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Many cheaper players, even into the solid state era, used a 3 volt crystal cartridge. It is very easy to tell on a tube unit. If there is no preamp tube (12AX7, 12AT6, etc) ahead of the output tube(s), you have a 3 volt cartridge that is designed to drive the output stage directly. More than likely, the old cartridge is weak or dead. Unfortunately, I know of no current production 3 volt cartridges. I have used a current production 1.3 volt mono Astatic 89T cartridge in place of an older 3 volt unit; but, the volume will not be very loud. If space permits on the chassis, you could mount an additional tube socket for a 12AX7 or 12AV6 and add a preamp stage. I've heard of people doing this and I don't think it would be too difficult.
In the cheap kiddie players, there was usually a 25L6 output tube, with it's filament wired in series with the 90 volt turntable motor. This tube was driven directly by the high output crystal cartridge. For the rectifier, they usually used a selenium or, in later years, a silicon diode. However, some models had a tube rectifier. When stereo came along, there was an output tube for each channel (50EH5, 60FX5, etc), with either some form of solid state rectifier or a tube rectifier.
If your amp has a preamp tube ahead of the output stage, you should be able to get away with using a current production 1 volt cartridge (Pfanstiehl P228, etc). If using in a mono player, simply wire the two channels of the stereo cartridge in parallel.
I have used West-Tech services to rebuild two of the old style '40's era 78 rpm crystal cartridges. The rebuild + new stylus cost $55; but, it saves me from having to modify the tonearm for a modern cartridge and it keeps the record player more original. Given that a new cartridge will run $25-$30 and will often require modifications, I usually opt for a rebuild. Especially on 78 rpm only models.
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