OK to play 78s with elliptical stylus?

Sounds right, Eldartford. I have an old Dynaco equalizer that I may press into service for that purpose.

Thanks Eldartford, you are right. I found the following post: "What is the difference between LP and 78 needles?
The difference is size. the 78 stylus is 4 times larger than the LP stylus. This is because the groove dimensions of the 78 disc are larger. if you place a LP stylus into a 78 groove, the needle will be resting on the bottom of the groove instead of tracing the groove wall. The result is lots of surface noise and little sound. Over the years I have seen many collectors accept this poor sound as simply the fault of the record! Using the right size stylus is always important."

So I'll need to get a cartridge built for the wider groove width. I checked out the Shure website, but so far have been unable to find what I need. But I'll keep checking and see what I can come up with.

Doing a little more research, I see that I can get a Shure M78S for around $60 and I think that Grado might make a Prestige model with a 78 stylus for around the same price. I'm not sure if I want to spring for that since I only paid $30 for the turntable, but if I don't find a better deal in the next couple of weeks, then I guess I'll pay the $60 for a new one. Man, how cheap can I get! :)

Shhhhhhsh, Eldartford, if the high-end companies get wind of this they will start making needles out of cocobolo and charging a couple of hundred dollars a pop for them. That's a cool story! :)

When I was a kid I think we had some kind of cheap cartridges (ceramic, perhaps?); and when the needles wore out I can remember somehow jamming an actual metal needle or straight pin in the cartridge and it would work. But I don't think it did much to preserve the life of the records...

Oh boy, EQ too?! You mean there's some special equalization for 78s and a standard phono stage cannot be used with good results?