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Hi Guys,

Here's some of those dumb questions I said I was going to ask. How about explaining some real simple things to me...such as;

Needles....looking around I find there are Extra Loud, Loud, Medium, and Soft needles. What's the difference between them? I'm guessing the density of the material the needle is made out of...but is that what makes one needle loud and one soft?

Needles (again).....Seems most needles I see on Ebay are single play. Single play??? You mean a steel needle only lasts for ONE PLAY? How much does a needle wear after only one play? Then is see there are semi-permanent needles that last for a whopping 10 plays! Were the records made of sandpaper back then or am I missing something here?

Needles (last one).....how far into the reproducer to you fasten the needle? Looks like if you slide it all the way in the set screw is tightening down on the tapered part of the needle and not the straight part....so should it be sticking out a bit further when locked in place?

Needle cups....on my Columbia Model 25 (I think) there are three needle cups or holders. Two are just open cups, but one has a cover with a hole in it. Is the covered cup where you put the worn out needles? If not then why are the cups different?

Reproducer.....on my Columbia the reproducer rotates on the tonearm and there are two detent postions. One is for putting the needle in the playing position. I assume the second is a storage position that keeps the needle off the platter when not in use?....is that right?

Reproducer (again).....I took the reproducer apart and I find there are two gaskets on the bottom and one one the top of the mica. Is that right or should there be one and one or two and two? I'm amazed at how small the hardware is in that reproducer!!!

Thanks for your patience,
bob

Some info on needles for the newbie from Tim Gracyk's website: http://www.gracyk.com/needletips.shtml

bobb wrote:Hi Guys,

Here's some of those dumb questions I said I was going to ask. How about explaining some real simple things to me...such as;

Needles....looking around I find there are Extra Loud, Loud, Medium, and Soft needles. What's the difference between them? I'm guessing the density of the material the needle is made out of...but is that what makes one needle loud and one soft?

Needles (again).....Seems most needles I see on Ebay are single play. Single play??? You mean a steel needle only lasts for ONE PLAY? How much does a needle wear after only one play? Then is see there are semi-permanent needles that last for a whopping 10 plays! Were the records made of sandpaper back then or am I missing something here?

Needles (last one).....how far into the reproducer to you fasten the needle? Looks like if you slide it all the way in the set screw is tightening down on the tapered part of the needle and not the straight part....so should it be sticking out a bit further when locked in place?

Needle cups....on my Columbia Model 25 (I think) there are three needle cups or holders. Two are just open cups, but one has a cover with a hole in it. Is the covered cup where you put the worn out needles? If not then why are the cups different?

Reproducer.....on my Columbia the reproducer rotates on the tonearm and there are two detent postions. One is for putting the needle in the playing position. I assume the second is a storage position that keeps the needle off the platter when not in use?....is that right?

Reproducer (again).....I took the reproducer apart and I find there are two gaskets on the bottom and one one the top of the mica. Is that right or should there be one and one or two and two? I'm amazed at how small the hardware is in that reproducer!!!

Thanks for your patience,
bob

In order:

The needles are of different lengths and thicknesses- short and thick is louder than long and thin- it's a case of mass and leverage.

Yes- most needles are single play, at the most you should play two sides. The action of a shellac disc on the needle point turns it from a fine point into something more like a chisel and instead of riding in the groove it tends to dig in and cut it. The multi play needles were meant for later electric machines with lighter arms, but even for those machines it isn't advised to use them for more than a few plays. It's better to discard the needle than ruin the record for ever.

In general you put the needle in all the way, but you can set it at any depth as long as it's in firmly- it's one way of adjusting the volume- a loud needle will play with less volume if it is only inserted half way.. Some machines used needle bars with open ended sockets.

You're right about the cups- the one with the cover is for used needles, it's removable so you can dump them in the trash. There are several cups for different types of needles.

The position where the needle points up is for changing needles. The other position is where the spring is disengaged and you can remove the reproducer from the arm...but Columbia reproducers are frequently jammed by metal swelling so caution must be used.

I think that's how the gaskets are, alternatively that or a thin one on one side and a thick one on the other.

Adam.....great link and a good read! Thanks!

VV-XI.....thanks for the info. You guys are great!

regards,
bob