Dansette

[Mullardman]

I thought Mullardman would have been a diehard traditionalist, with a name like that. Although Mullard did make transistors too. The OC44 comes to mind.

I wouldn't quite describe myself as a die hard, or a traditionalist. I enjoy playing 78s occasionally, in particular the older ones, say pre-1940, many of which will likely never see the light of day on other formats. I use a pretty crude player. An old Lenco B55, turned through 180 degrees and used with an SME 3009 and a cheap Ortofon 78 cartridge.

My classic 78s from the rock and roll era need to be sold, before all the 'die hards''..... er.... die.

I have no intention of getting rid of my vinyl, or at least not the bulk of it, but I am slowly digitising the most frequently played, for convenience, in car use etc.


Mull

 

[kendo]

THE HORROR! THE HORROR!.... I just remembered that I used to put a coin on the tonearm to stop records jumping on my old Dansette. Do I remember correctly that this was common practice?

 

[ClaraBannister]

I confess to having done precisely that.

 

[kasperhauser]

THE HORROR! THE HORROR!.... I just remembered that I used to put a coin on the tonearm to stop records jumping on my old Dansette. Do I remember correctly that this was common practice?

The "Cutting Lathe" mod. Favorite cheap tweak circa 196_-ish.

 

[Mullardman]

The "Cutting Lathe" mod. Favorite cheap tweak circa 196_-ish.

You obviously failed to understand the mechanics of Dansette. There was a bloody great spring, dedicated to either forcing the already heavy arm even harder onto the record, or possibly dedicated to relieving some of the pain. I forget which. Eitherway, it was that which needed fixing.

Unless of course you were just determined to make an impossibly damaged/warped record play. Which is acceptable behaviour for kids.

For those who weren't around for the Dansette era, it is worth pointing out a couple of other foibles.

-When using the autochanger, a pile of up to a dozen or so records gradually builds on the platter, changing the VTA for each record.

-The auto-change mech speed is a function of the playback speed. Thus 33 and 1/3 rpm records tend to change quite sedately (although they overhang the platter), whereas 78s are changed in a positively violent fashion.

-45s in particular seem to skid on each other, which, dear reader, is why some have a small ring of 'teeth' just around the label.

Above said, the auto-changer was a fascinating piece of kit. I always loved two things in particular:

1. The way that a small 'sensing' finger on the auto-changer pillar sensed the size of record (7, 10 or 12") and caused the arm to land in more or less the right place.

2. Leaving the auto-change steady arm in the open position, caused the record playing to repeat ad infinitum.

Cool!

 

[Richard C.]

"-45s in particular seem to skid on each other, which, dear reader, is why some have a small ring of 'teeth' just around the label."

Thank you, Mullardman.

I am almost old enough to have co-existed with the single-sided shellac 78s - I still have a number of Galli-Curchi's - but I well remember the introduction of the 45 and the perennial problem of hole size. However, whilst being aware of the radial teeth in the middle, I had no idea that they performed a mechanical function; I thought they were just some fancy embellishment until you put me right.

Richard.