The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A well working BF is a nice machine, I had one years ago in for a tune up and it sounded very nice, and the motor was nice and smooth.

Here's an update...

- Norman is saying he will need $90 per cylinder, including postage to the US from Germany, for each of the new records.

- We have 4 people here on the forum who have committed to purchasing one. This plus me, plus another collector friend who has also committed, makes 6. We need a minimum of 10...so who of you want to sign up to be one of those final four?

Once we have our ten we can sort out what tune to put on it, perhaps by voting, but please see above for links to a couple of good candidates.

I may just sign up for a couple of copies for myself, because I get the feeling they might become quite collectible someday. Many of you will be aware of light plastic cylinders, made decades ago with the name Electrophone (here is an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVERLASTING-ELE ... SwFc5XwoO3) - which tend to sell pretty well these days.

If you haven't already posted or PM'd me with your interest, please do so sometime soon.

Thanks!

For my part, I would love to hear a good ragtime selection.

Bill

You're counting me - right? When will you know the title and do they have a box and top for the stated price?

Yes, Kent, you are on the list.

I've not yet discussed the box and lid labeling with Norman, but if his prior work is any indicator, those will be very nice.

As for selection choice, I'm leaning strongly towards the Hoagy/Bix/etc version of Barnacle Bill, because it's hot as well as entertaining, plus has a nice range of instrumentation.

I'll be making a posting soon with instructions on how to order the cylinder, which will likely just be to send Norman the funds directly via PayPal.

But...one more thing:

He has the capability to use a material that glows in the dark. Look here on his catalog page to see the "Skeleton Rag" cylinder made in this way:

http://www.berlinphonographworks.com/ordering.html

For $5 additional cost he can make ours glow too. I think it's pretty cool, although completely unnecessary...but lots of fun. If we do it, they all have to be made this way. Interested?

I have one of Norman's glow in the dark cylinders and it is very cool. However I definitely would not want that for a 6". I think that should be as close a reproduction to an original as possible, suitable for display as well as playing. No gimmicks.

My 2c.

I thought about that, too, but since this is going to be clearly non-authentic, with incorrect content and thus purely for demonstration purposes, I figured why not go whole-hog on the fun angle.

Besides, we don't really display cylinders out of their boxes, right? Otherwise the poor things are exposed to dust, and when on a mandrel, the differences in temperature-related expansion/contraction rates...

We're up to four cents.

Quick update:

Norman was here in the US but has by now gotten back to Germany I think, and I've sent him a note asking how he wishes to proceed - direct payment to him, or collection here for forwarding to him after we have the full amount, etc.

I also sent him links to a number of tunes that might be candidates for the content, from YouTube, to see how well he thinks they might work for his cylinder.

I think we have the minimum of ten people committed to order, but until the money is in hand we probably should not assume anything. He may also opt to put it up on his website along with the rest of his offerings, because once he's set up to make them it's likely more than 10 people worldwide will want one. Just needs ten to break even.

When he responds I'll share what he says.

In the meantime if you want to add your name to the existing list of interested parties, either post here or send me a PM.

Cheers.

If Norman does a Bix, he might also be interested in putting " At The Jazz Band Ball " on a standard Edison cylinder. Now, THAT would be a hot number to play on an Edison fitted with the diamond reproducer. MY grandson loves that one.
Any comments?

For a worthwhile 3 minute Columbia cylinder there's Bert Williams' "Here It Comes Again", which was reissued in the Archeophone set (Bert Williams: The Early Years).