Answering Questions from "Recording on 100-Year-Old Equipment"

[@selfishgills8193]

Is there gonna be a Mr. Wibblespoon album? The world needs more Mr. Wibblespoon songs...

[@mcxhalo]

IMAGINE THE BILL

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

Rob, you did a good job of answering the questions. It certainly is hard to change the diaphragms, you usually break the one you have in the recording head, as they are thin glass. The glue is burnt rubber, so changing them would have set off the fire alarm, most likely, as you actually set the rubber on fire, so it becomes viscous dampening. The stylus is also not being manufactured, so you can't chip or damage it our you are out of luck if it is chipped or damaged. I certainly chose the .008" diaphragm for metal recording, as you said Rob, the metal recording certainly would not have came out with a thinner diaphragm, Everyone would have to be almost out of the room to record with a thinner one. I also want to mention the blanks that we used were made from raw materials by myself it is a 3 day process to make the blanks, they are molded 2 at a time, and the wax batch an aluminum sodium stearate base, and some blanks can contain ceresin wax, bees wax, or paraffin wax for the temper, which allows the sapphire cutter to cut the material and keep moisture from attacking it. I own physical records to the first year of music production 1890, and they still are in good shape. The phonograph was invented in 1877 and used tinfoil but was not a commercial product until 1888 for development, and the first music catalog produced by The North American Phonograph Company was 1890. North American owned and controlled all patents formula,s and business of sound recording machines, music distribution, and controlled the manufacture of blanks, and music recordings, as the first recording industry association, much like the RIAA today. They tried though to push marketing the phonograph as an office aid, and did not at first push music recording. The NAPC thought that office use was a serious use of the phonograph and entertainment second, and more of a frivolous use, boy were they wrong! Phonographs were leased for $20.00 a year, mostly to court houses, and office buildings for dictation. and to buy a phonograph during the first four years of commercial phonograph production cost from $150.00-$300.00, and about 1.50 a cylinder record, not affordable to the public yet. Not until 1897 when Edison and Columbia came up with machines in the $40.00 range did music recording actually take off for the home market. Also musical records dropped from $1.50 a record to $.50 about 1897, where people also could purchase the records. Until 1901 most cylinders were live recordings, they used up to 14 phonographs running per take, and put new blanks on and repeated. The molded record came out in 1902 where a master was made, plated, and a metal mold made of the song, and then a moulding machine the wax compound (metallic soap) had other ingredients added to make it hard, and the machine made the hard black moulded copies, (it had a mold heater, compound injector, spinning rubber rollers to start cooling the compound and then put on a lathe to put ribs and taper inside the cylinder and metal cores to keep the record from warping. The cylinders then were boxed and shipped.

[@heinrichdubloon3139]

Shawn Borri that's so neat!

[@HunterShad]

Shawn Borri Thank you so much for that information, and for your explanations in the video! This kind of collab is awesome, both funny and informative. I'd probably never have heard about wax recording without that, but I'm glad I did!

[@753238]

You're one of that guys

[@DC-yb7qd]

Can I buy the Edison recording machine so I can make a video of me destroying it?

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

@@DC-yb7qd Playback phonographs are on ebay all the time from $250-3,000 about a home recording head were available with almost all machines made from 1889-1910 or so, and then as an extra you can purchase, home recording heads that work are around $150-200.00. The recording head I have is the only original professional recording studio recording head in use in the world at this time. Another person has a replica head, and the others were home heads that were sold that fit the carrier eye of a regular phonograph. The recording lathe fits on my Edison Triumph 3 spring motor , I would have used, it however I am putting new springs in it, to be more powerful. The U.S. Postal service destroys too many machines as is, without purposly destroying a machine.

[@StricklandAssistantManager]

"Valume"...? H'wat?

[@cavespider6665]

*Thall*

[@TheRealMirCat]

Convinced that the popular music of each era is determined by the playback equipment of the time. Explains the weird vocalizations of the 20s and 30s

[@Melissa0774]

Like what weird vocalizations?

