[78-L] Speed for old Edison, and Victor 78s

[Michael Biel]

Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr. wrote:
> Michael Biel wrote:
>   
>> ...We assume here that people do not usually play their records on old 
>> acoustical machines because that is not listening to the record but 
>> rather is really only listening to the machine.  (That is OK because it 
>> is fun to do, but is not the way to seriously listen to records.)   Also 
>> assumed is that most electrical turntables being used by collectors have 
>> a stereo cartridge.  It is an easy matter to play a vertical record with 
>> a stereo cartridge by reversing the hot and ground of ONE of the 
>> channels and combining them.
>>   
>>     
> Thanks for that.
> Someone finally explained to me how that is done.
> I have an Edison Diamond disk player and a Brunswick convertible, but 
> only run them for demonstration purposes. 

Of course there is a minimal amount of wear to Edison Diamond Discs and 
Pathe sapphire verticals on these players if they are properly 
adjusted.  It is laterals that suffer from the wear.  But once again, in 
all of these instances you are really listening to the influences of the 
machine rather than listening to the records.  I gave my daughter a 
double-diaphragm Brunswick for those demonstration purposes as it can 
play Edisons almost as well as an Edison machine with the separate 
diaphragm with reflex mechanism only for Edisons.
> It would be nice to be able to 
> digitize some of  my Eddies.
> I still won't be able to get my old Garrard up to the proper speed, 
> though, unless someone more clever than I has figured out how to make a 
> 3 speed phono run at variable speed. Has anyone ever messed with voltage 
> or variable electrical frequencies?
>
>   
It depends on the motor, as some are voltage dependent and others are 
dependent on AC frequency.  The cost of the devices would more than pay 
for a new turntable!!!  There really are some good ones between $100 and 
200 that would replace what is probably by now a very rumbley Garrard 
and have digital outputs that can connect directly into your computer 
for digitizing your "Eddies"..  Garrard themselves did make a couple of 
variable speed turntables, but those are now very expensive because the 
Japanese love them.  But I was able to get one of them for five bucks.  
Haven't ever used it though.  I should also add that there a lot of 
school-type phonographs around with variable speed abilities.   The 
better ones even fit 16-inch discs. I use a bunch of them for reference 
in places like one of my warehouses, in my school office (that I have 
finally finished moving out of last week), and up here by the computer.  
I don't play LPs on them though.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com