[78-L] changing steel needle to sapphire

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Mc Cormick" <tooelemountains at comcast.net>
>I wonder what kind of steel needles would fit in this player made in
> about 1947, (child sized 7or 8 inch turntable)?
> The same kind of steel needle used in the early Victrola age (1910-1925)?
>
Essentially...ANY player which uses a "set screw" to hold its needle in 
place
was designed to use these same simple steel needles! The needles, however,
often came with better tips....all the way up to sapphire tips, which were
sold as "permanent" needles (BTW, they ain't....I used to get about a 
month's
use out of an n8-3s sapphire-tip needle playing 78's (rather HEAVILY!)...
and about six months from an n8-3d diamond [which is what I'm currently
searching for...desperately!])!

I remain FIRMLY convinced that modern TT's, with tracking pressures
of a gram or so, DON'T provide as good a sound as do my old "record
players" which track at around one OUNCE! In my experience, I can
redirect the ceramic-cartridge output into the "Line In" jack of various
electric devices...like r2r or cassette recorders, and (I'm hoping) computer
"sound cards!" I have a couple of n8-2d needles on order (Astatic Canada
sells these as "78 needles"...we shall see?!)...!!

...stevenc