The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I put a Edison Diamond Disc on my RCA Victor 6J, I was amazed that this machine could actually play a DD and it sounded great. I was under the impression that it would only play laterals. Has anyone else done this?

What is an RCA Victor 6? Does it use a steel needle?

Is this the record player you mentioned? If it is, I'm also surprised that you hear anything decent out of a vertically recorded disc. My only explanation for this is that it may be equipped with such a primitive piezoelectric/crystal pickup that it reveals every movement of the needle/stylus, horizontal and vertical alike.

marcapra wrote:What is an RCA Victor 6? Does it use a steel needle?

It is a player made around 1947, it uses a regular cartridge (P-51, I think).

Marco Gilardetti wrote:Is this the record player you mentioned? If it is, I'm also surprised that you hear anything decent out of a vertically recorded disc. My only explanation for this is that it may be equipped with such a primitive piezoelectric/crystal pickup that it reveals every movement of the needle/stylus, horizontal and vertical alike.

I'm wondering this myself. I wonder if someone updated the cartridge with a stereo unit and reversed polarity on one side. That's how you play vertical cut discs, and you have to have a mono switch on your amp or receiver to make it work right. Since the machine is already mono, this is possible.

I've never tried my Dual turntable "sled" wired this way on a lateral disc. Maybe I should.

gramophone-georg wrote:

Marco Gilardetti wrote:Is this the record player you mentioned? If it is, I'm also surprised that you hear anything decent out of a vertically recorded disc. My only explanation for this is that it may be equipped with such a primitive piezoelectric/crystal pickup that it reveals every movement of the needle/stylus, horizontal and vertical alike.

I'm wondering this myself. I wonder if someone updated the cartridge with a stereo unit and reversed polarity on one side. That's how you play vertical cut discs, and you have to have a mono switch on your amp or receiver to make it work right. Since the machine is already mono, this is possible.

I've never tried my Dual turntable "sled" wired this way on a lateral disc. Maybe I should.

I have one setup this way, on a DUAL 1218. It works well, but understandably, the output is diminished compared to conventionally wired.

I like it, and pipe it through an Altec 710 receiver amp, out through a pair of BOSE 501s.

Best,
Fran