Consolidated Edison: Cool demos by THE VICTROLA GUY

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

i got a message from Steve suggesting i post a video on the cutters forum on recording on the Edison cylinder phonograph. i don't know how much interest there is in this ancient technology, but the principals are exactly the same as a modern record lathe, the Edison cylinder phonograph was the original record lathe, home audio recording started with the Edison machine.

this is just a demonstration of the process i have invented that allows the transfer of any modern audio file to an Edison cylinder with excellent results. i record custom two minute cylinders for collectors around the world. i can duplicate original cylinders from audio files, we supply many museums, colleges and archives with copies of original cylinders that are far to rare to play. this allows archeophonists and collectors to have an " original " Edison cylinder to play for public demonstrations, and in most cases collectors ask me to duplicate a cylinder that is simply too expensive to own. in many cases the copy of the cylinder is the only playable cylinder of that song extant.

as i said i don't know how much interest there will be in this, but it is fun and there are only a handful of people in the world still recording on the Edison cylinder phonograph. if you have any questions feel free to drop me line by email or pm. i carry recording blanks for the cylinder phonograph and have hundreds in stock, as well as speaking tubes, listening tubes, recording horns, and of course, custom two minute cylinders.

i have posted a few videos of the music recordings i have done using this process, i am looking forward to your comments...

Benjamin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gV43tyZkfOA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9lgWXdoVzk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAQADF0kZ3I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDRbBRAbbc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOCKo_bDNZo

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

this is an invention of mine that allows you to play your Edison phonograph directly to your computer and capture the audio as an mp3 or wav file. this is a very inexpensive way to archive cylinders or for that matter you can simply use the archivette to amply your cylinder phonograph. i also make adapters for use on the victor disc machine as well as the Edison amberola.

the archivette is on sale now and will be on my webpage and ebay in the next week or so, i have gotten a lot of feedback from archeophonists who have used the archivette, it works well and has a broader frequency range than is able to be captured on a cylinder, you lose nothing in the way of highs or lows from the cylinder, it also captures little rumble or motor noise, even on very noisy machines. this is plugged into my computer rear blue in and i am using the audio in place of the webcam audio. this still sounds like an acoustic phonograph as you are hearing the sound waves coming directly off the diaphragm.

Benjamin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw4qkb27DZY&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ECtdMSP0BLc

THEVICTROLAGUY.COM

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

I WAS CONTACTED BY THE FOOTHILLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY A FEW MONTHS AGO, THEY ASKED ME TO DEMONSTRATE THE RECORDING PROCESS OF USING A SPEAKING TUBE. A SPEAKING TUBE IS A CLOTH COVERED TUBE, FLARED AT ONE END AND FITTED WITH A COPPER OR BRASS CONNECTOR AT THE OTHER TO SLIP ONTO THE EDISON RECORDER IN PLACE OF A HORN, BASICALLY A PRIMITIVE MICROPHONE. ALL OF THE CONNECTORS AS WELL AS THE MOUTH PIECE MUST BE MADE OF NON FERROUS METAL AS THE MOISTURE IN YOUR BREATH WILL QUICKLY RUST STEEL. THIS IS ONE OF SPEAKING TUBES WE MAKE, THE BELL IS PURE BRASS, THE CONNECTORS ARE PURE COPPER.

Benjamin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc-fI5j3vFc

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

this is a dramatic demonstration of the improvement in the quality of the cylinder recording by using our new driver to power the recorder instead of a speaking tube or horn. this was recorded with the same two minute recorder, part one was recorded with a speaking tube and is completely acoustic.

part two was recorded with the driver powering the recorder, this is still an acoustic recording, but the driver is quite efficient and produces much higher quality recordings that rival a true electromagnetic cutter. it takes an incredible amount of energy to do this, the driver is quite small, but is being powered directly by a guitar amplifier.

the recordette is on sale now as is the archivette. you can find us on ebay WIZARDOFMENLOPARK. we sell a a lot of custom cylinder recordings. we specialize in cylinder copies for collectors who cannot find or afford an original. some of the original cylinders go for many hundreds of dollars, we can simply make the cylinder they want from an mp3 audio file from a dozen different archives.

we also make custom spoken word recordings. many collectors will send an mp3 file of themselves speaking, we have done many of these type of recordings, as well as special greeting cylinders from the children to grandpa who has a cylinder phonograph, but most of what we do is supply copies of original cylinders, many of our recordings are being used in museums who have a working Edison display. we supply copies of original cylinders to high schools and public colleges free of charge.

this was recorded on the Edison standard b made in 1903 and is playing through the archivette directly into the webcam audio. the difference is quite dramatic, yet the same recorder was used for both recordings.

Benjamin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1_n9U49TKI

this was the set up recording using the recordette and an mp3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wX2U6WQnKao

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

GREETINGS,
just wanted to encourage everyone who is interested to send me an audio file, mp3 m4a, wav, mp4, etc. any audio file you like and i will transfer it to a cylinder. this can be a spoken recording, a joke, a poem, a song, etc. any audio file. since i do not have control over the recording process it is a challenge to make a good cylinder recording from an unknown audio file. this really helps with my experiments as i do a lot of these custom cylinders, especially around holidays. having access to a great many audio files if of great help in optimizing the transfer process and making it as efficient as possible. two minutes is the limit, you can send the audio files to my email
THEVICTROLAGUY@GMAIL.COM
a simple VOICE memo recorded on your cell phone can make an excellent cylinder recording. this is an m4a recorded on my iphone as a voice memo. looking forward to getting some audio files for transfer to the cylinder phonograph.

i will post the recordings on the forum for everyone to hear... thanks...

Benjamin

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKA_ADLn53M?feature=player_detailpage

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

i just got this competed and wanted to do a test recording. this is an mp4 playing on my ipad direct to the cylinder using the new recorder. this is my dedicated recording phonograph, a 1903 Edison standard B, i have completely rebuilt this machine, new main spring, new transmission and governor. i have replaced the belt with a neoprene "o" ring. the o ring tracks true, doesn't slip, expand or contract with heat or cold. they also produce a minimal amount of drag on the output shaft and cost fifty cents as opposed to $ 20 for a reproduction Edison leather belt. this is an excellent cylinder recording, it is extremely loud and crisp. this does not sound like a 107 year old Edison talking machine...

Benjamin

https://www.youtube.com/embed/2o2-PdZ4zks?feature=player_detailpage

[Steve E.]

great, great stuff.

[vmspoland]

I greet , your canned music are almost so good as DMM , , I wish more such films and canned music , , you should found own Internet site and to sell your own canned music , you will earn millions of dollars

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

this is a direct mp3 transfer to a cracked ediphone cloth lined black wax dictation cylinder that has been modified for use on the cylinder phonograph. i use all of the cracked and noisy cylinders that i cannot sell for making test and set up recordings prior to actually recording the custom cylinder. this is a two minute cylinder that sounds very much like a disc recording playng on a victor talking machine, this does not sound at all like a 1903 cylinder phonograph...

benjamin

https://www.youtube.com/embed/xHGHUZxiTKo?feature=player_detailpage