The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Recently acquired this card with 28 different types of needle on it. Not seen one before, do you think it was for a shop or a needle salesman to show the variety available ? If so,what make are they all ? It is odd as one type is "Special A" i.e. in English while Three are in German "Tanz leise", Tanz Laut" and "Zukunft" One is "Burchard".
Any thoughts ?

As for the German terms: 'Tanz' is dance, 'leise' is soft, or low, as in volume, while 'laut' is, not surprisingly, loud - 'Zukunft' is future, though I don't know of any alternate definition that would help in explaining its use in describing a phonograph needle.

mhb - Mike

Isn't Zukunft also a brand of needles? I think I have seen that brand on a tin of needles.
Dave

I have several of these cards with various needles on them. My belief is that they are sales samples that allow the purchaser to choose the types of needles that they require. Burchard and Zukunft are particular brands of German needles.

<< Zukunft >> is a needle model name used by Marschall and Herold brands. I still don't understand if it was a single maker operating with two brands, or if the two factory shared some patents. However, the ones in your display look like those produced by Marschall (cylindrical in shape).

Welcome to the weird needles club!

Here is an interesting different type of needle material---whale ivory. Works really well with very low wear characteristics---impressive !

Wow this is really impressive. Is there someone on the Forum from Island? It sounds like a great idea, although of course an even better idea is to leave those poor whales alone... this is the dilemma.

Anyway... how do they sound these needles? I´m interested because I found the change from steel to thorn and then to bamboo so liberating. For now bamboo is really the best I´ve found, gentle on the records, great sound and so easy to work.

I have only been given the one needle but have played a highly modulated jazz record at the end of which the point had virtually no wear on it at all ! I normally play this disc with a Burmese thorn and expect to have to sharpen it every time. The performance is even better than a steel needle where wear is always evident even after one playing. The sound is superb from both the whale ivory and the Burmese thorn---there is nothing to choose between the two. Very impressive indeed.

It would be interesting (if a bit impractical) to determine whether whale ivory was intrinsically superior to elephant or walrus ivory, or even ivory from pigs' tusks, etc. (not to mention mammoth and other fossil ivory)....

Certainly, there exist old ivory tchochkes of little antique value, that might be sacrificed for such an experiment...

Bill

Seriously fascinating! I wonder what the record wear characteristics are, relative to steel, thorn or fibre.

Slightly grim to think of, but maybe some other materials of animal origin might work - e.g. a piece of beak - a la Flintstones!