Issues with new diamond disc stylus.

[ImperialGuardsman]

I didn't know they were using new stylus bars. Since the diamond is mounted on a metal piece which is then soldered into the bar (so it appears to me),I would think it a simple matter to produce the new diamond on a mount which could mounted into an old bar. There must be truckloads of old ones out there with broken styli. I think I must have a dozen or so in my junkbox.
What is the story on diamond cylinder styli? Are there similar problems with those or does the lighter weight of the cylinder reproducers help?
Several years ago, Wyatt's Musical Americana had NOS DD stylus/bar assemblies for sale. Does anyone know if he still has any available? I bought 3 of them for personal stock but I haven't had to use any of them yet. I have several DD reproducers, all with good diamonds and only one DD player, so I'm set for the foreseeable future.
BTW: is it just me or does there seem to be a greater interest these days in DDs and machines than there was say, 15-20 years ago? I don't remember that much interest back then. Even 10 years ago when I last sold a DD machine it was hard to sell a complete working machine for very much money at all.

Jim

I know this is a old thread, but I thought I would chime in on this as Edison DD stylus is very important to us Edison collectors. I must be fortunate, but I have a Amberola 30 and a DD machine, both stylus were purchased from Wyatt's Musical Americana, and both work great. I am not sure what the problems are that collectors are experiencing from EXPERT stylus. It is possible that the stylus from Wyatt's may be original stock.

In any event, regardless of manufacturer, as a collector we do not want to wear or damage our DD's. We must make certain that the diamond stylus is a accurate replacement. I am no expert in stylus but I think that the diamond stylus is probably not the same diamond material used by Edison in original reproducers. If we could ever get something equivalent, I am sure we would be paying more than 150.00 for the stylus.

I'm glad that your stylii are working fine. Mine failed however (I did not get them from Wyatt's though). Steve Medved is working with Bruce Diamonds to get a better quality stylus. It seems that they needed some more polishing so they have been delayed, but the samples that had been sent out seem to be very good. I'll report when I get my diamonds.

[startgroove]

Hey people, I've had the same problem. I replaced a DD point several years ago and after a half dozen playings, it began to shave the groove a little. I examined it under a lupe and discovered a chip on one side. I thought maybe I had dropped the reproducer down to hard and damaged the tip. So, I ordered a new one and handled it carefull. After a dozen playings, the same thing happened. I compared the two tips and noticed that on both tips, the chip was in line with the direction the tips traveled on the grooves.
I then took the tips to a friend who is a jeweler. He tested them with a pen like device and found them to be Corundum! That is commonly known as sapphire. Diamond is about four times as hard as sapphire, and yet sapphire had been commonly used in phonograph needles for many years.
The only thing I can speculate about, is that there may be some kind of destructive resonance at certain frequencies which fractures out a chip in the side of the sapphire tips I had been getting. BTW, I'm not saying that these tips are from the same source as yours. And, it may not be the material that is the problem. The shape of the cone on the tips I got, may be a contributing factor, since they seemed to be a tighter cone shape than the Edison tips. Yet the radius on the tip seems to be correct at 3 mil (.003). I'm still studying the issue, so I have no conclusions to offer yet.
Cheers, Russie

[ImperialGuardsman]

Hey people, I've had the same problem. I replaced a DD point several years ago and after a half dozen playings, it began to shave the groove a little. I examined it under a lupe and discovered a chip on one side. I thought maybe I had dropped the reproducer down to hard and damaged the tip. So, I ordered a new one and handled it carefull. After a dozen playings, the same thing happened. I compared the two tips and noticed that on both tips, the chip was in line with the direction the tips traveled on the grooves.
I then took the tips to a friend who is a jeweler. He tested them with a pen like device and found them to be Corundum! That is commonly known as sapphire. Diamond is about four times as hard as sapphire, and yet sapphire had been commonly used in phonograph needles for many years.
The only thing I can speculate about, is that there may be some kind of destructive resonance at certain frequencies which fractures out a chip in the side of the sapphire tips I had been getting. BTW, I'm not saying that these tips are from the same source as yours. And, it may not be the material that is the problem. The shape of the cone on the tips I got, may be a contributing factor, since they seemed to be a tighter cone shape than the Edison tips. Yet the radius on the tip seems to be correct at 3 mil (.003). I'm still studying the issue, so I have no conclusions to offer yet.
Cheers, Russie

Sapphire!?! Do you know the source that has been putting these out? Why would anyone even think that sapphire would be usable for the Edison system?