sounds like a job for silicone tipped forceps.
Ron L From: Antique Phonograph List [mailto:phono-l@oldcrank.org] Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 4:39 PM To: phono-l@oldcrank.org Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Recorder Question & Edison Birthday Celebration Invitation Hello Jim, Back in 1905 when you purchased an Edison recorder it was new, being new it most likely moved freely. I say this because I have come across recorders where I have had to sand with 2000 grit sandpaper to get them to move freely. 2 minute recorders are relatively stable, with four minute recorders you have to have the flap fit perfectly or they will not track properly. I had one recorder that the sound transfer tube got stuck near the top because the sound tube was too small to allow it to move freely. Some people get lucky, one of the people who record commercially told me his recorder was as found and worked perfectly. Another did work on his. There are several things that make a recorder weak. The first is a chipped stylus and the chips do not have to be large. You have to look down on the contact side not into the cupped hole with a 30X loupe. It takes experience to spot a bad one with small chips out of the sapphire. Next is the flap, the flap must move freely. The sound transfer tube must move freely. The mica has to be good. The sapphire cutter has to be cocked up at the correct angle. Recorder styli are a challenge to rotate because metal tweezers can damage the sapphire and plastic ones will melt. Steve _____ From: phono-l@oldcrank.org Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Recorder Question & Edison Birthday Celebration Invitation To: phono-l@oldcrank.org Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2015 20:59:49 +0000 Are you warming your blanks before/during recording process? How thick is the diaphragm on the recorder? Is there a gasket underneath it(i.e. between the diaphragm and the body of the reproducer. Is the diaphragm waxed in place? Does the little tube inside the reproducer neck move up and down easily to help maintain a reasonably tight air path? When you inspect the cutter with a magnifying glass, does it look sharp and feel sharp? Nice blanks can be purchased from Shawn Borri. Ron L From: Antique Phonograph List [mailto:phono-l@oldcrank.org] Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 3:40 PM To: 'Antique Phonograph List' Subject: [Phono-L] Recorder Question & Edison Birthday Celebration Invitation As part of what has become Immortal Performance’s annual Thomas A. Edison Birthday Celebration on the 11th of February to which Central Texas antique phonograph collectors are invited I am planning to record wax cylinders of a few of Austin’s very best jazz musicians. However, results obtained with an Edison Triumph Model B phonograph with end gate & unencumbered by four-minute gearing, an 1890s 3 ft. conical horn & an Edison Recorder have been disappointing. The baby grand Steinway with conical horn pointing right into lid was weak & a ‘cellist playing quite loudly with end of horn less than a foot from the instruments “f” holes was also very weak. Only with my head right at the mouth of the horn & singing loud in a quasi “operatic” voice was I able to make a recording of suitable audibility. The local antique phonograph repairman was able to acoustically dub a 78 played on a Victor VI using smaller horn pointing into the recording horn with fair results. The jazz musicians would probably include clarinet/saxophone/bass saxophone (hopefully “channeling” Adrian Rollini, my favorite jazz artist), trumpet, trombone, tuba & percussion with piano used if it can be recorded. Would like to have used a fine string bass player but am pretty sure his efforts would not register at all. Would anyone have suggestions for tweeking the Edison two-minute Recorder to obtain optimum results? Would anyone have an excellent recorder for sale? Would anyone have old Dictaphone cylinders for sale which could be cut off & shaved down to record on? In the Edison “American Experience” documentary shown here on PBS yesterday evening, an 1890s film clip was shown of a violinist playing into a recording horn from at least a foot from its mouth. Lionel Mapleson recorded fragments of actual Metropolitan Opera performances between 1901 & 1903 on an Edison cylinder phonograph. If the recorder Mapleson used was a weak as mine, he would have gotten absolutely nothing even with his gigantic recording horn situated many yards from the performers yet we know he caught an amazing lot. Therefore, the problem must be with my Recorder. The Edison Birthday Celebration will begin at 6:00 P.M. on the 11th of February 2015 & will take place at my home located at 1404 West 30th Street, Austin, Texas 78703-1402. My ‘phone number is (512) 478-9954. Please let me know if you plan to attend. It should be fun, especially if the jazz musicians attend & I get the Recorder functioning properly! Jim Cartwright Immortal Performances, Inc. 1404 West 30th Street Austin, Texas 78703-1402 (512) 478-9954 Jim Cartwright IMMORTAL PERFORMANCES, INC “Austin’s Eclectic Used Record Store Since 1971” 1404 West 30th Street Austin, Texas 78703-1402 USA (512) 478-9954 E-mail: jim...@earthlink.net Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender.
