Hi John:
I agree with you that the Stanton 500 makes a good chasis for 78RPM playback, but we should clarify
that there are Stanton 500's with metal-colored (I think actual stainless or aluminum) bodies and
then there are white-colored plastic versions sold in the late years of China-based "Stanton." I
have both kinds, and the metal-colored one sounds much better, to my ears. I think the plastic one
resonates or makes some other frequency anomoly due to its body design.
Since "Stanton" no longer makes a model 500, the choice today is the Shure M78, which is based on
the M44 and fitted with a conical wide-groove stylus. I don't know this for fact but I'm pretty sure
that the guys at Expert Stylus in the UK would fit generic M44 stylus assemblies with whatever tips
a 78 collector desired. It's non-ideal, not as good as when Shure itself made a high-quality 78
playback system with many needle options (and real-deal Stanton did at the same time). But for 90+%
of wide-groove playing, it'll do the trick.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Haley" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2015 3:56 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Busy Bee records
> You can also buy styluses in various sizes from Nauck, here:
>
> https://www117.safesecureweb.com/78rpm/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=39a49a1bd245242e82a072ec55d8b371&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NRC&Product_Code=112-113&Category_Code=112
>
> and see the good advice toward the bottom of that page. Most people I know
> use a Stanton 500 cartridge to play 78's (as I do).
>
> Best,
> John H. Haley
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Feb 28, 2015 at 11:00 PM, Mark Hendrix <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Ben Roth wrote, "Does anyone know what type of stylus or cartridge should
>> be
>> used for Busy Bee records?"
>>
>> Hello, Ben,
>>
>> Here is some information that I hope will help.
>>
>> Cartridges: Shure M-44 (still manufactured) with the N44-C stylus (I don't
>> know if this is still manufactured; the N 44/7 stylus is the LP version) or
>> the Stanton 500 series (no longer manufactured) with the Stanton stylus
>> made for playing 78s (D5127 stylus, blue plastic stylus holder, also no
>> longer manufactured; the D5110, white plastic stylus holder, is the LP
>> version).
>>
>> Busy Bee disc records were lateral cut records designed to be played with a
>> steel needle. These needles had a tip radius of approximately 3 mil, where
>> 'mil' means 'one thousandth of an inch.' You will get the best sound by
>> choosing a stylus that plays the portion of the groove that was NOT touched
>> by the original playback equipment, so depending on how worn your records
>> are, you need a variety of styli to ride above or below where the steel
>> needle traveled to get the best reproduction.
>> So, for styli: short answer: 2.3 mil, 2.7 mil, and 3.5 mil -sized styli
>> will
>> handle the majority of "78's" you will encounter.
>>
>> For general playback info from a collector's (and professional remastering
>> engineer's) point of view, try the late Roger Beardsley's article at:
>>
>> <http://www.therecordcollector.org/articles/aguidetoplaying7.html>
>>
>> He recommends - a set of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 mil (or alternatively 2.0,
>> 2.8 and 3.2 mil) truncated elliptical styli should do for a start; you will
>> rarely come across a record that does not sound acceptable with one of
>> these, although in some cases an 1.5 mil or a 4.0 mil improves the
>> reproduction noticeably.
>>
>> Here is where you can find Expert Stylus' recommendations:
>>
>> <http://www.78tours.com/Expert_Stylus_Company.htm>
>> I hope this is helpful. Best wishes, Mark Hendrix
>>
>
>
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