The Immortal Voice (1923) Film showing how records are made

[Wolfe]

Neat stuff. More rare footage of an original acoustic recording session (more or less.)

Wonder how much more will ever turn up. Including this, I only know of about three original pieces of film showing making records before the horn.

https://youtu.be/sQ6KmeLjLCs

[Wolfe]

I wonder if Rosa Ponselle was facing away from the horn for the benefit of the film. Or because that's how Columbia recorded her to avoid overcutting the wax? In later years recording engineers who recorded her electrically said her voice would pin the recording meters. Even in 1954 when she was recorded in hi-fi by RCA Victor, they supposedly had trouble with the volume of her voice.

[Roaring20s]

I enjoyed this link.
I also got a kick out the studio's name!

Thanks,
James.

[Henry]

I enjoyed this link.
I also got a kick out the studio's name!

Thanks,
James.

The name reminds me of the alternate title of that famous orchestral piece, Ravel's "Blaro."

[startgroove]

I wonder if there is an important step missing from the process? I thought the first cut was into a thin wax layer on top of a metal plate. The stylus removed that layer in a shallow groove, then the plate was etched and the wax removed.

If the engineers later found a way to concentrate the sound energy enough to cut a deep groove into solid wax, when did that process begin?

[briankeith]

I wonder if anything exist like this for making Diamond Disc Edison records ?

[phonojim]

Startgroove: I think you are referring to the original Berliner process where a zinc plate was coated with a thin layer of wax. During recording, the cutting stylus cut through the wax to the zinc. The zinc plate was then placed into an chemical bath which etched the grooves into the zinc. This method was replaced ca. 1900 with the wax method shown in the film.

Jim

[Phototone]

A couple of things. The Bray company was more-or-less an animation studio, hence all the animated scenes with pointing arrows and circular waves depicting sound waves.

They mentioned playback of the recorded wax. If that was a real thing, it was destructive playback, and was used to check levels and balance before a final take was recorded. Playing back a wax master destroys it. Also the images of the cutter with the wax string coiling up on the wax blank. In reality, there would be an operator brushing these cuttings away, so they wouldn't possibly bunch up under the cutter stylus.

It is interesting to note, that while all the footage was shot at the Columbia studio and factory, they mention Caruso at the end, who was an exclusive Victor artist.

[Wolfe]

^ I thought so, too. Even though Caruso was two years dead at that point, he was still very much Victor "property" and heavily promoted in their literature. Victor tended not to take those things lightly.

[Wolfe]

I wonder if there is an important step missing from the process? I thought the first cut was into a thin wax layer on top of a metal plate. The stylus removed that layer in a shallow groove, then the plate was etched and the wax removed.

If the engineers later found a way to concentrate the sound energy enough to cut a deep groove into solid wax, when did that process begin?

Apart from the early Berliner process. - which I think you're referencing. Disc recording was always done on heated beeswax biscuits. The film has it all down. Until the mid-1930's when lacquer discs began being used in place of the was biscuits. The process of cutting and plating a lacquer is the same now as it was then. Except that nowadays the lacquer isn't normally cut from a live signal. If you have what's called a "Direct to Disc" LP, like were in vogue in the 1970's, then it was - recorded much like a 78 - live take direct to the lacquer and then put through the usual plating, etc.


Here's another How records are made film from the 1940's: https://youtu.be/3z_PCPrMz2c

Amd here's one from 1917: https://www.facebook.com/Grammophon.For ... =2&theater