Phonoland

some time ago some experts said that i could play an edison diamond disc on a victrola. i needed an adaptor which could turn the reproducer 90 degrees to left and a diamond needle. i bought both of them. i adjusted the speed of my victrola iv to 80 rpm. everything was ready. i started to play. for the first empty edge of the diamond disc it turned well but when it reached to the playing area it got slower and stopped, as if the reproducer was very heavy and blocked turning. i couldn't play the first quarter of the disc. the last 3/4 part played very well. the disc is very clean and shiny. why can't it play the first parts of the edison diamond disc?

The Edison Diamond Disc is made of a softer material than the Victor shellac discs. The ultra-heavy Victrola arm causes the stylus to dig into the record.

The Edison player had a tonearm with no horizontal pivot at the arm base. The arm does not move up and down during play. Instead, the playing head floated up and down on a pivot at the sound box. The tracking force was thus a lot less than that of a Victrola.

You need a way to reduce the force on the needle.

This is also why the Victrola should not be used to play records made after 1932. The shellac is softer in records made for electronic players.

thank you