1931 Program Transcription Popular Selections Paul Whiteman

[melvind]

I don't always agree that Edisons were superior sonically. Fighting words to some, I know, but they've all got their moments / merits.Sean

I quite agree! I find the background noise on diamond discs very annoying. But, there are some really great ones out there.

[Wolfe]

Unless you wanna send your styli to Expert and wait weeks for retipping, Esoteric Sound and Kab are probably your best one stop.

https://www.esotericsound.com/CartStyli.htm

https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/ttables.htm

Naucks appears to still offer custom sizes for the Shure M-44.

[OrthoSean]

I am envious of all of your styli in various sizes. I would like to have that too, but it seems kind of extreme for me as an amature hobbiest. But, perhaps now and then I could pick something up. Any suggestions where to look for the larger sizes? 3.5 mil and 4 mil. I use the LP Gear 3.0 for nearly everything 78 rpm. But, at times wish I had something larger.

The last custom stylus I bought was a 4.0 TE that replaced my 25 year old one that I basically wore out (the 4.0 is a must for most 1925-1929 Victors and UK HMVs, it seems to reduce that crackle nicely). I got mine from Nauck and it was I think in the $200 range for the Shure 44 series which he no longer sells.

At this point, I'll be replacing mine when needed by sending the old assembly to Expert Stylus in England, that's where Kurt gets his anyway. I don't know that it will be any cheaper, but I don't want to keep switching cartridge types around and since Stanton and Shure are now not making new products, he's now using AT products.

If I were you, I'd get in touch with Expert and see if they'll put a tip on whatever housing you send them (I believe they replace the cantilever also). I know they used to do that as long as you sent them the old assembly, that may have changed, I can't say since I'm hopefully set for a bit.

If you do go that route, I'd be curious to hear how you make out, I'm sure others here might also.

Personally, I'd say the most useful sizes besides a 3 would be the 4 followed by a 2.3 or 2.5, the others in between aren't used much by me, although I use a 2 and a 1.5 frequently for early discs like Berliners and the like.

Sean

EDIT - so I see Nauck does still carry some 44 stuff. I guess Wolfe and I were posting at the same time. I've dealt with KAB before and have no complaints. I'd still say check with Expert directly. I think that would be the best bet.

[gramophone-georg]

I have said this elsewhere and just last night was talking with someone who was having issues playing these back electrically. I also have a number of these and they can be a lot of fun. With these discs, there's no hard and fast playback rule for a stylus size. Some of the direct recorded ones, like the Grand Canyon Suite and the Marek Weber "Potpourris" need a smaller 2 or 2.5 mil stylus while others are better with either my 3.5 CONICAL or 4.0 elliptical. It pays to have a selection handy if you're wanting the best possible sound out of anything, really. When I was doing transfers for Living Era and ASV back in the 2000s before they went belly up and most people stopped buying CDs, I invested in a dozen or so different size custom styli and I've only ever had to replace a couple. They aren't cheap by any means, close to $200 each now, but I have no regrets and they're used daily, granted, most often I'm using the LP Gear 3.0 mil for most casual listening and saving the others for actual digitizing. Most collectors that visit are often extremely surprised at the sonic difference a slightly smaller or larger stylus can make on a 78 (or Victor PT) when I demonstarte.

Sean

I am envious of all of your styli in various sizes. I would like to have that too, but it seems kind of extreme for me as an amature hobbiest. But, perhaps now and then I could pick something up. Any suggestions where to look for the larger sizes? 3.5 mil and 4 mil. I use the LP Gear 3.0 for nearly everything 78 rpm. But, at times wish I had something larger.

I was going to say "you are not alone", but I won't say that.

[gramophone-georg]

I don't always agree that Edisons were superior sonically. Fighting words to some, I know, but they've all got their moments / merits.Sean

I quite agree! I find the background noise on diamond discs very annoying. But, there are some really great ones out there.

DDs have always been sort of a nemesis to me, too. A lot of them seem to have sort of a ringing sound to them on a DD player, and a cross wired stereo cartridge with the stereo/ mono switch set to mono seems to pick up enough rumble to be really annoying. There are some good hot sides on Edison though, and the advantage is you get a longer romp than on a "regular" 78.

[gramophone-georg]

NOTE-I edited my initial post here- I said GOLD Chromium needles for Program Transcriptions when it should have been ORANGE Chromium per the sleeves. Sorry for the fumble.