

bostonmike1 wrote: Being a cylinder enthusiast only, my knowledge of "needle" machines is zero. Why would not a hardened, or tungsten last longer and why does a standard steel needle only last one play? This has probably been discussed in the past but I tend to skip over the topics not related to cylinders---- in other words that which I do not know anything about. Michael
Michael,

Most shellac disc's contain abrasives, which are designed to wear the needle before the record.
Early discs like Berliners didn't have quite enough abrasives, which is why it's not recommended to play these on acoustic machines with a steel needle. By about 1904 they had the receipe pretty well right, so an ordinary steel needle would play one side of a record with minimal wear to the disc itself. While you can sometimes get away with playing a second or even third side without changing the needle, it's not advised because the needle point has started to be ground down & will damage the grooves.
Once light-weight pick-ups gained popularity in the early 30's, most companies started to reduce the amount of abrasives in their records because they no longer needed to combat the excessive weight of the acoustic soundbox, but some were still needed to ensure the needle wore before the disc.
This is why it's not recommended to play records made in USA & UK after about 1935 on an acoustic machine.

Vertical cut discs designed to be played with a sapphire ball stylus such as Pathé's contained no abrasives, so a steel needle will damage these in much the same way as they would a diamond disc record. Besides being the wrong shape to fit the groove, the lack of abrasives means the record wears before the needle.

It is true that hard metals such as tungsten will last longer, but again the record pays the price because the shellac will wear before the needle. The only mildly successful application of tungsten was in needles like the Victor Tungstone, which used a fine gauge tungsten wire mounted in a brass or steel shaft of normal size. The fine wire sat in the bottom of the groove & was small enough to be worn away by the abrasives.

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