[@e-man2081]

@@Melissa0774 The weird vocalizations were pre 1925. The singers had to really belt out their songs in order to be recorded by mechanical/acoustic equipment such as a horn and wax cylinder or disk. The electric microphone fixed this problem.

[@rempitcore]

are the pedals on the wall or is rob on the wall

[@21guitarworld]

both

[@therealestlemon2537]

The pedals are on the wall but Rob is on the ceiling

[@rempitcore]

21guitarworld yes

[@rempitcore]

Majson Cross perfect

[@rempitcore]

Luke Lemminge a better theory

[@gothboiclique3347]

Can we have a tutorial for "my uncle the philanthropist"

[@jonathanvazquez2534]

He would have to get Mr. Wibblespoon back, but he's apparently really expensive to have.

[@pedrobru272]

PLEASE

[@ZachariahConnor]

Joel from Chicago Music Exchange pronounces it "valume"

[@squatchjosh1131]

The fish eye makes those pedals look A) Huge and B) Like they're in a different dimension just kind of wubbing beside you. *wubwubwubwubwub*

[@satan1189]

Squatch Josh they look pretty regular imo

[@sethymes5984]

"Valume"

[@Gunderslam]

So cooool. So when are we gonna get the Rob Signature Wax plugin?

[@bluespupil414]

Truly a cool 'experiment' to watch and listen to. Thanks for posting!!

[@patrikkarlsson9463]

Rob always wants more valium. Poor guy is addicted.

[@haf816r]

Patrik Karlsson it does take a lot to stay so chill...

[@WillLeitner]

This video made me write my research paper in school on the phonograph

[@chrisarias4055]

Valium!! Lol

[@Hennu_TRM]

I think that was the funniest element of this video...

[@Logic44]

Valium sounds like a radioactive element.

[@anarmadillowithagun]

Logic44 it’s also a drug

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Too cool!! The next "metal to ..." challenge: Metal to Cuneiform Tablets!!!!

[@TheSapientity]

Sumerian Metal: Played exclusively with upstrokes.

[@giraffeics4982]

I really liked some of the songs on Valumes's new album.

[@SEiMEi_EXiSTS]

Giraffeics XDDD

[@philanaemic]

Just goes to show just how much new tech tramples the expertise of those that came before. Imagine the breadth of knowledge and experience required to really get the best from this technology back in its day. How to place musicians in a room, how to coach them, how to set up the recording diaphragms and horns and know how to crank it for consistency... And then comes electronics, and suddenly your skills are relegated. And later comes ferromagnetic tape, and then digital....

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

To use the acoustical studio equipment you have to pick the physical materials to fit the kind of music you are recording, mix by horn size, style placement, recorder choice, diaphragm choice, and master wax material choice. Change tone by temperature, the length of the rubber tube from the horn to the recorder. The most skilled recordist of the acoustical era (1888-1929, although electrical recording started in late 1924.), was Walter H Miller, who started to work with Thomas Edison in 1887 when he was 17 years old. Of all the recordings I have heard from the 1880's-1929, his recording technique was the best, he recorded with the widest frequency response, the clearest annunciation, and shimmer to cymbals and the breadth of tone of the violin, with the best dynamics and detail to instruments, no other acoustical recordings came close. Victor and Columbia had better artists, however, Columbia recordings are more bassy and tubby, with muddy highs. Victor records have an annoying mid range honk to them and rarely if ever could record sibilants. Disc acoustical lateral recording barely got above 5,000 cps, while some cylinders can get to 9,000 even 10,000 cps (on a good hot summer day), lateral discs even in the 1957 the Rek-O-Kut lathe still only got up to 10,000cps (OK so the professional Westrex head could get to 25,000cps). Just saying it took really expensive equipment to record frequencies higher than the acoustical vertical Edison method.

[@VintageGearMan]

YES!

