All Things Victrola and Victor Talking Machines I also understand that Victrola's and similar machines that use a steel needle are not suitable for playing latter 78's (eg at least 1940's and onwards, like your Fats Waller and Hank Williams disks) They are fine for 1920's records recorded acoustically Remember, the playing technology and the pressing technology were constantly advancing
Advice on buying a Victrola. . . - Steve Hoffman Music Forums In all cases, open horn or Victrola, the motor and tonearm mount to a wooden motorboard integral to the cabinet Up to the advent of electric recording in 1925, Victrolas’ "horn" chambers were shaped something like a squared off megaphone Most machines had model numbers in Roman numerals (Victrola IX, Victrola XVI, etc )
RCA Victrola refurb question | Steve Hoffman Music Forums The genius of the Victrola design was to recognize that the horn need not be out in the open but could be an appropriately shaped chamber built into the cabinet, much less obtrusive back in those days when housewives, believe it or not, often viewed open horns not as decorative accessories but rather as obnoxious dustcatchers
Question about playing 78’s | Steve Hoffman Music Forums These Victrola’s basically have a bunch of replaceable nails for a stylus Works great My question is, how can you tell which records were made to be played with the “nail” stylus, vs a 78 that requires a proper 78 style cartridge stylus?
Victrola 6 in 1 player? Should I Buy? - Steve Hoffman Music Forums And to note, the Victrola puts a lot of tracking force on your records, accelerating groove damage Not to mention skipping on records with complicated passages in the grooves Nothing can be fixed changed to make it work well, kind of like shining a piece of poo
Thinking of buying a Victrola. . . - Steve Hoffman Music Forums As noted, "Victrola" properly refers only to machines produced by the Victor Talking Machine Company and its successors Columbia machines are "Disc Graphophones" (open horn) or "Grafonolas" (enclosed horn); Baumbach wrote a similar volume about them called "Columbia Phonograph Companion Volume II: The Columbia Disc Graphophone and the Grafonola "
I’m looking for am everlasting needle - Steve Hoffman Music Forums If they're conventional steel needles, they're good for one play each The record is supposed to have an abrasive in the mix to grind the needle tip into conformity with the groove, and once that's done the needle will be absolutely wrong for another groove--leaving aside what happens if it's set in an orientation presenting a knife edge to the record!--and too much already ground down to give
Fidelity of Wind-up Victrolas | Steve Hoffman Music Forums Edison had a unique horn and reproducer system that was far different from the Victrola He was the first audiophile, experimenting a great deal withe materials used to make them, and the records Diamond Discs were great, but Edison preferred sappy ballads to the hot dance music of the 20's, which is what allowed the others take over in the
Sapphire Needles On 78s | Steve Hoffman Music Forums Those needles were intended for use with electric phonographs with a crystal cartridge, with a stylus pressure of 1 2 to 1 ounce or so - those phonos had 1 or 2 (78 and 33 in the brief time after 33 and before 45) or all 3 speeds They could still use old steel needles as they used a set screw mounting just like a Victrola