The earliest method of recording and reproducing sound was on phonograph cylinders. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1888–1915), these cylinder shaped objects had an audio recording engraved on the outside surface which could be reproduced when the cylinder was played on a mechanical phonograph. A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes the Surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given Straight line, the axis The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded Sound from the 1870s through the 1980s The competing disc-shaped gramophone record system triumphed in the market place to become the dominant commercial audio medium in the 1910s, and commercial mass production of phonograph cylinders ended in 1929. A gramophone

Two Edison cylinder records (on either end) and their cardboard storage cartons (center).

History

Early development

Paper slip from 1902 cylinder

Portion of the label on the outside of a Columbia Records cylinder package, before 1901. Note the title of the recording is hand written on the label.

Edison Gold Moulded Cylinder made from black wax, ca. 1904

Amberol cylinder package lid

Rim of Edison "Blue Amberol" cylinder

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison on 18 July 1877 for recording telephone messages, his first test using waxed paper. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[1] In early productions, the recordings were on the outside surface of a strip of tinfoil wrapped around a rotating metal cylinder. Tinfoil or tin foil is a thin leaf made of Tin. Actual tin foil has been superseded by cheaper and more durable Aluminium foil, which is By the 1880s wax cylinders were mass marketed. These had sound recordings in the grooves on the outside of hollow cylinders of slightly soft wax. These cylinders could easily be removed and replaced on the mandrel of the machine which played them. Early cylinder records would commonly wear out after they were played a few dozen times. The buyer could then either bring the worn cylinders back to the dealer to be traded in as partial credit for purchase of new recordings, or have their surface shaved smooth so new recordings could be made on them. In 1890 Charles Tainter patented the use of hard carnauba wax as a replacement for the common mixture of paraffin and beeswax used on phonograph cylinders. Charles Sumner Tainter ( April 25, 1854 - April 20, 1940) was an American engineer and inventor best known for his collaborations Carnauba is a Wax derived from the leaves of the Carnauba palm ( Copernicia prunifera) a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian In chemistry paraffin is the common name for the Alkane Hydrocarbons with the general formula C n H2 n +2 For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus

Early cylinder machines of the late 1880s and the 1890s were often sold with recording attachments. The ability to record as well as play back sound was an advantage to cylinder phonographs over the competition from cheaper disc record phonographs which began to be mass marketed at the end of the 1890s, as the disc system machines could be used only to play back pre-recorded sound. A gramophone

In the earliest stages of phonograph manufacturing various competing incompatible types of cylinder recordings were made. A standard system was decided upon by Edison Records, Columbia Phonograph, and other companies in the late 1880s. Edison Records was the first Record label, pioneering Recorded sound and an important player in the early Record industry. Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company The standard cylinders were about 4 inches (10 cm) long, 2¼ inches in diameter, and played about two minutes of music or other sound.

Over the years the type of wax used in cylinders was improved and hardened so that cylinders could be played over 100 times. In 1902 Edison Records launched a line of improved hard wax cylinders marketed as "Edison Gold Moulded Records".

Commercial packaging

Cylinders were sold in cardboard tubes, with cardboard lids at each end. These containers helped protect the recordings. These containers and the shape of the cylinders (together with the "tinny" sound of early records compared to live music) prompted bandleader John Philip Sousa to deride the records as canned music. John Philip Sousa ( November 6, 1854 &ndash March 6, 1932) was an American Composer and conductor of the late Record companies usually had a generic printed label on the outside of the cylinder package, with no indication of the identity of the individual recording inside. Early on such information would be written on the labels by hand, one at a time. Slightly later, the record number would be stamped on the top lid, then a bit later the title and artist of the recording would be printed on to labels on the lid. Shortly after the start of the 20th century, an abbreviated version of this information (together with the name of the record company) would be printed or impressed on to one edge of the cylinder itself. Previously the actual cylinders had no such visual identification. However they would have a spoken announcement of the song or performance title, recording artist, and record company recorded on to the beginning of the recording.

