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Picked up a Tungs Tone tin to have as an accessory item and it had what appears to be 4 unused needles in it. Just visually looking at them without magnification, the wire from the tips are all the same length and appear to be straight. I'll look around for a magnifying glass for a closer look, but what else should I look for to see if in fact these are "new"? I read somewhere that even with new needles, they recommended an initial playing with a non-valuable record to break in the tip. If these are unused, I'd like to try one just to see how they compare to the steel needles. Thanks!

TonyJ wrote:Picked up a Tungs Tone tin to have as an accessory item and it had what appears to be 4 unused needles in it. Just visually looking at them without magnification, the wire from the tips are all the same length and appear to be straight. I'll look around for a magnifying glass for a closer look, but what else should I look for to see if in fact these are "new"? I read somewhere that even with new needles, they recommended an initial playing with a non-valuable record to break in the tip. If these are unused, I'd like to try one just to see how they compare to the steel needles. Thanks!

Even if they are used, if you can still feel the wire they will play as long as it is straight. Just put one in the chuck & play a bit of a clean junk record, or let it run in the eccentric groove a while.

They don't have a noticeably different tone, it's just the wear. They are convenient if you are playing a multi record set

Estott's advice is great.

The biggest problem I have with Tungs-Tones is that I'm so used to changing the needle with each record that I toss the Tungs-Tone into the used needle pot. Every time. Which means I have to dig it back out to use it again. Victor did say it was a good thing to turn the needle in the chuck occasionally, so I guess there's that.

Try one out, Tony -- just remember not to change the needle!

Thanks for the feedback - with the magnifying glass, two did seem to have a slight bend to them and two were straight. I am playing one of the straight ones now and it does sound about the same as a steel needle but is convenient not to have to change the needle every play. That being said, I will probably play a few more records and put this back in tin as an accessory piece to the machine.

It is easy to identify unplayed Tungs-Tone needles - the end of tungsten wire is blunt. On used needles, the tip is chisel shaped. After installing a Tungs-Tone needle, new or otherwise, play a junk record to form the tip.