[@Melissa0774]

This was an interesting experiment because it gave you a better idea of what the music on the old recordings from 100 years ago, probably actually sounded like in real life.

[@mzg1237]

Mr. Wibblespoon is going to be the biggest artist of 2018 guaranteed

[@JenVanVeelo]

I think its a good thing to show the younger people where it all came from!Very good work of the engineer as well..

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

It'd be nice to see a more modern version of that equipment, with powered amplification before the needle writing the wax, and a steady engine instead of a hand crank

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

I have directly recorded cylinders electrically, and those go down to about 50 cps, to about 8,000 cps or better, however, they did not playback well acoustically, however, sounded like a 45 rpm record when played electrically. I used to have a special electrical head that would playback the cylinders, and that was loaned out and never returned, had a Stanton 500 cartridge and two styli for 2 and 4-minute cylinders, you have to wire the cartridge by only hooking two of the wires to the tonearm and looping the bottom two. wires in a loop, and grounding the metal phonograph works. You would most likely hear the bass guitar, and some bass drum with it. To hear that with the acoustical equipment you would need an acoustical horn with a 4-foot opening, and about 15-20 feet long, to hear the bass better, and a 40mm diameter diaphragm or larger. I am going to try some silicone gaskets to see if that improves bass response. I had taken the recording equipment to concerts before, and recorded jam band but never recorded live metal with it, and never heard of a studio session for modern metal instruments recorded acoustically before, and even if it had been done, it was never done with a studio head as we used here. The head we used was used in one of the major record companies studios, sometime between 1903-1920. At that time in the U.S. the only commercial cylinder record companies left were Edison's National Phonograph Company/ Thomas A. Edison inc., Columbia Graphophone Company (AKA) Columbia Phonograph Company (AKA) American Graphophone Company , (By 1908 Columbia anyway was using the services of the Albany Indestructible record Company.) and the U.S. Everlasting Record Company, and in the U.S. that was it! Before 1903 studio recording heads were not much different than those that came with the Edison Home, Spring Motor, Standard, Concert, and class M phonographs sold to consumers, from 1889-1901. I am thinking this recorder is probably from U.S. Everlasting most likely, however; I have exhausted other phonograph enthusiasts, nobody has enough knowledge to know for sure which of the record company it came from, it is also to my knowledge the only working original studio recording head at this time, another enthusiast made a copy, but the body, and advance ball on this one is original from an early studio. The studio would have at least 50 different recording heads, with different diaphragms and even sometimes acoustical compressors, some tuned to capture a specific artist or group of instruments the best. The recording head will not fit on Edison phonographs sold to the public without making a new carriage and trunnion. I had to do this to my recording lathe.

[@VintageGearMan]

@@thenorthamericanphonograph1039 WOW! Lifetime drummer I am. This is some amazing information. I am just happy to be able to still record to 8 track tapes! They sound really good. The 1970's Panasonic recorders are the best hands down.

[@VintageGearMan]

Incredible quest! Love it!

[@dariocaporuscio8701]

I wouldn't be surprised if this channel had more subscribers than the main channel

[@QuinnRiley360]

This is still one of the coolest things I've ever seen on youtube

[@nahte-]

8:38 “oOoOh oKay” nods head * 1second later “oOoOh yEaH” nods head in same exact way*

[@VintageGearMan]

Smart on the metal song you picked for the Edison!

[@AidanMmusic96]

I was surprised by how loud you played and yet how relatively quiet it came across. Really brings home how loud people would have played, and how much energy gets lost on record!

[@jakeklossing4352]

ROB! "Valume" does lie within the Chicagoan accent and word pronunciations! I, along with my whole family, say "valume" and we're from the Midwest. Same goes for "socks". We pronounce it as "Sahcks" instead of the typical "sawcks" pronunciation. Anyways, great video as always!

[@phonoboy6578]

Edison knew what he was doing.

[@hiqwertyhi]

"And my first inclination was to do gas mask catalogue..." the last thing I heard before making a quick trip from my chair to the stratosphere.

