The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here is a makeshift set up showing how wonderful the the 4a can reproduce even acoustic records. One of my favorite things about this pickup is that since it is oil dampened, it requires no rebuild of rubber parts like other early electrical pickups.
https://youtu.be/bt_s8mcpv-Q

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed this one. I have one, but have never tried it - must dig it out. Are there any problems to look out for, or anything they typically need attending to?

I actually have three and all are just fine. My understanding is that they are oil dampened so there is nothing to rebuild. Also, they don’t seem to have a very high impedance. All of mine are under 100 ohms. Another nice thing about them is that even though the arms are counterweighted , they can actually be made to track at very low pressure with no issues in tracking or record wear.

This is an excellent article on the pickup.
http://www.amplitudemodulation.com.au/pickup.html