Small paper inserts with the recording information were placed inside the package with the cylinders. At first this was hand written or typed on each slip, but printed versions became more common once cylinders of certain songs were sold in large enough quantities to make this economically practical. Note that in the example in the image below, from Edison Records, 1902, the consumer is invited to cut out the circle with printed information. This paper circle could then be pasted either to the lid of the cylinder container, or (as this example prompts) to a spindle for this cylinder in specially built cabinets for holding cylinder records which were marketed by record companies. Only a minority of cylinder record customers purchased such cabinets, however.

Hard plastic cylinders

In 1906 the Indestructible Record Company began mass marketing cylinder records made of celluloid, an early hard plastic, that would not break if dropped and could be played thousands of times without wearing out. Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from Nitrocellulose and Camphor, plus dyes and other agents Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products This hard inflexible material could not be shaved and recorded over like wax cylinders, but had the advantage of being a nearly permanent record. (Such "Indestructible" style cylinders are arguably the most durable form of sound recording produced in the entire era of analogue audio before the introduction of digital audio; they can withstand a great number more playbacks before wearing out than such later media as the vinyl record or audio tape. Digital audio uses Digital signals for Sound reproduction. This includes analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, storage A gramophone ) This superior technology was purchased by the Columbia Phonograph Company. Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company The Edison company then developed their own type of long lasting cylinder, consisting of a type of plastic called Amberol around a plaster core; these were called Amberol cylinders. Around the same time Edison introduced 4 minute cylinders, having twice the playing time of the old standard cylinder, achieved simply by shrinking the groove size and spacing them twice as close together in the spiral around the cylinder. Most (but not all) Amberol cylinders are of the four-minute variety. Edison phonographs for playing these improved cylinder records were called Amberolas. See also: Blue Amberol Records. See also Edison Records BlueAmberolRimjpg|thumb|150px|Cylinder rim]] Blue Amberol Records was the trademarked name for cylinder recordings manufactured by the

A new form of hard plastic cylinders has been developed by Duncan Miller, in Sheffield, England. Duncan, through his company Vulcan Records, has a number of titles available at his website http://www.phonographcylinders.com.

Disc records

In the era before World War I phonograph cylinders and disc records competed with each other for public favor. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All A gramophone

The audio fidelity of a sound groove is not inherently better if it is engraved on either a disc or a cylinder, and the competition was due to other factors.

Advantages of cylinders

The cylinder system had certain advantages. As noted, wax cylinders could be used for home recordings, and "indestructible" types could be played over and over many more times than the disc. Cylinders usually rotated at a greater speed than discs, creating a greater linear velocity of the stylus in the groove. In Physics, velocity is defined as the rate of change of Position. In theory, this would provide better audio fidelity. High fidelity or hi-fi reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts ( Audiophiles to refer to high-quality reproduction Furthermore, since constant angular velocity translates into constant linear velocity (the radius of the spiral track is constant), cylinders were also free from inner groove problems suffered by disc recordings. In Optical storage, constant angular velocity (CAV is a qualifier for the rated speed of an Optical disc drive, and may also be applied to the writing speed of recordable In Optical storage, constant linear velocity (CLV is a qualifier for the rated speed of an Optical disc drive, and may also be applied to the writing speed of recordable Around 1900 cylinders on average were indeed of notably higher audio quality than contemporary discs, but as disc makers improved their technology by 1910 the fidelity differences between better discs and cylinders became minimal. Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt

Cylinder phonographs generally used a worm gear to move the stylus in synchronization with the grooves of the recording, whereas most disc machines relied on the grooves to pull the stylus along. A worm drive is a gear arrangement in which a worm (which is a gear in the form of a screw) meshes with a worm gear (which is This resulted in cylinder records played a number of times having less degradation than discs, but this added mechanism made cylinder machines more expensive. A machine is any device that uses Energy to perform some activity

Advantages of discs

Both the disc records and the machines to play them on were cheaper to mass-produce than the products of the cylinder system. Disc records were also easier and cheaper to store in bulk, as they could be stacked, or when in paper sleeves put in rows on shelves like books. A Book is a set or collection of written printed illustrated or blank sheets made of Paper, Parchment, or other material usually fastened together

Many cylinder phonographs used a belt to turn the mandrel; slight slippage of this belt could make the mandrel not turn evenly, thus resulting in pitch fluctuations. Disc phonographs using a direct system of gears could not really turn unevenly; the heavy metal turntable of disc machines acted as a flywheel, helping to minimize speed wobble. The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded Sound from the 1870s through the 1980s A flywheel is a mechanical device with significant Moment of inertia used as a storage device for Rotational energy.

