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ULTIMATE AUDIOPHILE RECORD DEVICE! 1940s CLARKSTAN PHONO NEEDLE GAUGE This week on Ebay we are offering up this cool, old Phonograph Needle Gauge from the late 40s. Read on to see why this is a great item for any Audiophile or belongs in any general record collection. ~~~This Clarkstan Phono Needle Gauge was made by the Pacific Transducer Corporation in Los Angeles, formerly the Clarkstan Corporation. Clarkstan was around since the turn of the century and made all sorts of precision measuring, testing and calibrating equipment. After the end of WWII, in 1946, Clarkstan closed down and became part of Pacific Transducer. The information on the front of this Phono Needle Gauge dates it to the late 1940s. ~~~This was found during a clean-up/remodeling of my old College radio station many years ago. It was in a storeroom, in a pile of old junk, unused equipment, burned out tubes, noisy pots, switches and outdated electrical equipment. I was the stations Chief Engineer, so it was my job to decide what should be kept and what to toss. I found this cool, old, dusty and dirty Needle Gauge, thought it was a fantastic relic, and have had it ever since. ~~~~~~~~ I believe this is what the company called model #301.As you can see, its about 5 long and several inches wide. It is made of machine stamped aluminum, spray painted in a very cool, dark red, glossy luster finish. Very hip and modern looking for the late 1940s. This was a precision Phonograph Needle Gauge, used for Measurement of Needle Point Force to adjust and calibrate the weight of the phonograph cartridge on the turntable. The long metal spring is made of high quality, uniform thickness steel, used for making precision clock springs. There are 2 soft aluminum cups, or contacts, at one end of the measuring spring, which were positioned near the center of the turntable, and then the tonearm and stylus tip was placed down gently into one of the 2 cups, depending on how heavy it was, and the tracking pressure could be read on the corresponding scales at the left. The upper cup is more sensitive and measures tracking weight, using the Red scale, from 0 to 28 grams.The lower contact is used, on the black scale, to measure tracking weight in ounces, from 1 ounce to a staggering 4 Ounces, or 112 grams! There are two different scales, 0-28 grams and 0-4 ounces. Today, most record needles track at around 2 grams, but back in the late 40s, needles and cartridges tracked at much heavier weights. ~~~~This Needle Gauge was manufactured in the late 40s, right when professional phono cartridges and the records themselves were changing drastically. Columbia introduced the microgroove 33-rpm record in 1948, changing things forever. Now, instead of two 4-5 minute songs on a 78-rpm record, you could have a whole album, up to 40 minutes of music, on one disc. Suddenly LP records took off. RCA-Victor quickly introduced their 45-rpm records, for pop singles and EPs and the speed-wars began. Back in the day, there were some high weight cartridges being used to play those records. Heavy ceramic and solid crystal cartridges were popular among audiophiles and purists and they required up to 10 grams or more for proper function. Back in the 40s and early 50s, records were made of Shellac and low grade plastics. Its hard to imagine the wear that heavy needles must have caused to these records. Its not unusual to find popular 78s and early 45s today that are almost played smooth. In 1947, General Electric (GE) introduced its new light weight (6-8 gram tracking weight!) GE VR (variable reluctance) cartridges, the first Hi-Fi Mono cartridges made for 78-RPM and early 33-rpm records. In 1949, GE introduced its RPX cartridge series, one for 78s and one for the new 33-rpm microgroove LPs. They were smaller, lighter, magnetically shielded, chrome plated, and had fantastic frequency response and higher voltage output. The 78 cartridge needed heavier tracking force, 10-15 grams, compared to the 33 cartridge, 6-8 grams. Up until the early 50s you needed 2 different cartridges to play 78s and 33s, so being able to accurately adjust tracking weights with these Needle Gauges was critical. GE also introduced a double headed GE RPX cartridge that could flip to play either 78s or 33s, although you still needed to adjust the tracking weight. They were popular with radio stations, audiophiles and collectors. Most cartridges were diamond tipped, but sapphire tips were being introduced, which also required weight adjustments. A double headed, diamond tipped GE RPX cost about $35 back then, $450 today. They werent cheap. The old GE VRs are still one of the great cartridges and very popular among people like me who collect and play old blues and early rock 78s. So, in the late 40s and early 50s, tracking weight suddenly became very important and gauges like this were needed for proper turntable set up and playback. Today, you rarely see them anymore, but back then, any serious audiophile or record collector had one of these handy near their turntable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This Needle Gauge is from the late 40s, the days of crude phonographs, with lots of electrical hum and buzz, and poor speed control. Way before things like headshell and tonearm shape, materials and construction were considered. From way before we were concerned about the mechanical intrusion that turntables create on sound reproduction. This is also from the days before we cared about Verticle Tracking Angle (VTA), Anti-skating forces, Headshell alignment, custom cartridge wires, Azimuth adjustment, platter weight and material, or even if our turntable platters were perfectly level. ~~~I consider myself to be an audiophile. My audio equipment cost more than my car, and Im always looking for better sound, but this old Needle Gauge sat prominently on my audio rack, to remind me of the way things were, to be humble and grateful for the equipment and records I have today. Ive had this old Phono Needle Scale sitting on my stack of high-end audio gear for over 30 years.It has always served to remind me how things were back in the early days of Hi-Fi records. Whenever the records I play didnt sound Audiophile perfect or had a few Pops and Clicks, this old Phono Needle Gauge reminded me to be humble, to accept the records I had as real treasures, and to accept their flaws. It reminded me that its OK, and acceptable, if a record doesnt sound perfect. Todays records are masterpieces of technology, but it wasnt always that way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The condition of this Needle Gauge, like many records in my collection, is perfectly distressed and looks terrific. Like most of us, and our records, its had a long, hard life, has some dings and wear, and just screams old and vintage. Its not perfect, and has some authentic wear, but I think that adds charm and authenticity. Its not new old stock like some you see online. This was used by real studio DJs and Engineers and has had actual use, trying to create the best sound possible from records played over the airwaves. Its a perfect reminder of how far weve come in the history and evolution of turntables and records. This would be a cool piece of history to have in your record collection or a great gift for that Audiophile record collector in your life. That person who can actually have a serious discussion about what type of high-end cables are best for connecting your Mono-block tube pre-amplifiers up to your system. ~~~Many decades ago, we record collectors were happy to have ANY copy of certain odd & obscure records and sound quality wasnt such a big deal as it is today. Nobody cared about Mastering Engineers, different Stampers, different pressing plants, Matrix numbers and things like that. It was a much simpler time to be a record collector. This would be a cool item to have on display in your record room or music shop to remind us of those simpler times. Its very humbling and grounding item, reminding us that its all about the music, not what expensive state-of-the-art system we listen to it on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $4.50 for this item. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Economy/Media Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy! Im a 0ne-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love collecting and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any items that I personally would not want in my collection. My descriptions and grading are fair and honest and I will ALWAYS refund you for anything you’re not happy with. I have had over 3,500 happy and satisfied EBay customers, with 100% positive feedback, over the years and I have been buying/selling on ebay for over 25 years, so please bid with confidence! All orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days of receipt. We package and ship our items with the greatest care, using the proper packaging to ensure that your rare and collectible treasures arrive in pristine condition. Payments can be made by any of the options EBay offers. I will be happy to exchange feedback with anyone I complete a transaction with. THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far. -- JOHN
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