Is a Presto 75A a good candidate for mono punk records?

[timefraud]

I had a recordio and it was just too damn lofi for diy records. A presto 75a came into a thrift shop I work at. I could grab it for $225. It spins but no amp or needle. I’m pretty good at electronics, have built pedals, tubes amps etc. what am I looking at fidelity wise? What material could I cut decently? Thanks for the help!

[mrd]

That is a bargain imho and I would buy it in a shot if I was in a similar position. A massive step up from the recordio. If it doesn't come with a head, You could mount many different heads on that and cut what you want successfully. Personally, I've mounted a Grampian feedback head on a Presto K8 and got decent results. If it comes with a head it's even more of a bargain.

[timefraud]

That is a bargain imho and I would buy it in a shot if I was in a similar position. A massive step up from the recordio. If it doesn't come with a head, You could mount many different heads on that and cut what you want successfully. Personally, I've mounted a Grampian feedback head on a Presto K8 and got decent results. If it comes with a head it's even more of a bargain.

Ty for the help, It does have a 1C head that is stamped 8ohms! has a cutting arm obviously but no playback arm. The dc resistance on the head measured somewhere around 3 ohms if I remember correctly. I'm not sure how dc resistance relates to impedance on these things but I figured it might tell me something?

The lathe looks just like this one but without a playback arm: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-presto-75a-disc-cutter-record-119206305

was hoping I'd find a general description of what needles, what sort of amp is proper etc, and how to decipher the odd 4-pin plug. Any info you can give me on this thing to figure out if its worth it is much appreciated!

[piaptk]

Pick that up immediately. You will probably need to put some work into it, but that is a steal. The biggest issue is most likely going to be the rubber tire around the rim, but I sell Jed's external belt drive motors that will work on it, but you will have to break out a grinder to make two gaps for the belt.

Just the cutter head is worth twice what they are asking for the lathe.

[piaptk]

Regarding needles and blanks, I sell embossing cones and polycarbonate blanks for it. With that head and my supplies you can cut some pretty good sounding records once you know what you are doing.

[timefraud]

Regarding needles and blanks, I sell embossing cones and polycarbonate blanks for it. With that head and my supplies you can cut some pretty good sounding records once you know what you are doing.

Thanks! I appreciate how informative/helpful you are with this stuff as well as my recordio in the past.

Can you tell me what needle that you sell would be proper and how much those motors run? The pricer said he might lower the price if I can give an estimate of how much it will cost me to get it going.

[timefraud]

Andd.... I went back and bought the thing for a little less than $200 It is at least going to need:
some needles, an amplifier, and new rubber for the platter as the old one is cracked. I also gotta figure out how this old 4 prong plug works. Are two prongs the input for the cutting head and two the output for the non-existent playback arm?
I'm super stoked and will probably start a thread in the main forum to gather info specific to this model but any tips in the right direction are much appreciated!

[mrd]

Great deal, congrats! I don't have a 75A but posting pictures will help as will a good old multimeter to trace!

Given that it's 8Ohm head you can use many modern amplifiers with it. Do a search on here for recommendations - someone else better placed than me to recommend which. Splice a fuse inline so that any spikes get caught by the fuse and not the head!

Happy modifying!

[piaptk]

Andd.... I went back and bought the thing for a little less than $200 It is at least going to need:
some needles, an amplifier, and new rubber for the platter as the old one is cracked. I also gotta figure out how this old 4 prong plug works. Are two prongs the input for the cutting head and two the output for the non-existent playback arm?
I'm super stoked and will probably start a thread in the main forum to gather info specific to this model but any tips in the right direction are much appreciated!

The four prong plug was most likely two for the cutter head and two for the playback tonearm and went to the amplifier/speaker combo that came with some of those.

There is no source for new rubber on the tire rim. Only option is the external motor, but like I said, you have to take an angle grinder to the shroud around the platter to accomodate the belt. I can send you photos if you DM me.

I'm guessing it has a 1C cutting head, which takes long shank styli.

[timefraud]

Andd.... I went back and bought the thing for a little less than $200 It is at least going to need:
some needles, an amplifier, and new rubber for the platter as the old one is cracked. I also gotta figure out how this old 4 prong plug works. Are two prongs the input for the cutting head and two the output for the non-existent playback arm?
I'm super stoked and will probably start a thread in the main forum to gather info specific to this model but any tips in the right direction are much appreciated!

The four prong plug was most likely two for the cutter head and two for the playback tonearm and went to the amplifier/speaker combo that came with some of those.

There is no source for new rubber on the tire rim. Only option is the external motor, but like I said, you have to take an angle grinder to the shroud around the platter to accomodate the belt. I can send you photos if you DM me.

I'm guessing it has a 1C cutting head, which takes long shank styli.

luckily the rubber tire rim looks pretty good! the platter rubber is torn, I have a ton of 3m neoprene for wetsuit repair so I'm going to measure and pray its the same thickness.

As per needles and blanks: if I wan't to start out as cheap as possible would any of these suffice? https://www.ebay.com/itm/284906377725?hash=item4255be51fd:g:JF0AAOSwDN1UUHTk&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwJWSU19LC6tW3z7P3Cma6zuS1tMKe7ztzAKYxGoEgyqEwvkbvo%2B0ztTGwVbFu205COfLUaR%2FpEs%2FP4sfi6xrDmW7e9bCZuJDMhCVAHoDrSa3vll7XAq13qFEeImH2uBuVhlIlohDkvoTAqk%2FGCIaXOCAx1QuM%2FS%2Fxd%2B5d%2FDE6xhloW6p4ieWHIW4Z2iqVyoVvLRkZk1gw54%2BO4fV01RhwZlyyTj5rfCgBZo9kulp7e1YJb9hsblmE%2F1nZejSh7V8nQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4S_7ebfYg

materiel wise I was cutting plates with my recordio before I threw in the towel. Is that a good practice materiel for this type of machine while I'm just trying to get it running. My other though was to get some polycarbonate from the local tap plastics

Figure I'll invest in real needles and blanks one I get the thing to cut some terrible stuff with low cost supplies

Thank you for the knowlege!

[piaptk]

Why waste ANY time and money making unusable garbage cuts when people that have come before you have already cleared the jungle into a super highway to good sounding records?

Get some of our embossing cones and some polycarbonate squares from yr local plastic supplier and a 2 hour tech support call from me and you will be cutting cool sounding records by the end of the call (assuming there is nothing wrong with the lathe).