Silenced Fred Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Got a Realistic Lab 250 for 5 bucks at a Garage Sale, came with a couple of albums. Only caveat is: no needle. I need to find a replacement needle. Anyone know where I can get one, how to put it on, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Easier to just buy the whole cartridge (needle is usually included). "Back in the Day", the Golden Age of bigass walnut cased stereo stuff AKA the 70s, we'd shop for cartridges much like we shop for guitar pickups now. But I found that often a needle (only) could be $15 or $20 while a decent complete cartridge could go for $40 or so. It made more sense to me to just replace all of it. They're pretty much universal fit. Note the 4 wires plugging in (no brainer) and also note the two screws holding the cartridge in place. Edit: I don't know what you plan to plug it into for an amp, but these magnetic cartridges have a low output. Typically the old receivers and amplifies had matching 'phono' inputs. If you used a regular 'aux in' input lke for a cassette deck it was a mismatch and the output would be horribly low. Radio Shack used to sell a $12 preamp if your amp didn't have a magnetic phono input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Realistic is Radio Shack brand, so Radio Shack is the best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Realistic is Radio Shack brand' date=' so Radio Shack is the best bet.[/quote'] Thanks, I'll be sure to check that out. Any suggestions on speakers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Speaking of which...... I have a bunch of albums (over 400) from the old days of vinyl. I've bought one of the record players that plugs into your computer and digitizes the signal so you can store off to a hard drive and MP3 type devices. It's my summer project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Thanks' date=' I'll be sure to check that out. Any suggestions on speakers?[/quote'] Speakers? you need an receiver/amplifier with speakers. Turntables connect to the Phono In or Aux In of your stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Speakers? you need an receiver/amplifier with speakers. Turntables connect to the Phono In or Aux In of your stereo. Oh I'm new to this, I got you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 If your receiver does not have a phono input I have a phono pre amp I will give you. If I remember you live kinda near me, I could meet you some place around Bartlett. PM me if you need it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laaz Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Yes you need a receiver or amp with a Phono plug or it will not sound right. Rat Shack make a small amp that will work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 If your receiver does not have a phono input I have a phono pre amp I will give you. If I remember you live kinda near me' date=' I could meet you some place around Bartlett. PM me if you need it[/quote'] I don't believe I have one. I'll PM you though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Speaking of which...... I have a bunch of albums (over 400) from the old days of vinyl. I've bought one of the record players that plugs into your computer and digitizes the signal so you can store off to a hard drive and MP3 type devices. It's my summer project. I'm doing the same thing to my large vinyl collection right now about 1200 albums and a couple hundred single 45's. It works really well the output is saved directly to MP3 after being filtered balanced and cleaned up by software then it is saved directly onto a thumb drive that plugs on top of the turntable I got. Then I burn them to I-tunes after confirming the song names an id's and I'm back in business. The turntable I am using was expensive ($500) plus a couple hundred more for software but it's fast does a great job and I've almost paid for the turntable in only two months by doing album/MP3 conversions for others. Seems like it would be a pretty lucrative part time job plus you get to hear some really cool music one of the side jobs i just finished the guy had some great old jazz, blues and classical music in old LP's and even 78's that were pretty cool to hear and clean up for download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Yes you need a receiver or amp with a Phono plug or it will not sound right. Rat Shack make a small amp that will work for you. Or you could upgrade and do it right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Or you could upgrade and do it right Or this beauty - http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73061 Check out the tubes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 Or this beauty - http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73061 Check out the tubes 5 dollar record player... 3000 dollar preamp.... You know how many guitars i want that i could buy with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 5 dollar record player... 