I don't deliberately collect Pathé records, they just turn up from time to time in collections.
I was how-ever very pleased with this one as I have very few bag-pipe 78 records.
Can I play this with a bamboo needle or does it needle a special diamond stylus etc ?
Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
Aha ! Thank you very much Inigo.
It always surprises me how few bag pipe 78 records there seem to be. There are of course many fine Scottish performers but where are the bag pipes ?
Oh well, this will never be played then ...............................
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
These Pathé records are vertical cuts with a wide, fairly shallow groove. The sapphire ball stylus is cut to fit these grooves, albeit barely. It's not at all unusual for the stylus to skate across the record if the turntable isn't perfectly flat.
I suppose you could try a fibre needle. I doubt it would hurt anything. You would need a vertically oriented reproducer though. You might also want to try blunting the point just a bit to see if it fits the groove better.
I suppose you could try a fibre needle. I doubt it would hurt anything. You would need a vertically oriented reproducer though. You might also want to try blunting the point just a bit to see if it fits the groove better.
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
Thank you ! Very interesting indeed.52089 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:44 am These Pathé records are vertical cuts with a wide, fairly shallow groove. The sapphire ball stylus is cut to fit these grooves, albeit barely. It's not at all unusual for the stylus to skate across the record if the turntable isn't perfectly flat.
I suppose you could try a fibre needle. I doubt it would hurt anything. You would need a vertically oriented reproducer though. You might also want to try blunting the point just a bit to see if it fits the groove better.
I will give it a go then - and probably find that it needs to rotate at 160 rpm ................
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
Pathé's of the post-1915 type which you have pictured usually play at about 80rpm. The larger and earlier discs can play at anything between 90 and 120rpm.
Pathé made reproducers adapted to fit conventional gramophone tonearms. They sometimes turn up on eBay, but make sure that the ball sapphire stylus is present and unworn as replacements are expensive.
Pathé made reproducers adapted to fit conventional gramophone tonearms. They sometimes turn up on eBay, but make sure that the ball sapphire stylus is present and unworn as replacements are expensive.
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
I've had success playing some verticals with thorn needles.
BCN thorn needles made to the original 1920s specifications: http://www.burmesecolourneedles.com
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4DNb ... TPE-zTAJGg?
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4DNb ... TPE-zTAJGg?
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
Very interesting and useful.epigramophone wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:08 pm Pathé's of the post-1915 type which you have pictured usually play at about 80rpm. The larger and earlier discs can play at anything between 90 and 120rpm.
Pathé made reproducers adapted to fit conventional gramophone tonearms. They sometimes turn up on eBay, but make sure that the ball sapphire stylus is present and unworn as replacements are expensive.
Thank you epigramophone.
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Re: Does this Pathé need a special needle ?
I would hesitate to play a Pathé vertical disc on an acoustic machine with anything except a sapphire ball stylus. If you do plunge ahead with a wooden needle, stand right by the machine while you play it and be ready to grab the reproducer if it takes off skating across the record surface. If it does, it will go with amazing speed, and it can start skating at any point during play--a record can seem to be doing just fine, and a minute or so in, suddenly, ZOOM!