Playing 78's on the SL95B

[Poppajohn]

Exactly how does this work? Do you need to switch cartridges each time formats are switched? Or can a cartridge be purchased for the 95B that cam be flipped between LP and 78? I am considering purchasing a 95B to go with the Marantz 2220B I recently acquired. Any info is appreciated.

[Zaimejs]

I have a back up needle for 78s. I just swap them out, but i don't play 78s too often.

[aardvarkash10]

Hey! The SL95B uses a common garrard cart slide. If you are swapping between 78s and LPs often, I'd purchase a second slide and fit a 78 cart and stylus to it.

Then all you have to do is slide in the right cart, and reset the arm tracking weight when you change over.

[eddie edirol]

Like aardvark said, I would say get another slide to put a 78 cartridge on. The slides are readily available. Also heres the reason why you might want to get a differnt cartridge for your Garrard, I quote the description from turntablelab.com:

"Shure's monophonic cartridge, specifically designed to play 78rpm records (everything else we carry is designed for 33/45rpm use). 78rpm records demands a different type of cartridge than used for normal 33/45rpm records. Technically, a 33/45rpm cartridge will work, but the different stylus type tends to generate poor sound quality and puts major wear on the records."

Its this cartridge:
http://www.turntablelab.com/dj_equipment/40/2193/1898.html

I was going to say get the Shure SC35C and just change the stylus, but the 78 cartridge is mono. But they arent expensive.

[josephazannieri]

Yo Poppajohn:

The Shure M78S is not a true mono cartridge. It is actually a stereo cartridge which has had its channels tied together with wire connectors that simply hook left to right channels in parallel. If your amplifier or control unit has a mono switch it will do the exact same thing. My method is to use a Shure M44 wired stereo with a second 3 mil stylus for 78's and switch the styli when I want to play 78's. This means that I don't have to readjust the stylus pressure to take into account the 78 RPM stylus. Both track at 3 grams. I then just push the mono button on my old Hafler preamp, and mono appears in both channels. Easy and slicker'n snot on a dooknob. (How's THAT for a gross simile?)

I expect that you could get a Shure S35C, or even an M97, and put the 78 RPM stylus in it when you wanted to play 78's, but the M97 would require readjusting the stylus pressure when you go to 78's. The S35C would play stereo, but you could switch the control unit to "mono" and cure it that way, or cobble an SPST switch and connect it between the left channel signal wire and the right channel signal wire at some accessible point on turntable, being careful to avoid hum sources. S35 and 78 stylus track at the same pressure, and both styli fit the S35C cartridge. This solution allows you to use the same turntable to play both mono and stereo records, and you will find that 78 RPM records have a lot of vertical rumble that appears when you play them in stereo, that goes away when you parallel the channels. The rig is much more flexible this way.

You could also use a different cartridge and put it on a new Garrard cartridge slide, but you might have to change stylus pressure to play 78's depending on cartridge.

And good luck from the old needle switcher,

Joe Z.