The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

49 New bamboo fibre needles, unknown manufacture, but they seem like pretty good ones

£15 plus shipping

Interested in those.
Where can I find them?

They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

Inigo wrote:They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

I like long needles. The fiberglass needles that I make for myself are over 25mm.

Inigo wrote:They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

They can easily be shortened if desired, but if left as they are they will last a very long time.

In my case (or my taste) with my own bamboo needles, I find them playing beautifully when they're near half that length. If too long, I find the volume poor, and the sound has a strange hollow character. When they're thick, and length is 4-5 times the thickness, they sound strong, full, warm and beautiful.
BTW, I measured wrong; kirtley's needles are 11-12 thicknesses long. Sorry...

Inigo wrote:They seem very long... their length seems to be near 18-20 times their thickness...

They look a similar length (or maybe just slightly longer) to the very best original English makes, Davey (EMG), Expert and Astra. I find those sound equally good at all lengths, but they're hard to find and very expensive nowadays. HMV bamboo fibre needles were always much shorter. Longer needles obviously provide for a lot more cuts; tracking geometry will vary more widely due to varying needle length, although that can be compensated for by altering the needle angle (which is not critical over a fairly wide range). On reflection, that's possibly the reason why HMV fibres were shorter - needle angle isn't as easily adjustable due to HMV's bayonet soundbox fitting.

That's true. My hmv soundboxes currently under use have their back original connectors substituted for red plain rubber connectors (those sold for the Meltrope soundboxes), so I can adjust the needle angle freely.
HMV bamboo needles I don't know. But I have an original Hall Fibre Needles package purchased many years ago, and these needles are of the short type (5-6 thicknesses long).

For what it's worth they really look like some antique Victor Fibre Needles I found & used up. They will be quiet at first and as they get trimmed the sound will build and build.

If they seem too long it's an easy thing to do to cut them in half with a razor saw