The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Daithi wrote:I have been using fiberglass needles for about a year now. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this material? I have played a single side of one 12 inch record 300 times and it still looks and sounds okay to my ears and eyes. Of course after playing something 300 times its hard to remember what it sounded like the first time. Am I destroying my records?

Interesting ... is a fiberglass needle a one play and toss or re-sharpen or do you get more?

Cheers

Darrell

I'd assume that a fiberglass needle could be re-sharpened many times, as with a cactus thorn, until it's too short to be used any further.
I'm a big fan of thorn needles, and have ordered some fiberglass rods to test them myself!
Bob

I cut the needles at 30mm and play and resharpen down to 20mm. One sharpening will do two sides of a record, sometimes more. The needles can be resharpened plenty of times. As the needle gets shorter, the angle of attack changes somewhat. I always mark the needle and insert it the same way so that I can remove it to examine the point and replace it if need be. I examine the point under a bright light with a loupe after playing each side. I use a diamond fish hook sharpener to sharpen the needle.

My fiberglass rods, 2mm, ordered through Amazon and shipped from China, came today.
I clipped a ¾ inch piece, sharpened it with a thorn needle sharpener and tried it on a unworn early Victor Scroll electric with a rebuilt Ortho soundbox.
Results were disappointing. Muted sound from the start, and quick wear before the end. Similar results on an acoustic recording with Victor No. 2 soundbox.
Oh well, I'm out about 5 dollars and my curiosity's satisfied regarding this material. I've had best results with needles made from barrel cactus thorns.
Bob

Maybe there are different kinds of "fiberglass"? I'm not surprised at these results. Years ago, somebody marketed oboe reeds made of "fibercane." They were, and are, miserable failures, even though some (non-professionals) use them. It seems that there is just no substitute for good old-fashioned natural materials when it comes to reed cane. Jeez, they're even making "brass" instruments out of plastic these days.

Not recommended!

Fiberglass has worked very well for me, but I use a lightened HMV#4 soundbox and I use a spring to lighten the tonearm. The reason I do this is because my machine is set up to play with Hawthorn and Pyrocanthus needles which wear very rapidly without these modifications.

Inigo wrote:Is it a HMV no 4 with an inverted aluminium diaphragm? How well does it work?

Yes,diaphragm is inverted.
I have since changed it back to the normal way around.
Its louder inverted but sounds better as standard.