3000 dollar preamp.... You know how many guitars i want that i could buy with that? Trust me, your ears will thank you. Electric Warrior and Highway 61 Revisited never sounded so good. And Music Direct is in Chicago, right around the corner from my rehearsal space so you can go and drool on it in person. They also have a killer vinyl selection. Only thing saving me is that they are closed when I am up that way. Maybe they have Church of the Sonic Guitar service on Sundays too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 Trust me' date=' your ears will thank you. Electric Warrior and Highway 61 Revisited never sounded so good. And Music Direct is in Chicago, right around the corner from my rehearsal space so you can go and drool on it in person. They also have a killer vinyl selection. Only thing saving me is that they are closed when I am up that way. Maybe they have Church of the Sonic Guitar service on Sundays too? [/quote'] One day... I need to start getting gigs lined up to get some cash. Right now I am on the border of writing catchy acoustic songs that will draw people in, or stick completely to my guns with a ton of bluesy stuff. Maybe... hit em with the sappy sh¡t, then blow their brains with the electric stuff... Not sure yet. I KNOW I could make some money with the acoustic stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Turntables are still being sold new. About a hunnert bucks or so, last I saw. They, apparently, are being bought by us old audiophiles who still have stax-o-wax, but only have a derelict Realistic table without the requisite needle. K's merchandise used to sell them before they went bust. I think Best Buy still handles them. I see them in their Sunday Fliers. Might be a Christmas time only thing. There's even a turntable with a USB cable and appropriate software available from various outlets for transfering from LP to hard drive. 150 - 200 bucks, I think. Factor that in before you start purchasing pre-amps and such. I just checked RadioShack. They have umpteen pages of 'needle' including 'styluses' (fancy-dancy name for needle) and cartridges. Probably a special order item. But, surprisingly, they aren't that expensive. Sub $10.00 for styli. Not much more for carts. Oh, and to protect your new tone are cobra's 'fang'... order up a record cleaner kit aka discwasher. It's a micro brush with cleaning fluid. Follow directions implicitly. It'll get rid of the snaps, crackles and pops, and make your discs and needles last longer, not to mention avoiding skips. Finally, make sure you put the record in a sleeve (paper) before you slide it into it's jacket. Most people orient the sleeve's opening with the jacket opening so they can take the record out of the jacket and sleeve in one smooth motion. Too many times, though, I've bought LPs where the record was stuffed into the jacket along side the sleeve instead of inside the sleeve. Jackets are cardboard and cardboard can scuff the grooves in the vinyl. I put my LPS in from the top, then slide the sleeved record into the jacket from the side. I'm a bit fastidious that way. Many's the time I bought an LP just for the sleeve, mostly Disco stuff that survived Disco Demolition night at Soldier Field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Bedrock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 I have a Technic (?) radio I found in my basement, has 2 speaker cabinets and a phono input. Good to go? I just need a needle, but should this work since it has a phono input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 I have a Technic (?) radio I found in my basement' date=' has 2 speaker cabinets and a phono input. Good to go? I just need a needle, but should this work since it has a phono input?[/quote'] It should, but you will need to test it to find out. Phono is lower than line level (what your cassette deck and CD player put out) so it needs a boost. Most older stereos had built in phono preamps. Most newer ones, unless you go something like an Outlaw or Marantz, don't even have a dedicated phono input, much less a phono preamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 This isn't helpful... But I just went to Amoeba Records in Hollywood and that place is the best to get vinyls. I've never seen more music in one place... They have everything you've ever heard of and everything you haven't heard of. I'm like a kid in a candy store in that place. If you're ever in LA or San Fran you HAVE to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 It should' date=' but you will need to test it to find out. Phono is lower than line level (what your cassette deck and CD player put out) so it needs a boost. Most older stereos had built in phono preamps. Most newer ones, unless you go something like an Outlaw or Marantz, don't even have a dedicated phono input, much less a phono preamp. [/quote'] It's old, probably from at least the early '80s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevef Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Shure still makes cartridges for turntables. $40 for this one. They used to come with "compatability mounting" kits for different tone arms. Your old Technics, turntable ready, should be fine for what your looking for.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Well... <grin> I have a configuration just to plug my turntable into the computer through a USB. Back when you could buy either the stereo or mono version of most albums (vinyls to you younger folks), I also would just plug the turntable into my deluxe reverb. Wheooooo..... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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