The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

CarlosV wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:02 am

Steve wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 4:19 am One question I have which I'm sure Edison experts can answer for me is whether a DD machine can safely play any other Hillandale records without damage to either the record or machine? I'm thinking about the possibility of playing Pathé records in particular, of which I have many.

Unfortunately, no, Steve. The diamond disc machine arms are screw-driven, i.e., their movement is not controlled by the groove, they move at a fixed pace, so they only play records that have a single groove pitch (same concept as Edison cylinder machines). The groove pitch for diamond discs is much denser than the normal Pathé records: 10-inch diamond discs play for up to 4.5 minutes, compared to 3 minutes for Pathés of the same size. This also makes the diamond disc stylus to be much finer than the sapphire that plays Pathé records, it is designed to track finer grooves than the Pathé. The Edison machines can play lateral discs with an adapter soundbox, that has a ball connection to provide lateral freedom of movement that allows the needle to track the groove, but as far as I know there were no such adapters made to play Pathé records.

drh wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:29 am

CarlosV wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:21 am

anchorman wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:40 am The biggest problem for Edison machines, is the selection of music available. Most of it is really nothing I’d want to listen to. Edison controlled everything that was recorded on his records, and had recorded what he liked. I can’t say that he had very interesting or broad taste in music. Here and there you find some gems, but nothing remotely exciting to me.

The story that Edison controlled all recordings is not real - he established strict - and somewhat weird - rules to his technicians as to what should and should not be issued, and did some listen sampling every now and then, but if you account for the enormous number of records Edison issued you will conclude that no single person would be capable to listen and control each issue individually, and Edison certainly had other more important things to do with his time. Moreover, the Edison catalogue is not really much different from that of the major labels of the time, like Victor or Columbia: lots of dance music (waltzes, foxtrots, one-steps, ragtimes etc), marches, light classics, salon music, operatics, vaudeville songs, sentimental songs, popular singers (Billy Murray, Vaughan de Leath, Al Bernard etc), instrumental solos (banjo, concertina, trumpet, piano, cello, violin, xylophone etc), hillbilly songs, and later in the production, even some jazz and blues (Memphis Five, Fletcher Henderson, Frisco Jazz Band, Phil Napoleon, Mamie Smith etc). There was also a full series of foreign music, with German, Mexican, English, Italian, Portuguese and others, dedicated to the immigrant market in the USA. What may create the false impression that Edison recorded music was dull is that its production ended before 1930, while other labels more or less survived to record music that is more familiar to modern ears, but you make the comparison within the production period 1912-1929, there is not really any significant difference other than specific artists that had exclusive contracts, and emphasis that some label placed on specific markets (like the Columbia investment on the blues craze in the 20s).

This may be the most sensible thing I've ever read about the Edison catalogue.

Marco Gilardetti wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 10:18 am
Have to agree in full. Decades of clichés about the edison discography swept away by a dozen of lines.

Marco Gilardetti wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2024 3:46 am What a terrific attachment! 3-in-1, nearly universal!

Is it a factory-made period product I wonder, or the masterpiece of some skilled gramophone enthusiast?