BA2104 Stars & Stripes Forever - Sousa's Band - Right speed?

[billybob62]

Think I'll have a coupla three Bloody Marys after reading all of this.

[Valecnik]

Think I'll have a coupla three Bloody Marys after reading all of this.

Seems like a good option.

[edisonphonoworks]

I'M gonna break my silence. Remember that most Edison recordings were made on a spring powered Triumph or spring motor model Phonograph, and it had to pull a heavy brass recording head, and also had a huge flywheel. From Experience, you have to wind the machine all the way up, check your belt tension, and have it a little taughter than you would for just playback, and also oil the heck out of the topworks. They used a watch and piece of paper to set the speed, and I am sure that when they saw the recorder getting towards the end of the blank, they nudged the speed knob a bit, to squeeze that extra bit on the master. The advance ball is .21" from the cutting stylus (just measured the studio one from Edison's factory). You watch it very diligently,as you have to pull the recorder up and stop the phonograph before it falls off the blank. It will break the diaphragm every time, certainly if it falls off the master record as it puts the full weight of the recorder (will weigh it soon) on the recording point. Masters are 5" long for making a moulded record, not 4 ¼ like a finished cylinder, and at a pitch of 97.333tpi or 194.666 for a four minute master. When you put the recorder on the blank,the advance ball has to be shy above having the cutting stylus in the wax, and you have to set this carefully, and when you start recording adjust the advance ball screw down into the blank to .001" depth, in a few short revolutions, and the blank is tapered and you have to adjust the advance ball as it goes down the master to maintain this depth. They even tried to lock the speed knob in place on the phonograph with a rigid contraption to not bump the speed knob by accident. I find when I record a cylinder, I actually am more worried about fitting the song on the blank, and adjust the speed during tests so it cuts the right start and stop on the record. I am sure that they used 160 as a guide but had to adjust things as time had to be fuged, it is then as now in making cylinder masters. Of course I start with a strobe, I don't think they used them back then there was not constant AC current some was 25,50 or 60 cycles, and much was actually DC. ( cylinder recording lathes WERE spring powered at Edison.) By the way, I have been working with my box supplier, and bantering back in fourth for half a year, and have some nice new boxes for the product. I am NOT accepting orders, and orders will be refused! I am selling only what I make
on a first come first serve basis. I will announce here and on Facebook what I have available. The first email time and date gets the blank or record.