Everplay tungstone needle - a review

[richardh]

Instructions on the use of tungstone needles is mixed. I have seen needle tins that state that the tungstone needle may be removed and reinserted as desired. On other tins it advises against removing the point.

Personally I err on the side of caution and will keep it in the same soundbox and will change the soundbox rather than the needle

RJ

[Operafan]

I recently picked up one of these attachments, it was seemingly unused but there is some corrosion on the coiled tungstun wire. What is the best way to deal with this (the wire looks very thin and delicate)? Has anyone been successful in refilling these with new wire? I'm interested, if so.

Jeff

[richardh]

Richard and Barnett, apart from the loudness and fragility of the wire, you haven't commented much about the sound of this Everplay.......I would expect that the vocal sibilants and the higher frequency percussive sounds should be noticabley muffled with this needle compared with a standard one. Especially when the wire is extended a little more..... Any observations?

Hi Greg, well I did the test today for sound quality. I compared the Everplay directly with a medium tone standard tungstone needle and medium tone steel. The recording I used was Artie Shaw playing "Deep purple". I have to say I couldn't detect any noticible difference in the frequency range either in the instruments or the vocals. I did the test using a 5b HMV soundbox on my HMV 163 which has a re-enterent (or orthophonic on your side of the pond) horn. Bear in mind though that the HMV re-enterent horn is all metal and it has been commented on before that it gives a brighter sound than the Americal wood horns of a similar design.

There may of course be a small difference, but I wasn't able to detect it. After playng the same disk 3 times one after the other....I don't think I will want to listen to it again for a bit

With respect to Operafans question about re-loading an Everplay.... I have a supply of additional wire (kindly given to me by another board member to whom I am very grateful)..which I will comment is surprisingly strong given its thinness. For future reference if anyone has tried reloading one of these I'd certainly be interested in how its done....although I estimate that I need to play about another 26,070 disks until I get there.

RJ

[gregbogantz]

Richard, thanks for your further review of the Everplay. I'd like to listen to one of these needles, but I don't know anybody who has one.

Regarding the re-use and remounting of a tungsten needle: Tungsten is much harder than steel and it will gouge your record groove walls if the tip does not have the proper flat surfaces formed on it. Once it is worn into a V shape from playing a record, it should remain in position in the player if possible. If you must remove the needle for any reason, you need to reform the tip before you entrust it to play your good records. Victor recommends this and they are correct. I use a crummy old record for this purpose. Just play an old junk record for one or two minutes with your repositioned or remounted needle to reform the V in the proper position on the wire tip before you play any valuable records with it. It's a simple and effective precaution.

[richardh]

Greg,

yes, when I have taken the Everplay out of the soundbox I used a worthless disk on the turntable to reform the needle tip. I remember Carsten mentioning that this would be a good idea. But as I have two identical soundboxes for my main machine I will changes these over to save the hassle of having to break the needle in each time. The Everplay is a brilliant convenience...but I have to add that my best records never see anything other than a cactus point (or a diamond in a light weight modern pick up).

RJ

[frenchmarky]

Anybody know what size tungsten wire this thing came with? I'm wondering if it was either .006", .007", or something in between. If you need more wire, Smallparts sells it in these two sizes real cheap in 60 inch lengths, but it is straight. I suppose one could try coiling it up into this thing but probably have to be careful not to put a hard bend or kink into it. From what I've used, seems the straight wire should be able to be permanently curved quite a bit before it simply gives way and kinks at a single point.

Related - I am making my own needles using their .006" wire, for use in my 10-50. I pre-polish the tips by firmly stroking them into the grooves of a junked record, while rotating the needle at the same time. This way the tip is polished into a perfectly groove-shaped cone, not just on two sides like when you run the needle on a worn-out record for a few minutes. Only takes about 30 seconds to polish them but I have to do it somewhat firmly so that it really digs into the grooves sometimes and wears away at the tip. If you do this you can look at the very tip up close and see it has a mirror finish all the way around. Also I believe doing it this way helps better prevent the tip from starting to fray while it is used up.