WHICH RECORD CHANGERS ARE SAFE

Choosing the best record changer to play old records on.

Other tips:

• Records made during World War II rationing are much more brittle than other records. Some of them are so brittle that they should not be dropped from changer spindles.
• 78-rpm shellac records should not be dropped from umbrella spindles with metal stack gripping fingers. (The umbrella spindle that I would trust most with 78-rpm records came with a changer without the 78 speed - the Garrard Lab-80.)
• The only record changer adjustable to the speeds of very early records (70, 71, 75, 76, and 80-rpm) is the Zenith Cobra-Matic. But it has a compromise stylus that is unsuited to the proper play of any type of record.
• Make sure your pickup and arm are compliant enough to stay in the eccentric groove of a 78 before using it for playing 78s.

DISPELLING THE MYTHS THAT CHANGERS ARE BAD FOR RECORDS

Myths saying that record changers are bad for records have persisted since the 1940s. In the 1930s, most of these objections to record changers were true. But, as we shall see, most of these troubles have been engineered out of record changers:

1. Abrasion between grooved surfaces when records are stacked:

   This was true with 78 rpm records, but not with other speeds. Microgroove records are designed to be thicker at the labels and rims than they are in the playing surfaces. So only warped records have this trouble.

2. Damage to the rims of records from the changing action:

   This is true of only the assembly-line changers made in the 1920s, and the throwoff and knife-type changers of the 1930s. Push type changers and most umbrella changers don't damage record rims.

3. Damage to the center holes of records from the changing action:

   This is true of only the cam-type center-push changers, and then only if they are used wrong. People didn't understand that the spindle cap had to be turned, and instead turned the spindle cam and set the records on it. On the first change cycle, all of the records fell at once. Because the records were still on the shelf, they tilted, and the falling force chipped the center holes.

   I suggest that shellac records not be used with umbrella spindles.

4. Wear on the spindle hole, because the spindle remains stationary during play:

   This is hogwash. There is not enough friction between the record and the spindle to cause any wear. Most of the "wear" blamed on this was probably caused by the cam-type changers being used wrong, as mentioned above.

5. Change of pickup angle with respect to the records as the height of the stack increases:

   This is a minor problem, because the angle error is usually less than 5 degrees. And several designs totally remove the error.

6. Sacrifice of motor smoothness in favor of more power to operate the changer mechanism and move the heavy stack:

   This was true in the early days, but most changer motors made since 1959 have more than enough power and smoothness. Of course, the cheap changers with 2-pole motors are never smooth.

7. Slippage of the disc as it is played on the stack:

   This is a problem with high tracking forces or dish-warped records. It is easily remedied by putting small pieces of electrical tape on the labels of the offending discs.

8. Slowing down of the turntable as the weight of the stack increases.

   This was a combination of weak motors and stiff turntable bearings. With advances in the designs of both, these troubles disappeared.

9. Uneven record wear as the pickup arm extension bears on the pawl and ratchet trip mechanism:

   The eccentric trip hasn't been used since 1951. Most modern designs do not produce a continuous force against the arm (the early designs did put forces on the arm). The best designs use gravity to achieve the coupling between the arm and the velocity trip.

10. Exceedingly difficult maintenance and adjustment:

    This was true in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. But with improved design and the velocity trip, the only adjustments are easily performed user adjustments: Arm raising height, arm setdown location, tracking force, and antiskating.

So the dangers to records are largely in the record changers made before 1959. Newer record changers do not have these problems.

LINKS

• Links to other record changer sites
• A look at record changers
• Collaro Conquest!
• Special Record Changer Lists
• How Record Changers Detect Record Size
• A look at phonograph records
• Equalizing old phonograph records
• Stereo and Surround Sound
• HOME

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