For Sale - 49 New Bamboo Fibre Needles

[kirtley2012]

49 New bamboo fibre needles, unknown manufacture, but they seem like pretty good ones

£15 plus shipping

[Daithi]

Interested in those.
Where can I find them?

[Inigo]

They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

[Daithi]

They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

I like long needles. The fiberglass needles that I make for myself are over 25mm.

[epigramophone]

They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

They can easily be shortened if desired, but if left as they are they will last a very long time.

[Inigo]

In my case (or my taste) with my own bamboo needles, I find them playing beautifully when they're near half that length. If too long, I find the volume poor, and the sound has a strange hollow character. When they're thick, and length is 4-5 times the thickness, they sound strong, full, warm and beautiful.
BTW, I measured wrong; kirtley's needles are 11-12 thicknesses long. Sorry...

[Orchorsol]

They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

They look a similar length (or maybe just slightly longer) to the very best original English makes, Davey (EMG), Expert and Astra. I find those sound equally good at all lengths, but they're hard to find and very expensive nowadays. HMV bamboo fibre needles were always much shorter. Longer needles obviously provide for a lot more cuts; tracking geometry will vary more widely due to varying needle length, although that can be compensated for by altering the needle angle (which is not critical over a fairly wide range). On reflection, that's possibly the reason why HMV fibres were shorter - needle angle isn't as easily adjustable due to HMV's bayonet soundbox fitting.

[Inigo]

That's true. My hmv soundboxes currently under use have their back original connectors substituted for red plain rubber connectors (those sold for the Meltrope soundboxes), so I can adjust the needle angle freely.
HMV bamboo needles I don't know. But I have an original Hall Fibre Needles package purchased many years ago, and these needles are of the short type (5-6 thicknesses long).

[VanEpsFan1914]

For what it's worth they really look like some antique Victor Fibre Needles I found & used up. They will be quiet at first and as they get trimmed the sound will build and build.

[mick_vt]

If they seem too long it's an easy thing to do to cut them in half with a razor saw