In 1908 Columbia Records introduced mass production of disc records with recordings pressed on both sides, which soon became the industry standard. Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company Patrons of disc records could now get two recordings for less than the price of one on cylinder.

Mention should also be made of the superior advertising and promotion done by the disc companies, most notably by the Victor Talking Machine Company in the United States and the Gramophone Company/HMV in the Commonwealth. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Victrola redirects here For other uses see Victrola (disambiguation The Victor Talking Machine Company ( 1901 – 1929 The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" His Master's Voice, today usually abbreviated to HMV, is a famous Trademark in the music business and for many years was the name of a large record label Great singers like Enrico Caruso were hired to record exclusively, helping put the idea in the public mind that that company's product was superior. Enrico Caruso (born Errico Caruso; February 25 1873 &ndash August 2 1921) was an Italian Opera singer

Demise of cylinders

Disc records and cylinders

Cylinder recordings continued to compete with the growing disc record market into the 1910s, when discs won the commercial battle. In that decade Columbia (which had been making both discs and cylinders) switched exclusively to discs, and Edison started marketing their own disc records. However Edison continued to sell new cylinder records to consumers with cylinder phonograph machines through 1929. The latest of the new cylinders were simply dubs of disc records, and as such are of lower fidelity than the disc versions.

Later application of phonograph cylinder technology

Cylinder on Dictaphone dictation machine. The recording head moved R-L. The black lines are shiny gaps between tracks. Wax cylinders could record 1200-1500 words. They could be reused 100-120 times by putting them in a machine that erased them by 'shaving' off the surface.

Cylinder phonograph technology continued to be used for Dictaphone and Ediphone recordings for office use for decades. Dictaphone was an American company a producer of Dictation machines �� Sound recording devices most commonly used to record speech for later

In 1947, Dictaphone replaced wax cylinders with their DictaBelt technology, which cut a mechanical groove into a plastic belt instead of into a wax cylinder. The Dictabelt or Memobelt was a form of recording medium introduced by the American Dictaphone company in 1947 This was later replaced by magnetic tape recording. Magnetic tape is a medium for Magnetic recording generally consisting of a thin magnetizable coating on a long and narrow strip of Plastic. However cylinders for older style dictating machines continued to be available for some years, and it was not unusual to encounter cylinder dictating machines into the 1950s.

In the late 20th and early 21st century some new recordings have been made on cylinders for the novelty effect of using obsolete technology. Probably the most famous of these are by They Might Be Giants, who in 1996 recorded "I Can Hear You," performed without electricity, on an 1898 Edison wax recording studio phonograph at the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey. They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American Alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John The Edison National Historic Site preserves Thomas Edison 's laboratory and residence Glenmont, in West Orange New Jersey. This song was released on Factory Showroom in 1996 and re-released on the 2002 compilation Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants. Factory Showroom is the sixth studio Album by the band They Might Be Giants. Dial-A-Song 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants is a 2002 Compilation album by They Might Be Giants. (The band also performed and recorded a song about Edison, a studio recording of which appeared on their 1999 internet-only release Long Tall Weekend and subsequently on their first album aimed towards a younger audience, No!. Long Tall Weekend is a downloadable album released by They Might Be Giants in 1999 No! is the first album of children's music by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. )

Preservation of cylinder recordings

Proper way to hold a cylinder record: put fingers on the inside; do not touch the outer surface which has the recording.

