Tomorrow- Recording to Wax Cylinder!

Just got this in my email:

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The 413s to Rock Edison Day with Old-Time Studio Session

WEST ORANGE, NJ - Jersey band The 413s will rock Edison Day on June 6 by using century-old technology to commit its music to wax cylinder in a series of recording sessions at Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange.


"We'll be recording to wax cylinder, the first commercial format ever available, in the same way it was done in Edison's time," said guitarist Chris Bolger of Roseland, lead vocalist and co-founder of The 413s.


Other band members include drummer Dennis Diken of the internationally renowned Smithereens, keyboardist Steve Gaechter (of Hussy and Lange), and guitarist Mike Post, who also plays with the other fellows in The Upsiders. Rounding out The 413s is bass player Graham Maby, who has played with Joe Jackson for more than 30 years.

Maby took part in a similar recording event at the museum several years ago as part of the band They Might Be Giants and looks forward to repeating the experience with his new band.

They will be recording original songs written by Bolger and Diken, who are currently working on a 413s CD and have done some recording in Bolger's basement studio. But the Edison museum sessions require a different approach to compensate for the early-day recording methods.

"We have to use instrumentation which will be the most compatible with the technology we're using. And the songs will have to be short, even by recent pop song standards, due to the limited running time of cylinders," Bolger explained.

The method of capturing sound is non-electric, he added. Like their counterparts who recorded for Edison at the turn of the 20th century (including Bolger's aunt, vocalist Estelle Leslie), The 413s will play in front of a large horn that will serve as their microphone.

The June 6 sessions, planned as part of the museum's special day honoring the inventor and recording pioneer, are open to the public and are scheduled for 11:30 am, 1 pm and 2:30 pm at the Thomas Edison Historical Park. Visitors should get tickets on June 6 at Edison's home Glenmont, located at 37 Honeysuckle Avenue, Llewellyn Park , West Orange, NJ.

Hours of the park on June 6 are 10 am to 4 pm. For more information about Edison Day and other museum events, contact the visitor information telephone at 973-324-9973, or the Thomas Edison National Historical Park office at 973-736-0550.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park website: http://www.nps.gov/edis

Directions to Glenmont: http://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/directions.ht

 

My guess is the Chu Bops format will still outsell it.

 

Too bad they couldn't be mass produced (or could they?). This clip kills me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnsizkVjGm8

 

Jeez, in my own backyard. How can I not go to this?

 

Can't wait for the box set

 

That may be one of the greatest videos I've ever seen on the interwebs.

 

I did get to go, and it was pretty cool. They gathered around the horn and recorded three songs, each song on a separate cylinder, playing them back on a different player. The 413's sounded great (I gotta look into their cd when it comes out- they considered putting one of these on as a bonus track!)
Anyway, here's some pictures from today.

1. The cutting machine
2. Setting up the cylinder
3. 413's around the horn
4. Graham Maby & bass
5. Playback

 

I wonder if this is a new trend.
First Moe, and noiw the 413s.
They Might Be Giants used the original Edison gear to record a song back in 1996.

http://www.archive.org/details/TheyMightBeGiants

 

They were mass produced (sort of) by playing into multiple numbers of wax cylinder cutters at once. Looked sort of like the Wall of Sound.

 

Mine too. Sorry I missed it.

 

No, they were mass produced after 1901. From the Library of Congress website:

"A process for mass-producing duplicate wax cylinders was put into effect in 1901. The cylinders were molded, rather than engraved by a stylus, and a harder wax was used. The process was referred to as Gold Moulded, because of a gold vapor given off by gold electrodes used in the process. Sub-masters were created from the gold master, and the cylinders were made from these molds. From a single mold, 120 to 150 cylinders could be produced every day. The new wax used was black in color, and the cylinders were initially called New High Speed Hard Wax Moulded Records until the name was changed to Gold Moulded. By mid-1904, the savings in mass duplication was reflected in the price for cylinders which had been lowered to 35 cents each. Beveled ends were made on the cylinders to accommodate titles. "

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edcyldr.html

Derek

 

I don't recall mentioning any dates but from:

http://www.tinfoil.com/record.htm

Today, recording and disseminating sounds is direct and simple. Spare a thought for how far things have come: With no method for mass-producing copies of a single recording, early inventories of recordings were created by huddling multiple phonographs near the performers. Each phonograph would be operated simultaneously, each making a recording of the performance. The recorded cylinders would then be replaced with fresh blanks, and the process repeated.


"Making a Band Record with Thirteen Recording Horns."
Photo credit 3.

This way, for example, a band could make from 10 to 15 recordings per take. Often, the band would then repeat the same tune, take after take. At, say, around ten-minutes per take, up to 90 records could be produced per hour . . . all being well. Pity the singing performers: Only about 4 phonographs could acceptably be used simultaneously – netting maybe 24 records per hour . . . another reason band music was popular in the early days.

 

Here's a link to a crude 'digicam' recording of their recording attempt (beware--poor audio):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST5GnI-XiMI

 

You didn't, but it's important to do so. Sorry I didn't explain that more thoroughly in my reply. I wanted to point out that only in the early days of cylinders sold to the public (roughly 1893-1901) did they have to do the multiple copy stuff, or dubbing to another cylinder machine via rubber tubes.

The tinfoil site also is a bit misleading with this quote:

"With no method for mass-producing copies of a single recording, early inventories of recordings were created by huddling multiple phonographs near the performers. "

The Berliner Gramophone discs were made using plated pressing masters onto rubber "Vucanite" discs from the very beginning (sold 1894-5). The Victor machines were made using Berliner patents. Edison had to solve the duplication problem pretty early in order keep up with the competition.

Derek

 

Great clip...

 

Might that be you with the camera in the left of this photo?

 

I dig the concept. Cool beans!

 

No-- my witness protection program rules do not allow me to be photographed..... for the shot of the guys around the horn I was at the back of the room (about four rows back and just to the right from the fellow hoisting his SLR). Although, now that I look at the shot you added, I am visible almost clearly in the reflection of the flatscreen-- the tallest of three heads and closest to the reflection of light from the door.