Wilcox-Gay Recordette

[morrisjer]

I just bought a Wilcox-Gay Recordette on ebay that I knew did not work. Another dealer on ebay is supplying me the vacuum tubes that will arrive in a few days and I hope this is the problem. Anyhow, I need some cutting and play-back needles and I was wondering where I could buy them.

Thanks Pals!

[tragwag]

depending on what you're looking to cut, you can get steel or sapphire/ruby needles.
if Gib at west-tech is still accepting orders, he has a pretty good collection of both kinds.
They pop up on ebay at times as well, and sometimes in unopened packs.
The recordette was my first foray into cutting as well, have fun!

[Angus McCarthy]

Beware of some of those eBay auctions for steel needles, though. A lot of them were evidently not stored properly and can get pretty rusty - and they'll still charge $25 a piece!

[morrisjer]

Thanks for replying to my posts about needles for my Wilcox-Gay Recordette (Model 8J1OU). I will watch about what needles I buy and I have just contacted Gib at West-Tech per another Web forum member here. I did replace the clear vacuum tubes in it that I bought on ebay, and it didn't power up--DUH. Now, I will have to find someone somewhere in town that can help me with it. Any clues from you dedicated members would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry (morrisjer)

[morrisjer]

I did hear from Gib at West-Tech and he said:

"We do not work on these units anymore because of their design and poor quality. They never cut correctly."

I guess I bought the wrong machine but it still would be fun to mess around with it and get it to work. I did see a video on Utube where this guy cut a CD with his and played it back. It did sound good but not like a more modern cutter of course. People did use these back in the 30s to record radio and personal recordings.

[Angus McCarthy]

Does the amplifier fire up at all or is there no power to the motor as well? If there is no power going anywhere it could be a pretty serious issue and unfortunately my be labor-intensive to fix.

Yes, Gib will not repair Recordettes anymore because of the above reasons, but he should still have some Standard size (78rpm groove) styli. Just don't mention that you're planning to use them on a Recordette!

[tragwag]

yeah, i should have specified.
A couple years ago i sent him the recordette, and he sent it back without being able to do anything to it.
Though he did send me the styli when I asked.

That being said, my recordette works to some degree,
though I'm pretty sure the head is in poor shape.