Cylinder runtime question

[GrafonolaG50]

There is a song I like that is 2:27 minutes long. Could this be squeezed onto a 2 minute record?(adjusting the machine speed down is fine) There is an ebay seller that makes custom cylinders if you send a sound file and I was wondering if it'd be worth it to have him record this cylinder as I don't have a recorder or blanks at this time.

[Marco Gilardetti]

My personal opinion is that it's quite nonsense: you would end up with a non-standard cylinder with low fidelity, which would possibly not play on all machines. My suggestion is to have that tune recorded on a 4 minutes standard cylinder (used only in part, obviously) at a standard R.P.M. rate.

Should you however decide contrarywise, I recommend to verify first of all (with a stroboscope or by other means) that your cylinder phonograph can revolve at a speed as low as 130 R.P.M., otherwise the recorded cylinder would prove impossible to play back at the correct pitch in any case.

[GrafonolaG50]

Does anyone make 4 minute records that are 1 offs? I'm not wanting to put a new record into production, I just want one copy for myself. All I saw online was you send a sound file and they put it on a wax cylinder. (Without a minimum order or having masters made and then new copies molded)

[52089]

There is a song I like that is 2:27 minutes long. Could this be squeezed onto a 2 minute record?(adjusting the machine speed down is fine) There is an ebay seller that makes custom cylinders if you send a sound file and I was wondering if it'd be worth it to have him record this cylinder as I don't have a recorder or blanks at this time.

My suggestion would be to ask the person who is making the record. You are definitely pushing the limits of the "normal" 2 minutes cylinder, but you may just be able to squeeze it in at normal speed.

[Victrolacollector]

In my humble opinion, I prefer to play period recordings on my machine. These vintage cylinder machines, especially 2 minute machines, cannot cover the wavelength and frequencies of newer music. Of course, people can do as they wish, but it is just my opinion.

You may try just getting a recorder, a blank cylinder and experimenting yourself.

[Lucius1958]

I would say that 120 rpm is probably the minimum acceptable speed for a musical cylinder. I cannot recall offhand what that translates to in playback time.

Bill

[martinola]

I just did a practical test on my Standard A with a black wax record. If I use up almost all of the playing surface, I get 2:30. You might be able to just do it without messing around with the speed. Additionally, I know that board member edisonphonoworks has made both standard sized blanks as well as ones slightly longer for that extra bit of record time one often wants. You might try to contact him. In any case good luck!

Regards,
Martin

[benjaminh]

Thevictrolaguy (possibly the seller on ebay?) has posted videos of cylinders recorded at 120 rpm. Here's an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNqpXcYPDg4
At this speed, a 4" cylinder should run for just over 3 minutes. Of course, Martin's suggestion would be preferable, as you wouldn't have to mess with the speed everytime you want to play that particular cylinder. I believe that thevictrolaguy also sometimes uses cut down dictation blanks, and these could be left slightly oversize to allow you to achieve the longer playing time you want.

Benjamin

[GrafonolaG50]

Thanks to everyone for the information. Im going to just have it put on a regular cylinder since it runs long enough.

[Marco Gilardetti]

dictation blanks, and these could be left slightly oversize

To what avail? The cylinder, although larger, would revolve at the same RPM and would have exactly the same grooves per inch ratio. Even the super-large Concert cylinders last 2 minutes, just as the standard ones.