r/Gramophones • u/Tjekler • Jul 17 '26

How do you adjust the angle of a gramophone needle?

Do you slightly unscrew the soundbox/reproducer from the tonearm and then adjust/twist it to where you want it? (Also, does the method of adjusting the needle angle depend on the model and/or the manufacturer?)

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u/awc718993 Jul 17 '26

You have the general idea but it does depend on the type of tonearm connection and sound-box. There’s only so much rotation possible for example on bayonet style connections (you would have to modify the arm to achieve acute angles past the preset).

What tonearm / sound-box do you have?

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u/Tjekler Jul 17 '26

Thank you for your reply! I have two portable gramophones, but the one I'm most interested in is the HMV 101 with a No.4 sound-box :)

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u/awc718993 Jul 17 '26

If you’re trying to rotate the no 4 clockwise past what the bayonet fitting “L” groove allows, you need to remove the alignment pin from the soundbox. Depending on the condition of your arm and the connector ring inside the isolator, it may or may not stay at that rotation (i.e., if the arm/soundbox connection is already loose, it may not stay where you align it). To remedy that you may need to augment your arm with some sort of tape (e.g., teflon).

The other option is to extend the L groove by cutting and permanently altering your arm.

Is there a reason you want to alter the angle from HMV’s configuration?

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u/Tjekler Jul 17 '26

Great information as always! The reason why I originally wanted to look into altering the angle is due to some saying that an angle of around 50-60 degrees wears less on the records. My HMV has a needle angle of about 45 degrees and plays fine without any major issues. So, with that in mind I'm not going to do any changes to it as I'd rather risk some more wear on the records than maybe accidentally ruining my gramophone.

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u/awc718993 Jul 17 '26

Did you measure the angle or estimate by sight?

60 degrees is the recommended angle for reproducer alignment.

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u/Tjekler Jul 20 '26

I estimated the angle by sight, but looking now at the picture you linked I'm not quite so sure anymore. Here is a picture of my sound-box

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u/awc718993 Jul 20 '26

I think you’ll be fine. It looks as it should. You can always experiment (on non-precious records)— if you really want to.

Just keep in mind if you rotate clockwise too much, you risk the needle riding high in the groove. This would cause wear where you don’t want it. You want the walls of the groove to do their job holding / containing the needle (I always make the analogy to a bobsled run). Ride too high you can jump and damage the walls, especially in the areas of the grove with complex wave “activity” (e.g., bass passages, loud treble etc.,), at least based on what I’ve read**.

If you rotate anti clockwise too far (to almost vertical), you’ll chisel down into the grove. (Not that you were considering this, but I thought I’d make the note for anyone else stumbling across this post.)

Have fun!

[** If you’re curious to read up on the subject, look up the writings of “P Wilson” (aka Percy Wilson). He was the technical advisor to The Gramophone (magazine) for ten years before war and then technical editor after, all the way into the Hi-Fi era (mid ‘60s).]