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Old May 10th 11, 06:20 PM posted to alt.collecting.juke-boxes
John Robertson
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Posts: 901
Default Defective Seeburg Red Head Cartridge Needles

Frederick Camporeale wrote:
I recently rebuilt both the amp and selection receiver on a Seeburg
Model JL. The Jukebox had the usual very low volume problem. The Red
Head PC cartridge had original nail head straight needles with the
original Seeburg logo on them, vintage but old and in need of
replacement.

I ordered the newer style "L" shaped needles 4726-D7 made by
Phanstiehl a Swiss company, currently they are the only available
needle option for the Seeburg Red Head cartridge. I purchased needles
from a reputable US Distributor at a cost of $40

...
It turns out that there are a batch of needles being sold that are
simply defective, problem seems to be with the reproduction of the
original Astatic mold or the needle material itself. I'm posting this
feedback with hopes of saving somebody else from going through the
same madness.

I placed the old original needles into my cartridge and BAM! Volume,
Bass like out of the factory. Just to be sure, tried my Red Head with
the new needles in my friends HFR100 and it cut the volume on that
Juke in half, definitely a problem with the needles. I managed to
find a pair of NOS Astatic SE-100-1D which are awesome, problem
solved.

I'm amazed at all the excuses for the defective needle product, like
the volume should be okay for home use, well yeah I get that excuse
but who really has any 50's Seeburgs out on location, LMFAO
Bottomline, do not purchase, wait for the problem to be resolved,
maybe this post will speed up that process.




The "L" shaped needles were ALWAYS quieter than the stock straight ones.
This was true in the 70s as much as it is now. The "L" shape was to
allow for reasonable flexibility on stereo records, however this also
made the needle less responsive and thus quieter than originals.

Sorry, as far as I know there is no cure, unless you get the straight
needles. Perhaps you can modify the feedback on the amp to get some more
gain - cutting the feedback resistor does give more gain, but you have
to resolder it if you use straight stylus.

John :-#)#

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