The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

In the UK many of us buy our needles from forum member soundgen, who advertises on eBay.
His needles are reasonably priced and are of uniformly good quality.

epigramophone wrote: Sat Dec 21, 2024 11:05 am In the UK many of us buy our needles from forum member soundgen, who advertises on eBay.
His needles are reasonably priced and are of uniformly good quality.

Thanks! I am in the Southern US. I may just buy some from the shop that is fixing the machine.

Well....I received my "very first" album and the 1940s era records are definitely shellac after all!

I know this because they were packed in a cardboard envelope and every single one snapped in half during shipping! Ugh!

Yikes! That’s really a shame. At least they’re not rare.

Curious: did you order these off eBay? There are a number of sellers on Discogs who deal largely or almost exclusively with 78s and know how to pack them well. I’d recommend ordering from Discogs. “In the Mood” is a fairly common 78, so you should be able to find a decent copy for a reasonable price, especially if you’re okay with represses.

There's a decent collection on Discogs right now for $30 and that's including shipping. $65 is a bit much to pay for this collection, especially from someone who doesn't know how to properly ship 78 rpm discs. You need to take as much care with these as if you're shipping grandma's fanciest china.

S610 wrote: Sat Jan 04, 2025 12:45 pm Well....I received my "very first" album and the 1940s era records are definitely shellac after all!

I know this because they were packed in a cardboard envelope and every single one snapped in half during shipping! Ugh!

1 In The Mood.jpg3 Woodchuck Song.jpg

Sent you a PM about a frequent long time eBay seller I've purchased hundreds of records from over the years- he just listed a bunch of Glenn Miller Bluebirds at very reasonable 'buy it now' prices.

These are previously posted instructions for packing 78s:
For 78's:
https://antiquephono.net/pack-ship-thin
Send these to the seller and get them to agree to these instructions BEFORE paying (be sure to verify your willingness to pay the actual cost of shipping). If the seller doesn't agree, CANCEL the purchase and buy them elsewhere.