Black wax cylinder wear

[Timo Gramophone]

I was wondering,
after how many plays is wear on a Edison Gold Moulded cylinder noticeable?
If i would play a particular cylinder every day, would it wear out fast?
A cylinder reproducer moves across the record with a feedscrew, doesn't it?
A disc reproducer must rely on the grooves to move across the record.
Does this mean a cylinder doesn't wear much when played?

Thanks in advance,

- Timo

[Valecnik]

Timo,,

If your phonograph is in good running condition so the carriage slides smoothly across with no sticking or skipping caused by the feedcrew adjustment or gummed up works and if your reproducer is also well cleaned with good stylus, record wear is not a serious worry, although there certainly is some each time you play a record.

Nice start to your youTube channel too btw!

[Timo Gramophone]

Hello Bruce,

My Standard works well, so i don't have to worry about record wear then.
I'm less worried about record wear if i play already worn records with mold, but when i have excellent records, i'm always hesitant to play them.
Thanks for the postive feedback about my Youtube channel!

- Timo

[Victrolacollector]

You should be ok with Edison machines. However, I have used floating reproducer on Columbia Q, and worn out some nice cylinders after maybe 100 plays, I think this is because the weight is heavy with those large early floating reproducers.

[edisonphonoworks]

I have some Gold Moulded records that I know I have favorites like The Preacher and The Bear that have been played 1000 times, by me and they still play. Think that your cylinder record is now 105 years or older (black moulded cylinder) And have been playing since 1905 or so and still play very clear. Although a world of caution, records with deep grooves wear faster than more shallow grooved cylinders. The shallow ones, the stylus fits nicely in the groove, while deeper grooves the sides of the stylus are rubbing and wearing the upper sides of the groove and sometimes slightly score the high frequency sound waves because the stylus gets slightly stuck in the groove on some notes,(not very noticable but it happens, and will be harsh in playback, eventually. In the manual of the phonograph published in 1900 for brown wax it says they show a growing harshness as they approach the 100 play mark and not much difference after this, except by a very trained ear. http://youtu.be/y9CWgSkA9_8 is a Gold Moulded record that I know has been played over 1000 times, in somewhat dire conditions, such as the summer.

[edisonphonoworks]

I should add, however that Columbia Black and brown wax share the same formula, and the rules for brown wax apply to all Columbia records.

[Timo Gramophone]

Okay, i always thought that floating reproducers on Columbias were less heavy on the record surface. Then i'm mistaken.
And that cylinder that has been played 1000+ times, still sounds pretty good!
And i knew that Columbia black wax cylinders are softer than Edison cylinders.
When i look at some cylinders i have, especially loud records, like band records and xylophone records, they seem to be very worn. I've got one record, ''Wellington March'', that's so worn that it skips. The announcement plays nice and clearly, but when the band begins playing, it skips. When i play some of the records that skip, they seem to skip even more after a few plays. I assume this is record wear.

- Timo

[52089]

A disc reproducer must rely on the grooves to move across the record.
- Timo

Not true for an Edison Diamond Disc reproducer which, like a cylinder reproducer, is also mechanically driven across the record.

[De Soto Frank]

I should add, however that Columbia Black and brown wax share the same formula, and the rules for brown wax apply to all Columbia records.

But aren't the later (?) Columbia "Indestructible" cylinders made from celluloid, and therefore more durable ?

( I am new to Columbia cylinders, and want to make sure I'm not mistreating mine - all of which have the metal bands inside each end of the cylinder )

[mf77]

I should add, however that Columbia Black and brown wax share the same formula, and the rules for brown wax apply to all Columbia records.

But aren't the later (?) Columbia "Indestructible" cylinders made from celluloid, and therefore more durable ?

( I am new to Columbia cylinders, and want to make sure I'm not mistreating mine - all of which have the metal bands inside each end of the cylinder )

Technically, these are not Columbia cylinders at all.
They are merely Indestructible Record Co of Albany cylinders, in a box with "Columbia" printed on them