Record wear

Speaking of record wear.... One day while going through a new box of records, I found a mint copy of "The Object Of My Affection" by Jimmie Grier and his Orchestra on the Brunswick label. It has a one inch crack from the edge going toward the center of the record. Usually I throw out chipped or cracked records but this one I kept just because of the condition. (And I like the record) I decided to try an experiment with it to see how many times that I could play this record without changing the needle and how long would the record last. It has been just over one year since I put this record on a rarely used Victrola upstairs and it is still there today. The first needle lasted 2 months before it started to sound really bad. I played the record at least once every day and some days twice... so I'm guessing there were almost 70 plays on the first needle. A new needle and it was sounding good again and ready for more plays. Since then I have changed the needle only 4 or 5 more times....and still every morning as I pass by this Victrola I play the record. It is no longer the mint record that it was, and I admit that I like the song much less today than when I first started...but it does still play and sound fairly well. I have removed the record from the Victrola to type this post....I think when I put it back tonight I'll give it a new needle.

Toomany...,

That's interesting. Consider as well that the crack if it's big enough is going to contribute to needle wear I'd imagine. It just goes to show our lateral 78s are as fragile as the Edison DD guys would like everyone to believe!

Regards,
J.

Once, when I visited a fellow collector some years ago, we looked at the tip of a needle that had only been used to play only one side of one record, through his microscope. We could easily see the chisel point that had been created. After that, I only played one side of one record with a steel needle, and excessive wear has never been a problem.

In addition to the tracking force of the relatively heavy acoustic sound box, other factors contribute to wear, of course. Arguably, the most important is the condition of the sound box. You can do a lot of damage to a record by playing it with a sound box that still has its hard, original diaphragm gaskets in place, or one with a stiff, improperly adjusted needle bar pivot. (If equipped with a rubber back gasket--where the sound box connects to the tone arm--that too should be soft, as it was when first installed.)

Also important is the tone arm, which should be loose enough to move freely back and forth across the record, but tight enough to prevent the sound box from flopping slightly sideways. The same holds true if the sound box has gooseneck or later swan neck style pivot, such as those used by Victor or HMV. It should be loose enough to allow free up and down movement of the sound box, but not so loose as to let the sound box fall slightly sideways.

There has also been a lot of discussion on other boards about the tracking off-set of the tone arm. Later Orthophonic and especially HMV era gramophones addressed this, though the jury is still out as to how effective they were.

Boy- I'd love to know what sort of needle you used. I've found the needle will sound awful after only 3 or 4 plays on any machine. Brunswick do seem to wear a needle a little slower than a lot of other labels, but 70 plays sounds unbelievable to me. The only needle I know of that would be capable of so many plays are the tungsten tipped needles by Victor/HMV.

shane - That would be just a plain soft tone needle that I use.

About 35 years ago I bought my first Victrola at a garage sale. My uncle came to visit from out of town one day and told me all about my grandfathers Victrola. Apparently grandpa was very frugal with his needles and changed them only when absolutely necessary. Looking at the 78's that I bring into the house I would imagine alot of folks back in the day were just like my grandfather. In my day as a teenager I bought 45's. I remember a new 45 always got treated with the upmost respect...at first....but as time went by the sleeve would eventually get lost, and another new 45 would come along and the old one would end up in the stack. I was quite tired of the record by the time it was worn out.
What happend to my granfathers Victrola no one knows, but my uncle went on to say that during the late 30's and all through the 40's you could drive through neighborhoods and see Victrolas sitting on porches and in back yards rotting away. The Victrola I bought at the garage sale cost me $40. It was a VV-X and it sat for sale most of the day until I came along and bought it.