Mendacious Propaganda—TAE’s Response to the Orthophonic

[MarkELynch]

Edison had a lot at stake in his Phonograph business!

Here are his comments about the Victor Orthophonic machines and records shortly after their introduction on Victor Day, November 2, 1925. This document is from the Peter Fraser collection. Thanks Peter!

Mark

[Inigo]

My god! It's true that after having your ears used to the acoustic sound, the electrics may sound strange, but one gets immediately used to the much better sound of the orthophonic system, and after that, listening to an old acoustic machine sounds shrill and unpleasant... until you get used again. But we collectors of both machines, know that the sound is much better in the later system. Specially with the well recorded records of 1926 onwards...

[OrthoFan]

.... But we collectors of both machines, know that the sound is much better in the later system. Specially with the well recorded records of 1926 onwards...

I think that's definitely a factor. A number of my very early (pre-Orthophonic label) electrical Victor discs have what I would call "a metallic, squeaky tone." In "The Fabulous Phonograph" by Roland Gelatt, a few paragraphs are devoted to the public's reaction to the early electrical recordings. Some of the early listeners described them as sounding like "a cat fight in a mustard mill, " or "a free lunch counter."

As for the loudness factor, I'm thinking, most likely, the acoustically recorded Victor discs sounded somewhat muted played on the Credenza--that and the fact that the people who reported back to Edison about the demonstration were probably a bunch of "yes men."

OF

[Inigo]

They were biased, for the acoustic machines had been there for many years. Novelties aren't well received... I found the sound of the acoustic records played on ortho machines very pleasant, and I definitely don't like the shrillness of the short old horns. The new horns provide a much fuller tone, with more bass, which is what I find that makes them sound apparently muffled; the proportion of treble in the sound is somewhat overwhelmed by the more bass, that's all. I've found, though, that these old records sound better in the smaller ortho machines... On my HMV 127 tabletop they sound amazing... It could well be that these intermediate ortho horns are better suited for the short recorded frequency range of the acoustic records.

[CarlosV]

Edison evidently was not neutral in this assessment, as his studio was one of the last to adopt the electric recording. It is hardly a surprise that his assessment would target to abase the competition, with arguments similar to the sound tests, when he claimed that audiences could not distinguish the voices of the live singers from those of the Edison records. Edison himself was deaf by that time, and would not be able to ascertain differences between acoustic and electric recordings. The memo is nevertheless an interesting curiosity , thanks for posting it.

[epigramophone]

It was Compton Mackenzie, editor of The Gramophone, who made the "free lunch counter" remark in the November 1925 magazine. When he heard a selection of electrical records on the newly built Balmain gramophone he changed his opinion.

Another contributor to the magazine, H.T.Barnett, wrote of the Columbia Adeste Fideles record :
"It was given to me in great disgust by a friend on whose machine it sounded more like a complicated cat fight in a mustard mill than anything else I could imagine. I brought it home and put it on my gramophone and the result overwhelmed me. It was just as if the doors of my machine were a window opening onto the great hall in which the concert was held. If it produces any less perfect result in your hands, blame the reproducing apparatus and not the record".

[vintagetenor]

This letter is a wonderful piece of phonograph history, for sure.

Regarding its content, I think many here would agree that the greatest advancement in recording sound was the introduction of the microphone. In my opinion, every subsequent advancement is minor by comparison.

[gunnarthefeisty]

Late Victor acoustics played on a Credenza sound better than batwing electrics. Victor had just as much trouble as everyone else getting the electric system to work.

[broso252]

Late Victor acoustics played on a Credenza sound better than batwing electrics. Victor had just as much trouble as everyone else getting the electric system to work.

.
Victor did certainly have some inconstant results with their electric recording process in 1925 but in my experience most of even the first electric victors made before the release of the Orthophonics have an intimidate and strong improvement in base range and a slight improvement in clarity compared to most of the late acoustics.
I do think many late acoustics have more realistic sound than some early electrics but I think this is more of an exception rather than a rule.