The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Sorry, I'm new to this. I just acquired a Vitanola type 14, I'm looking to find out what kind n of needless I can use and should use, and where I can find them. Thanks in advance

try eBay

Loud, Medium and Soft tone needles are available. You can get 100 needles for about $5

Change the needle each time you play a record.

Welcome!

To what's already been posted, I'd add that you cannot play vinyl records with steel needles. You also cannot play Edison diamond discs (easily recognized because they are a full ¼" thick) or Pathé sapphire discs. Stick to standard shellac 78s, ideally those predating the advent of electric recording in 1925. Apologies if that's all telling you what you already know, but since you said you're new to the hobby I thought it bore mentioning, just in case.

All of that is great advice, and probably why it slows down to a stop when I put a vinyl record on it. But of course all of my records are from the 40s and 50s, so they are all vinyl. Is there any needle that I can use on this to play them?

do your records play at 33 rpm or 78 rpm?

Is this the model you have? That cannot play "vinyl" records of any format--78s/45s/LPs. 45s and LPs are recorded using the "microgroove" technology developed in the late 1940s, so in addition to being pressed out of vinylite, their groove is too fine to be tracked with any Victrola era needle--steel, bamboo, thorn, etc..

Shellac based 78 rpm records were manufactured well into the early 1950s, but their surfaces, in most cases, will not stand up to the weight of the early reproducers/tonearms. A vinyl 78's surface would simply be gouged out by a steel needle.

Ideally, you want to hunt down some acoustically recorded records made before circa 1925. You may want to post a "wanted" ad in this forum's Yankee Trader board to get some records to get you started. Fortunately, there are still hundreds of thousands -- or more -- of these records still around. They also come up for sale on sites such as eBay, etc.

If you have a chance, please post a photo or two of your phonograph, especially, one showing the reproducer and tonearm.

HTH,
OrthoFan

Yes that is the same machine
I am trying to play 78s, but I'm pretty sure they are all vinyl
And I'll attach some pics, but I have no idea what the reproducer is

I'm also trying to upload a 10 device video but it won't take it.

Actually, that looks like a shellac pressing, to me. It also doesn't sound too bad, so I'm wondering if the sound box (reproducer) has been overhauled at some point. Are the gaskets around the rim of the reproducer's mica diaphragm soft or hard? (You can easily tell by poking them with a toothpick or fingernail, if long enough.) If soft, they were probably replaced at some point recently.

OrthoFan