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LP's too!  And out of round, on LP's, which obviously won't center, ever.

Best, John


On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 11:22 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi John:
>
> I agree about centering the disk. I've come to put more weight on this
> fact in recent times, and have been surprised how many 78s were pressed
> off-center.
>
> -- Tom
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Haley" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2015 11:15 AM
>
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Busy Bee records
>
>
>  The advantage of modern styluses is that you can get them with truncated
>> tips, which you definitely want, especially for restoration purposes.
>> They
>> generally play a 78 much cleaner than an original issue pointy tip that is
>> hitting all the wear in the very bottom of the groove, which it seems can
>> often be the most worn part of the groove.  You can also get elliptical
>> ones, which sometimes play better than conical.  It's definitely a trial
>> and error thing, as the history of the individual record matters a lot.
>>
>> Nauck sells all of these (see prior link that I posted), which is where I
>> bought my array of styluses for restoration work.  While I have not
>> compared to styluses available elsewhere, these have worked really well
>> for
>> me.  You can generally tell which of several styluses is "right" by which
>> gives the strongest and least noisy result.  Sometimes I play little
>> samples using different styluses and record them all to .wav files, then
>> take my time comparing by playing back the .wav files and comparing this
>> against that.  It is much easier to compare four or five samples this way,
>> where the results are not obvious upon first playing.  For regular
>> commercial 78's, especially after the acoustic era, the starting point is
>> usually a 2.75 TE (truncated elliptical).  This is often the best one.
>> For
>> transcription discs, there is no standard.
>>
>> Thanks for the tip about the different kinds of Stanton 500 cartridges.  I
>> didn't know about the plastic-case ones.  I just looked at mine, which I
>> have had forever, and it has a gold metal case.
>>
>> Finding the best stylus is just the first step.  Actually getting the 78
>> record centered perfectly comes first.  Next it is imperative, really
>> imperative, to work with phono-equalization curves at the preamp level to
>> find the "right" match.  It makes a huge difference.  That's a whole
>> 'nuther topic.
>>
>> Best,
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 9:08 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>  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
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>