StarDestroyer.Net BBS

In a previous thread where I celebrated the arrival of my turntable...

muse wrote:The black 12" vinyl discs are already piling up, but looking on the bright side, at least he isn't collecting those old Edison cylinders.

You know how they say "be careful what you wish for?", well, they weren't kidding.



I now have the ultimate in hi-fi music reproduction, circa 1900. I don't even need electricity to get my music fix!

Hah! You actually have cylinders to play on that thing? Could you record your own?

EDIT: I just saw those three cylinders in the picture. What songs are they?

Awesome. Old recording equipment is simply fascinating.

Does it still work?

Now all you need is one of those audio wire players.

Damn it. I just noticed the date he posted it.

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:Damn it. I just noticed the date he posted it.

No he most likely has one in his house and hes listenning to it

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Now all you need is one of those audio wire players.

I actually have one of those. It still works, too (cost me $60 to retube it!). It's pretty cool -- I transferred some old family recordings and made copies for everyone for Christmas one year. It was very cool (and a little weird) to hear recordings of my mom and uncles when they were just kids.

I'm an audio dork though. I still have a working 8-track player and a couple of 1/4" reel-to-reels from the '70's.

So yeah, April Fools or not, I just need a Victrola and an Edison and my audio reproduction collection will be complete!

Congrats. In case of a nuclear holocaust or a giant EMP blast, you can still listen to music.

For anyone interested, check out the University of California's Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project. I found a bunch of great novelty recordings that just aren't done anymore.

A few that come to mind are Liszt's 2nd Polonaise for piano arranged for a brass band, a ragtime medley of opera melodies called the Operatic Rag, a similar ragtime medley of Hungarian melodies appropriately called the Hungarian Rag, a piece with a piccolo and orchestra called the Nightingale and the Frog, a nice banjo and brass band interpretation of Alexander's Ragtime Band, and a marimba version of the 12th St. Rag.

EDIT: I just found a pretty good medley of waltzes with two very popular classical melodies played by a brass band called the Angel's Dream Waltz.

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:Damn it. I just noticed the date he posted it.

Indeed. I don't own an Edison, but I do know the person who owns the one in that picture, he's a member of our local audio enthusiasts' group and has all kinds of awesome stuff at his home.

I would like to own one sometime in the future, but they're getting pretty rare & expensive these days and the media isn't exactly easy to come by either.

So how clear does the cylinder sound? Does a newly recorded one sound just like the old original ones or does it sound clearer? Does the age make a difference?

I've heard Harry Houdini's voice, thanks to a wax cylinder recording.

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:So how clear does the cylinder sound? Does a newly recorded one sound just like the old original ones or does it sound clearer? Does the age make a difference?

Not really. They Might Be Giants recorded the short song "I Can Hear You" for their 1996 album Factory Showroom on an Edison phonograph to a wax cylinder, and it sounded more or less identical to vintage cylinders that were well-preserved.

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:So how clear does the cylinder sound? Does a newly recorded one sound just like the old original ones or does it sound clearer? Does the age make a difference?

About as clear as an overseas phone call before the days of fiber optic cables. Which is to say about as good as the original old stock cylinders.