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Records

PBC_1966 · 2004-05-16 15:04:59

I'm an avid record collector. I started by being given boxes full of 78s and 45s from relatives when I was about 5 years old and they were clearing out after their teenagers had left home. The hobby has grown ever since. Well, a few years ago when I was chatting with some children about it, none of them had heard of a…

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#32 10-06-2004 3:50pm
PBC_1966

Closed Accounts Posts: 310 ✭✭

Join Date: April 2004

Posts: 301

Nothing strange about it -- Diamond is a hard substance which will last for several thousand hours of playing.

In earlier times (e.g. 1920s/1930s) there were steel needles which needed much more frequent replacement -- In fact in some cases the tip would be worn down after just one side of a shellac 78rpm disc! I have an early 1930s comedy record by the duo Clapham & Dwyer, and at the end of side 1 they actually make a reference to this: "We are now going over to the other side -- One new needle please."

Some very early phonographs used sharpened bamboo needles, which again would last for only one side.

The later cartridges with their light tracking weight and sapphire/diamond stylii were a tremendous advance in both longevity and quality of reproduction.

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