new to the grafonola game

[dbottic]

Good morning,

I recently inherited my great grandmother's columbia grafonola. It is the big one, not the table top kind.

I have been very lucky in that I found a local man in the business who is going to restore it for me. It seems to be in great shape, better than he expected, he said.

Unfortuneatley, it came without records. I'd love to buy a few to play on it, but I don't know much about records and I'm not sure what kind it will play/what to buy when I'm looking on ebay.

If anybody could share any information to help me with my record buying process, I would be greatly appreciative. I'd hate to have it restored and then not have a single thing to spin on it. I do know that it is getting a diamond tip needle, if that makes any difference.

I thank you in advance for your time and information!

[John Svensson]

What model of Columbia Grafonola is this that used a diamond stylus? You might want to look into 78s (Ebay, Craigslist, several 78 on-line auction houses...) that are played with steel needles. Just don't buy any vertical cut discs (Pathé, Edison Diamond Discs...).

[FloridaClay]

As discussed in another current thread, most old 78s are dirt cheap. Check on Craigslist for your area periodically and see what comes up. Every now and then you see large lots where someone is cleaning out an estate or downsizing. Earlier this year I bought more than 100 for $7 that way, and most of them were in fairly decent condition. 50 cents or $1 each is probably typical though. Getting some that way and experimenting to see what you like, and don't like, is a decent way to get started. For example, I always knew I liked music from the 40s and classical music, but I also discovered that I really love a lot of the mid-20s popular music too.

Clay

[gramophoneshane]

A lot of collector recommend only playing acoustically recorded & early electrically recorded disc from before about 1935 or so, on a wind-up gramophone.
Later discs were really designed to be played on electric players that used a much lighter tonearm, and playing them on a wind-up machine with a heavy metal tonearm & soundbox can wear later records out at a faster rate than the earlier disc.
The easiest way to determine an earlier disc is to look at the "run-in area" of a record (the smooth outer rim of a record, before the grooves begin). If the run-in area is smooth & has no spiral groove to pull the needle into the grooves of the recording, then it should be safe to play on a wind-up machine.

Regarding needles-
Straight shank needles that have a diamond, sapphire or other very hard tips that allow you to play many records before wearing out, were also designed for use on electric machines with a light weight pick-up/tonearm.
Using these needles on a machine like yours will ruin your records after one or two plays because the tonearm is far too heavy for this type of needle. Because a diamond etc is much harder than the material used in a shellac record, and being under excessive pressure, the needle cuts into the record like a hot knife through butter.

The most common needle used by collectors on wind-up machines that are relatively safe to use, are ordinary steel needles, which usually come in packets or tins of 100 or 200.
Older records suitable for you machine were designed to be played with steel needles because the record shellac contains abrasives so that the steel wears down before the shellac.
These steel needles should only be used to play one side of a record & then thrown away, which is why there's so many in a packet. Luckily new needles are still made & they are extremely cheap, especially if you buy in bulk.
You can also use fibre needles (bamboo, cactus & various other natural wood fibres), which can be resharpened about 10 times or more before they become to short to use, and these will do the least amount of damage to shellac, but generally speaking, they are more expensive than buying steel, you also need a special sharpener for the type of fibre needle you're using, and your records have to be in brand new condition otherwise the point will wear down before it reaches the end of one song.
The sound produced by these needles is usually a lower volume & less direct than steel, which some people like, but personally I prefer the clarity & volume of loud tone steel needles.

[David Spanovich]

Good morning,

I'd hate to have it restored and then not have a single thing to spin on it. I do know that it is getting a diamond tip needle, if that makes any difference.

I thank you in advance for your time and information!

Is this a wind-up phonograph or an electrically amplified model, such as the "Grafonola" by Guild --

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwCZ-4Yovv4[/youtube]

...or some other type?

Diamond tipped needles were never used on Columbia acoustic (wind-up) models; normally the needles were steel, tungsten-tipped, fiber/bamboo, or cactus/thorn.

DS

[EdiBrunsVic]

Congratulations on acquiring the Columbia Grafonola. There are great resources on this forum to assist you in getting to know your machine better and more about the history of the company that produced it.

I have a few Columbia records if you need some. Contact me with a PM if interested.

[Lucius1958]

Some pictures would be helpful to determine what you have.

Once again: unless you have a machine with a light-weight electric pickup (which, as far as I can tell, were never referred to as 'Grafonolas', except in the case of the Guild machine above), do not use a diamond stylus...