PICK-UPS DISPLACE BOXES

Evening Star, Issue 23687, 21 September 1940, Page 4

PICK-UPS DISPLACE BOXES

BETTER FREQUENCY RESPONSE RIGHT AND WRONG OF NEEDLES The modern electric pickup, in conjunction with a radio receiver or amplifier, has almost completely displaced the sound boxes and horns of the gramophone that were so popular a few years ago. The electric pickup has a much better frequency response, and with the much better means of amplification it is even more necessary to reduce the distortion that occurred in sound boxes.

One way to increase distortion is to use a phonograph needle more than once. This is also a good way to shorten the life of records. There are four kinds of needle on the market. The most widely known is the steel needle:

its life is only good for one recording. The tungsten and sapphire needles are both credited with having long lives, the sapphire being suited, according fo the makers, for about 2,000 records. And finally there is the wood thorn, which is only good for one ejde. In playing a record something h** s to wear, and it is far better that th,» needle should wear than the record. It has been estimated that there is a pressure of several tons to the square inch when a needle presses on a record. With this pressure it will be obvious that a needle will wear. A steel needle has been made so that it will wear just a little so as not to damage the record. One of sapphire or tungsten, on the other hand, has been constructed so that it will not wear, therefore the record must wear, ; A once prevalent idea was that if one turned a needle' around its holder it would be useful for another side. This offers the quickest way to ruin the delicate grooves upon which the sound has been recorded. Nearly all manufacturers of records make needles, and on a piece of paper inside the needle tin is written: “ Use one needle only once,” and because of this many people think the idea is to boost the sales of the needles. But if a person is so foolish to use his needle more than once lie will wear down his records quicker, consequently the record company would make bigger profits out of selling more records than needles.