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Answer: Nearly all cartridges today use styli for stereo use, made to move in the X and Y planes. The manufacturers don’t want to “devolve” their stylus designs for mono use. Easier just to change the internal wiring. But…. You can do it yourself. Mount a damper block between the top of the...

I’m guessing that what opened his eyes was the problems he encountered on his ADC 1/2/3 MM carts. Pritchard’s hands were tied, constricting his design goals, at GE. His ADC 1/2/3 realized lower tip mass, and low VTF, but didn’t get him what he wanted. The Point 4 design got him heading in the...

Just updating some information in this thread, in case someone Googles GE VR, or VRII cartridges. What truly sets these cartridges apart from all other mono carts is that they are tip-sensing. The cartridge reads from the stylus itself, not from the opposite end of a long cantilever. It renders...

Another audio vid. 1960 mono record:

Here is an original GE VRII stylus for comparison. Note the Marks on the underside, and the VTA of the cantilever: The correct VTA: My modified stylus: And the flat aftermarket styli:

Just some notes for anyone searching the VRII styli or cartridge: In looking through stock of styli available for the VRII on eBay, I see that all of them have the same flaw as the one I modified. The one I modified was patterned after the *original* GE stylus that came with my VRII; it has...

Newsflash!! It didn’t work. Belt was more elastic, but didn’t shrink at all. The new belt runs quiet and perfect.

Small. Steam has the great advantage of very fast heating and cycle time. That’s why electric heaters weren’t used. This micro boutique press operation would never have been competitive in 1965 or 1967. At Columbia Records, 1965, each press would cycle every 7 seconds. Huge room of presses.

I have a new belt. So no need to keep the old belt if soaking doesn’t work.

You’re right. I have 2 Garrard Zero 100 tables. They work great, but won’t perform well with high compliance cartridges/styli. The GT55 takes the Zero arm to a low mass state, using a magnesium arm and conventional counterweight. The pivot bearings are very easily moved. Even the articulating...

Clean the stylus and start over. Balance the arm so the arm is parallel to the platter top. That’s zero. Try nudging the cartridge down a bit; see if the arm moves freely and smoothly up and down, and back to floating. Zero the index wheel. Dial in 1.3 grams. That’s a p-mount and should track...

BTW, I really like the GT55 table! Still refurbishing it, but I like what I’m seeing so far. It’s nifty!

First thing I did was buy a new belt. I started to throw the old one away, once I verified the new one was good. Then decided to soak the old one. No black goo so far. If it’s a fool’s errand, I’ll post it here. Save someone else some trouble. If it works, color me amused.

2 years ago I restored my idler wheel for my ‘64 Garrard Model 50 table. I tried soaking it in DOT3 brake fluid for a week. It went from hard as ceramic to supple and flexible. I’m still using it 2 years later. Still soft as new. So how ‘bout a TT drive belt? I already have a new belt for my...

Not a new cartridge, but I’m working on a new stylus. First I’ll try one for the VRII mono cart, conical stylus. It will be of my “Flux Mirror” design. Still MI, but it will drastically reduce the moving mass of the stylus. It will work *similarly* to the Decca design. Problem with the Decca...

All I have to go on is experience, seeing it done, and the first-hand account of an engineer who worked for a good sized cartridge manufacturer, in the 60s and 70s. Hand winding of coils belonged to the boutique cart manufacturers who didn’t worry about cost per unit. And, possibly, defense...

Like I said, machines were winding coils for cartridges in the 60s and 70s, and later, to now. Performance inspections after manufacture tell you nothing about how they’re manufactured. In the early 80s we tested performance of parts before we installed them in tactical aircraft avionics and...

I know this not to be true. There were certainly “some” that hand-wound coils, but most did not. My neighbor in the late 60s, early 70s was an engineer who worked for ADC. (One of the reasons I’m a fan of ADC cartridges.) Also, I toured a plant that manufactured very small relays in the early...

Here’s a fun LP! This was my mother’s. Yes, she was a fan! 1956.

For grins and giggles, here is a YouTube video I made of the VRII. Playing a 1953 mono recording. The vid is made at the table, somewhat behind the speakers, so it’s not the very best sound recording. But you can hear how clean the sound is, and quite dynamic, even though this was recorded in...

The Decca carts would be the closest. They are more “exotic” in their design, but also read the stylus tip. It uses a vertical “stalk” stylus and is also an MI design. It uses a damping string to counter the drag force on the stylus. GE also made several stereo cartridges based on the design of...

In a word, distortion. It uses an iron blade cantilever that is lacking the decades of refinements you see in other MM cartridges. Stamped steel stylus assembly. Not aluminum, not carbon fiber, not boron, not titanium nor sapphire. Not exactly a low mass cantilever nor low mass construction...

Check pin to pin continuity. Ya never know until ya know.

One thing that helps the sound of the VRII is it’s dual-coil construction, even though it’s a mono cartridge. Each of the two pole pieces has its own coil, making it balanced and sensitive. Each coil is 260 mH. 520 mH for the pair.