Be cautious with later 40s-50s records on mica acoustic machines, they wear down a lot faster and can over power the diaphragm causing reproducer problems.
Not if you get that needle bar and gasket right. Modern closed cell foam gaskets have a *lot* more compliance than the earlier rubber. These were quite restrictive of the needle bar. I can get quite a bit of headroom out of a #2. Enough for anything but plastic 50s records that shouldn't be played on those anyway.
@@peteleoni9665 It has nothing to do with the reproducer and everything to do with the record. By the mid 1930s they started removing the abrasive materials in records that were intended to wear down the needle. In preparation for the lighter electric pickups the grooves change. A Steel needle with a heavy acoustic reproducer can really start eating into a 40s-50s record even after a few plays.
@@Phono-fun That was my point, the largest inhibitor of the lateral movement of the needle bar is not the pivot but is the hard gasket around the mica.. When the compliance of the outside edge of the mica is loosened, the needle bar can swing laterally a lot easier as witnessed by the huge increase in low end response. You are literally hearing the needle have an easier time moving laterally which translates to less wear and adequate dynamic range. I think that was the point of sale for #2 and #4. They were a stopgap before Orthophonic. It will certainly destroy records if the gasket is not compliant. I think the rubber was very soft when it left the factory 100 years ago, however modern closed cell softer foam is probably much better.
your machine was made to play pre 1930 (generally) acoustically recorded shellac records with single use steel needles. Not all 78s are "acoustic" (recorded through a recording horn) or made of shellac. After the general cutoff date of 1930 records began to be "electrically" recorded for playback on more modern electric players with more sensitive pickups or reproducers. To accommodate more advanced playback and recording methods, the composition of later records was changed from shellac to vinyl compositions which are softer and designed for lighter weight tonearms and playback cartridges. Although acoustic machines and reproducers are able to play electrically recorded records, it's not recommended to do so because of excessive wear from the weight and use of steel needles.
