[Jukebox-list] Damage to needles playing 78s

[Ron Rich]

Aaron,
  The way I understand it--"diamond" needles can handle anything but chips / cracks, if they can hold onto the shank. "Sapphire" will handle chips better, but ware out ten times faster then "diamonds" under "normal" conditions. Ron Rich
   
   
   
  
Aaron Heverin <aaron at vertasource.com> wrote:
  Speaking of putting new 78s into my jukeboxes, I'd like to put out a question regarding needle wear and tear. It's been bugging me now for quite some time especially when it comes to playing valuable records - both financially and musically valuable.

With all of the 78s jukeboxes that we have, I think the general consensus is that when we restore or somewhat "modernize" the antique Wurlitzers, Seeburgs, and Rock-Olas - we replace the ancient 2 pound ceramic original cartridges with newer light-weight versions - such as the Astatic 51 series. Of course, we do modifications to the tone-arm so that they track lighter...but that's another story. The bottom line is that we put a new cart into the tone-arm so there's supposedly less wear and tear on the records we play...BUT....

I recently bought out a collection of 78s from a local antique dealer. I got close to 500 records and paid something like $30 for all of them. It turns out that there were some really incredible R & B, country, jazz, and late 20s music in there. ALL of which would be perfect for my jukes. Of course, there was the obligatory Dinah Shore, Vaughn Monroe, Eddy Howard, and Guy Lombardo...but those will wind up as targets for my son's BB gun (unless someone wants them....you can HAVE them...just pay shipping). A couple of the R & B records were well loved. One of which is a copy of "The Deacon Moves In" by Little Esther with The Dominoes on Federal. It's a really incredible record, but you can tell that it was seriously abused by some kids who played it on a Victrola!! It's got a few dings in the surface, and the first 20 seconds of the record are almost inaudible due to some very deep scratches. 

Would playing a record in this condition...or ANY other type of 78s that had a small crack, or some dings and other wear imperfections... do any damamge to the Astatic needles, or any other type of needle that is used to play back 78s? I've got some late 20s music that I would love to play in a jukebox, but some of the grooves have that dull grey powdery look to them. I also have an Joe Huston record I'd love to play, but it looks like it was used as a hockey puck. It's plays back fine, but it's REALLY scratched. How much abuse can the average needle take before you run the risk of destroying it?

Aaron Heverin_______________________________________________
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