magnetic cutting heads for suitcase cutters?

[tragwag]

I recently acquired a Meissner suitcase recorder, the 9-1065 "Phono-Recorder"
I'm sure the crystal head is not usable in it's current condition,
and in lieu of trying to rebuild this crystal head I wanted to try a magnetic cutting head meant for these models.

Does anyone have experience with any Shure (model 44A I believe) or Astatic (M-41 8 or M-41 500) magnetic cutters similar to the ones here:
(credit to West-tech Services)
http://www.west-techservices.com/images/cutrep1.jpg
http://www.west-techservices.com/images/cutrep3_sm.jpg

I'm hoping that a magnetic cutting head will produce better cutting results, and be more reliable.
Thanks

[Angus McCarthy]

My first successful cuts were made on a Recordio with an aftermarket M-41-8. They're decent heads, though not very powerful and with a limited range - still only up to 8kHz or so. I fried mine after sending waaay too much high end through it.

https://soundcloud.com/electrospinner/wilcox-gay-record-lathe-test

[tragwag]

hmmm.
so there isn't much of an advantage to the magnetic heads of this type?

[MI11850C]

I started out with the M41-8 in a General Industries R70 back in the late 1950's. They are basically good AM radio quality or perhaps a little better. Actually, the original Astatic X-26 and X-29 sounded way better than the M41, but they were more fragile. I have no idea how Gib's rebuilds sound, but there was nothing inferior about the original Astatic crystal heads.

I didn't check to see if they are somewhere on the board, but I have scans of the M-41 and X-26/29 instructions if you need them.

MI11850C

[45rpmdude]

Take your dead head and put it back in the shell.. tape the other end w electrical tape. Cut two notches on the side up front by the secound metal tab up front. Wrap 40 guage wire around the noches with the link in the top. Wrap electrical wire around the coil. Then canabalize a hard drive for the magbets. Put one over the insulated wire.. 48 wrappinng of magnet wire. Insulate then add a hard drive neomyium magnet. Wrap some electrical tape over that and the head will work.. tape magnet so it wont fall off ... I have an m41 but its dead and all apart. I'm trying to fix it for my stuff.. but it did get sound with suitcase head I modified. So try it. The older heads I can't get working. But try it..

[masterscott1]

The problem is that a crystal head is far way more impedence matching wise, Therefore the circuit is made for crystal input not magnetic , if you want to use a magnetic input then just run the wires through a pre amp first to change the impedance , one of those little things on ebay called a phono preamp for like 12 bucks will work fine . If its mono , just use one side of it . Then your sound will have much greater amplitude because the impedance is matched a lot closer.
Hope this helps someone.

hmmm.
so there isn't much of an advantage to the magnetic heads of this type?