enric madrigurea and orch.- the minute samba

[wheelgun357]

Vogue picture disc,, dont worry im not playing it with a steel needle, im using a ruby tipped stylus on the credenza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FblqljGjYX4

[gregbogantz]

Yikes! That poor record! Playing ANY vinyl records with an acoustic reproducer is a BAD idea if you want to preserve the record. The tracking force is just WAY too high, regardless of the needle used. Jewel-tipped needles are actually worse for this use than steel ones. The very hard jewel does not wear at all to conform to the groove shape and inflicts huge pressure on the sidewalls which will gouge them in a single playing. The whole idea behind using steel needles is that the needle rapidly wears down to conform to the groove shape which increases the surface area of the needle in contact with the groove walls which greatly reduces the pressure (pounds per square inch) on the groove walls. Even in the 1930s when sapphire tipped needles were common in electric players, the tracking force was still too high at 30-50 grams, never mind the 100-150 grams inflicted on the record by acoustic reproducers.

[gramophoneshane]

The only needles I use on vinyl records are HMV Trailer needles. I dont know if Victor made the same type??
They were designed to be used in an electric pick-up, but they do a pretty good job on an acoustic machine as well. The spade end and angle of the needle allows it to distribute the pressure over the entire surface of the groove, so damage is kept to a minimum.
They give excellent sound with very little surface noise, but I still wouldn't recommend using them on an acoustic machine too often, or on any valuable vinyl discs.
They also give excellent results on acetate discs with an electric pick-up, but will quickly wear acetate on an acoustic machine.

This is a vinyl disc using a trailer needle on the 202
I cant put my hands on some nice shiny trailer needles at the moment either, so rusty ones will have to do, but they'll still give you an idea of the shape.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFdYALD4Ygw[/youtube]