Good points, Rich, especially about improper storage. Out of the sleeve and lying in any kind of humidity equals a ruined DD even without any play. I don't know what this says about me, but the thought of someone playing a DD with a steel needle on a lateral machine has always made my stomach hurt. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rich" <rich-mail at octoxol.com> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 8:25 AM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Shellac records and damage from steel needles > As to DD life. There are a lot of original DD reproducers with quite > serviceable reproducers containing period stylus bars and diamonds. The > original diaphragms are shot but the diamond is good. Yes, some are > chipped or show wear but the majority I have looked at are in OK > condition. Most of the trashed DDs are the result of being played by > children with a steel needle. Most DDs are destroyed by improper storage, > not use. Look at a period very popular record and you see the extent of > normal wear of the period. > > Robert Wright wrote: >> Oh Greg, >> I have a thousand things to pick your brain about (I knew about CED being >> a vertical modulation and would LOVE to get into finer details of it with >> you, as I'm an "obsolete technology" junkie across the board)! > <SNIP> >> >> ... but I wonder just how many times a new DD could be played by a new >> stylus in a DD phono before audible wear would appear. Would they really >> wear the diamond out first? >> >> Thanks for all your invested time and shared wisdom, Greg. >> >> Best, >> Robert > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >