The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone.

While I was restoring my new Victrola acquisition I found a half dozen or so 'wooden' needles that had found there way into the inside of the cabinet. Once the unit was put back together properly I picked out one of them that looked un-used and tried it out. I was actually quite surprised at the result. Although not as loud as steel needles, most noteable was the reduction of record hiss which I found rather pleasant. I have since learned that they are referred to as Victor Fibre Needles and were included in the original purchase package. Unlike steel needles, strangely I haven't had any luck finding them for sale. The on-line manual I found also pictures a detailing of the Victor fibre needle cutter. Since the needles I found appear to be varying in length, it's quite possible that I might find this device somewhere in the vicinity of the old attic where the Victrola had been stored. Even so, I would still need to find a source of the stock length material. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ray

These show up on ebay from time to time. The are also referred to as bamboo phonograph (or gramophone or Victrola) needles.

There are several listings for these right now on ebay. Some are new; some are NOS.

I frequently use them - and thorns - although neither are any good with records having any significant wear, for which I use steel.

A really excellent article about fibre needles (and how to make them) can be found here: http://www.wardworks.org.uk/

I've also bought some made from rare, harder susudake bamboo, but haven't found any advantage over ordinary undoped ones made by the writer of the above article (they are available in small quantities from a known outlet here in the UK). Similarly I can't at this point say whether various "new old stock" fibres I have are superior, including Davey, Ginn and Astra types. However, I have yet fully to optimise and fine-tune the performance of both my EMG and my Expert, which is an art in itself, and I imagine some differences might become apparent thereafter.

That is wonderful I just made a purchase a few weeks ago off ebay.
it arrived yesterday it was a Bamboo cutter for phonograph needles and with the cutter i received a like new with new bamboo phononeedles inside plus other needles
awesome I think

Orchorsol wrote:I frequently use them - and thorns - although neither are any good with records having any significant wear, for which I use steel.

A really excellent article about fibre needles (and how to make them) can be found here: http://www.wardworks.org.uk/

I've also bought some made from rare, harder susudake bamboo, but haven't found any advantage over ordinary undoped ones made by the writer of the above article (they are available in small quantities from a known outlet here in the UK).

From the website:
TIP NO 5:- Ensure the point is at the correct end of the needle so that the shell will be on the outside of the record (ie facing you) when in the soundbox (Fig 5). One normally gets this wrong only once!

My Observations:
I have 200+ NOS bamboo needles. For the ones I own, the shell (bark?) is on the side facing the spindle when in the chuck, not the outside of the record. All of the needles I have already have a point fashioned on them, and I assume they were cut like that from the factory as they are all roughly the same length and acquired from different sources.

I Also have some of the "Susudaki" needles from the eBay seller. They are good and do play well, however the point on the NOS needles lasts longer in general. I put a fresh point on mine with a Wade No 2 cutter. They are stored in small batches in plastic containers from The Container Store along with a silica gel pack.

Shame on me for ever calling them wooden needles without understanding all the complexities.
That was a very interesting article Orchorsol, thanks for posting. Using the correct search criteria I did manage to find the ones currently offered on ebay. Ounce for ounce they are almost as valuable as gold. I'm wondering though if the susudake needles are really worth more than twice the price of the white fiber, or rather would I be able to tell the difference. As for the cutting tool, I had expected a lengthy search through several generations of attic junk but oddly enough it was lying on a shelf in plain site. Spooky. It's a Wade No.2 same as mentioned in the previous post.