Recording a cylinder record

[callron]

Over the past year, I have become involved in the Edison cylinder phonograph, and I now have 3 machines, 2 of which I have restored and enjoy playing.

As the next step, I would like to learn to record cylinders and have viewed a few YouTube videos regarding the process. Question here today is where does one obtain or make a shaver and recorder (head?) to cut the cylinder? I plan to use my Standard Model C (2 min) to shave and record on brown wax cylinders with some sort of sound pipe or funnel as a mic.

Is this possible, or am I on the wrong track?

[docaudio]

You will want to track down a couple more items for your "collection" to make recording easier.
Buy a shaver - they are available in the usual places (eBay and here on the Yankee Trader section). A dedicated shaver will save time and produce much better results. They can be manual or electric/spring powered.
You will have to get a 'Recorder'. This swaps into the carriage where the reproducer was to cut the cylinder.
Your player might be fine, but many folks like getting a more powerful machine like a Triumph. Much stronger spring motor that can handle the extra work of cylinder cutting. You can get a 'beater' Triumph to record, and use your Standard to play.
No need to over-think the recording horn, most anything will work OK, just experiment depending on what you are recording.
Good luck!!

[callron]

Thank you for the advice regarding shaving the cylinder. I have a mini-lathe .... perhaps I could chuck up a mandrel and shave the cylinders that way. Should be able to get a smooth finish with the correct shaver tool.
Also, I still need a source for the recorder. Do not see any on eBay or other online sites. Is there a "Talking Machine" supplier that sells recorders?

[need4art]

I have not checked ebay today but there is almost always a recorder listed for sale-recheck the listings. While I am not into recording much myself there are a couple of things that you can do to rework 2 minute wax cylinders. Do you have Eric Reiss's book? Interestly enough while he lives in Denmark it is published right here in Chandler Arizona by Sonoran Press, I bought my copy by going to their office. Not long ago there was a Edison office machine for sale that was used to shave the cylinders on ebay that was here as well. We do not have much in the way of a phonograph collectors community here but I have joined the local radio club and met some that collect photographs as well.

You can email me direct @ abefeder1@gmail.com

Abe

[Menophanes]

I have also taken up recording recently. I am no expert, but I have made records with both an Edison Standard B and a Columbia Q, the latter being probably the smallest phonograph with a feed-screw ever made. It is a mistake to suppose that only a powerful machine can record; Lionel Mapleson of the Metropolitan Opera House, who recorded hundreds of fragments of actual performances in the theatre between 1900 and 1903, used an Edison Home. It is the shaving rather than the recording that calls for extra power.

I use an Edison New Recorder which I bought for GBP102.00 (about $135) a few months ago, and a Columbia-type recorder made by the German company EWC; this needed a new diaphragm but cost only GBP72.00. Note that a lot of the recorders on the market have lost the sapphire cutter and often the aluminium tube which carries it as well.

A shaver, while advisable, is not an absolute necessity. A used cylinder can be cleaned with what I believe is called 'mineral spirits' in the U.S.A. (I know it as 'white spirit'); I have done this many times. Other gasoline-based fluids can also be used. The surface will not be as smooth and quiet as that of a virgin blank, but it will still be viable.

Chuck Richards's website http://www.richardslaboratories.com/ gives a lot of helpful information. He and Shawn ('edisonphonoworks'), both of whom often post here, are two of the three present-day suppliers of blank cylinders.

Oliver Mundy.

[callron]

Thank you all for the helpful advice re: recording cylinders.

I have picked up a nice Home 'B' Bedplate, complete less reproducer, and I plan to set it up with a variable speed electric motor to shave and record the cylinders.

Now I need to acquire a Recorder. I have seen a couple on eBay but one looked pretty rough and the other seems pricey.

What is a fair price for a working Recorder, and is there a better source than eBay?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[edisonphonoworks]

A good working recorder these days usually $100-$250.00. Yes you can get one of those hulks for around $20.00, and get these going with a glass rod stylus, and an aluminum ski jump, or stylus holder (I prefer thin copper sheet) but you will have to change these often .039-.041 is a usable range of diameter they are not as good as a real sapphire cutter but you will be able to record . If you really want good new cutters, I have handed my old 2001 cutter project to Chuck Richards, and if you are serious talk to him. If you want to learn more about recording, just look at my posts, or Chuck Richards posts over the years on the TMF forum. Also there are 3 blank makers at this time. I only sell on a first come first serve basis, as I relegated blank making to more of a hobby and project where I want to improve the quality to ridiculous standards I have made them since May of 2000. Don't be shaving down any original brown wax please! Use new blanks, Paul Morris is the most reasonably priced blanks. Chuck Richards blanks are for when you have more practice recording. Most enthusiasts have boycotted my product because of my U.S.A. First political views (pro Constitution anti communist).

[edisonphonoworks]

This is a dubbing using the studio recording head, the Breakaway by the The Piccadilly Players. I will be putting similar material on my website or ebay soon. I also came out with a better version of my blank last month that I will have to do some live acoustical videos on. The driver for the recorder is a full range Sony front speaker from a surround sound system put inside a funnel, driven by a Marantz 2235B receiver. The test record had already been played 25 times before this video was made.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1cdMCOv1K0