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The Shure SC 35 cartridge can take quite a bit of weight and is excellent for 
playing warped discs, but only with the SS78E stylus, not the pathetic little 
N78S they brought out as its "replacement". For years I used a Grey Research 
Arm with a flat-top head, which was great for adding coins and not having them 
bounce off. For extreme cases, a Dominican Republic half dollar worked wonders.

dl

Malcolm Smith wrote:
> I assume that you are referring to the arm bouncing because of warp in 
> the record. Sometimes placing a dime on the top of the cartridge Will 
> allow one to play the record. The characteristics of the arm and of the 
> cartridge are both factors in this working or not and how bad the warp 
> in the record is. I haven't done it but some used to remove the warp in 
> the record by putting it between two pieces of glass and exposing it to 
> sunlight. I would think that this should be done with caution.
> 
> More thoughts on the previous subject. In the very early days, say 1900 
> to 1905, the number of disks that could be produced from a stamper was 
> very limited and the earliest produced better sound so there is 
> variation in what would appear to be identical records. Later issues of 
> early records, the Tamagnos would be a good example as they were in 
> great demand, usually have poor sound compared to even somewhat worn 
> first pressings. It's worth trying for early pressings of these and 
> similar early records though there isn't complete consistency in this. 
> The sound quality on test pressings occasionally is very much better 
> that the actual early released disks.
> 
> Of course none of this is indicated by dealers ratings though 
> occasionally a dealer will comment on a rare record sounding well.
> 
> On Aug 6, 2008, at 7:59 AM, Trey Bunn wrote:
> 
>> Hi everyone...
>>
>> I have some more questions about the lacquer disk I asked about last
>> week.  I've started trying to transfer it, but it's skipping badly for
>> about the first half of side A.  Would it make any sense to try to
>> slightly weigh the cartridge down, like with a coin or something?  It
>> just seems like the thing is skipping pretty high (and the 78 speed
>> seems to be contributing to that), so I thought that weight might help
>> prevent it.  On the other hand, it might make things worse.
>>
>> I did notice that when I slowed the speed down to 45, it skipped less,
>> so I was thinking I might just record it this way and pitch correct it
>> in the software.  Maybe slowing it down to 33 would produce even less
>> skips.  But before I tried that, I wanted to ask those more
>> knowledgable if that's a good idea or not, playing it at the wrong
>> speed.  This is a unique recording, and I don't want to damage it
>> further.
>>
>> Barring that or any other suggestions, it might be better to send this
>> one out to a vendor.  Any takers?
>>
>>
>> ---------
>> Trey Bunn
>> Audiovisual Conservator
>> Emory University Libraries
>> Preservation Office
>> Atlanta, GA
>> 404-727-4894
>>
> 
>