Because of the nature of the recording medium, playback of cylinders can cause degradation of the recording. Currently, the only professional machine manufactured for the playback of cylinder recordings is the Archeophone Series I player, designed by Henri Chamoux. The Archeophone is presently used by the Edison National Historic Site, Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio) and The Department of Special Collections, Donald C Davidson Library at The University of California, Santa Barbara. Bowling Green State University (BGSU is a public four-year institution located in Bowling Green Ohio, USA, about 20 miles south of Toledo Ohio on The University of California Santa Barbara ( UCSB) is a selective research-oriented public university located on the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara County California Further information on this player may be sighted on the external links below.

Other modern so-called 'plug-in' mounts, each incorporating the use of a Stanton 500AL MK II magnetic cartridge, have been manufactured from time to time. Information on each may be sighted on the Phonograph Makers Pages link. It is possible to use these on the Edison cylinder players.

In an attempt to preserve the historic content of the recordings, cylinders can be read with a confocal microscope and converted to a digital recording format. Confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique used to increase Micrograph contrast and/or to Reconstruct three-dimensional Images by In digital recording, the analog signal of Video or Sound is converted into a stream of Discrete numbers representing the changes in Air The resulting sound clip in most cases sounds better than stylus playback from the original cylinder. Having an electronic version of the original recordings enables archivists to open access to the recordings to a wider audience. This technique also has the potential to allow for reconstruction of damaged or broken cylinders. (Fadeyev & Haber, 2003)

Modern reproductions of cylinder and disc recordings usually give the impression that the introduction of discs was a quantum leap in audio fidelity, but this is on modern playback equipment; played on equipment from around 1900, the cylinders do not have noticeably more rumble and poorer bass reproduction than the discs. Another factor is that many cylinders are amateur recordings, while disc recording equipment was simply too expensive for anyone but professional engineers. In other words, while many extremely poor recordings were made on cylinder, the vast majority of disc recordings were competently recorded. Nevertheless, it does not mean that a professional engineer will necessarily get worse results on cylinder than on disc.

Also important is the quality of the material: the earliest tinfoil recordings wore out fast. Once the tinfoil was removed from the cylinder it was nearly impossible to re-align in playable condition. None of the earliest tinfoil recordings has been played back since the 19th century. (Hypothetically in the future some sound might be salvaged from few surviving flattened out early tinfoil records. ) The earliest soft wax recordings also wore out quite fast, though they have better fidelity than the early rubber discs.

In addition to poor states of preservation, the poor impression modern listeners can get of wax cylinders is from their early date, which can compare unfavorably to recordings made even a dozen years later. Other than a single playable example from 1878 (from an experimental phonograph-clock), the oldest playable preserved cylinders are from the year 1888. These include a severely degraded recording of Johannes Brahms and a short speech by Sir Arthur Sullivan which was fortunately dubbed in moderately listenable condition. Johannes Brahms ( pronounced ˈbʁaːms (May 7 1833 &ndash April 3 1897 was a German Composer Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic Somewhat later are the almost unlistenable 1889 amateur recordings of Nina Grieg. Nina Grieg, born Hagerup ( November 24 1845 in Bergen Norway - December 9 1935) was a Danish - Norwegian The earliest preserved rubber disc recordings are children's records, featuring animal noises and nursery rhymes. This means that the earliest disc recordings most music lovers will hear are shellac discs made after 1900, after more than ten years of development.

See also

• Audio format
• Audio storage
• Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project

Notes

References

External links

• Tinfoil.com — History of phonograph cylinders; listen to many examples dating from 1878 through 1912
• The 1878 Lambert recording - Analysis of the 1878 Lambert recording (earliest surviving recording).
• 1888 white wax cylinder - Listen to one of the earliest classical music cylinders ever recorded
• French cylinders - Listen to several French cylinders (Opera, Cafe-Concert)
• Phonograph cylinders on Bill Clark's 78 rpm Record site
• Bob Morritt's Columbia Phonograph Company Cylinder Records Site
• How did they mass produce those old cylinder records?
• The three surviving Edison cylinders on the National Recording Registry with descriptions, audio and transcripts.
• Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 6000 cylinders. The University of California Santa Barbara ( UCSB) is a selective research-oriented public university located on the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara County California
• The Cylinder Archive - Dedicated to the hobby of collecting phonograph cylinder records
• The Archeophone - Official Archeophone site