[@BikkiBlazes]

Hi Rob, that volume dependent recording tempo is a cool effect that dramatizes nu metal like that. Early Korn was the first thing that came to mind. It has to cut more wax Is a presumption so it really kinda acts like an anchor from a crabbing boat or somethin. Cool experiment, Metal in 1910s.. ? it would make a hilarious time capsul joke. fake 1903 time capsul

[@nickvitela]

black beanie rob is back??? where'd grey beanie rob go?

[@danwemet]

TIL I say valume. ~Sweet Home Chicago~

[@deathwish5130]

I don't understand why someone would dislike a video like this

[@greueb]

I know a handful of people (being in the midwest) that say valium

[@James-nu6rq]

THIS IS OVER 3.5 YEARS AGO??? I swear these videos all happened last year, but wtf how has it already been that long!

[@e-man2081]

0:37 I have a digital tape reverb built into my amp, but you may be on the cutting edge of wax cylinder reverb and delay!

[@stephenscray4494]

Some other Chicagoans I met too say malk instead of milk... I guess it’s the same with volume?

[@MrEstpas71]

Have you ever considered to record a "multiwax" recording? Imagine the possibilities of putting together multiple recordings of the seperate instruments...panned left and right;)

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

American Graphophone Co. made a stereo cylinder recording lathe about 1899, the lathe still exists, though just the top portion, and not the studio recording heads for it, though regular home Graphophone heads will work, it is for sale for $14,000.00.

[@Charizti]

Wait... no ducks?

[@thatguyoverthere531]

Marco Linc Did you not notice the one at 13:25?

[@josephupchurch7138]

Pump up the Valuum, Rob!

[@adam_wynne]

Hellyeah Vinyl Eyezz is a legend

[@Jeff-zg6ht]

"Valume" is a Chicago accent thing. Like I catch my self saying pocket like "pah-ket" all the time.

[@RandyLott]

I'm sure there were applications where multiple cylinders could be used to capture several frequency bands. Almost like bi-amping in reverse.

[@mikejones-vd3fg]

it is a mid western accent, people cant hear their own accents so its hard to judge your own until youre in another area, i live on the boarder of Canada with michigan so its even more exaggerated to my ears because we say our a's like o's and they say their o's like a's, instead of mom its mam, instead of pop its pap, and its cool i cant hate, we do the same but in another direction, but when my buddy from Grand Rpids Michigan said Yashi, instead of yoshi from mario... thats where I draw the line. No. O's are 0 and they make an OHhhhhhh sound not AAAAAAAAAAAh

[@mabus7458]

mike jones. I'm from Michigan and have never said Yashi nor ever heard anyone say that. But Now live in Illinois and people look at me like I'm speakimg Swahili sometimes.

[@backgroundtakeaway]

Yeah I'm from the south....... fuck

[@darkinertia2]

Pump up the valuum

[@thelockedsniper7334]

Don't worry rob you're not the only one that pronounces volume Val-yum I'm guilty of this too

[@StuartVonTRT]

send cylinders to Ben from Applied Science channel to have a look on them with his electron microscope, perhaps to analyse that echoes or skips ...

[@baleksei]

I'm Midwestern and have always caught hell for pronouncing "Volume" the same way. This was the first time I've ever seen someone else pronounce it like that. (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

[@musicstewart9744]

This has me thinking what would this process sound like recording bands of the '70's. Chicago "Saturday's in the Park" or something from Deep Purple featuring Mr. Lord on the Hammond B3?

[@yorgle]

I'd love to see a DBX or CX NR encoded wax cylinder to see how that turns out. ;D

[@MathAndComputers]

Ohhhhhh! I thought he was saying "value"! XD

[@thatyoutubechannel9953]

I'm so disappointed it wasn't Gas Mask Catalogue!!! One of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SONGS in the world! Any excuse to listen to it, too.

[@taylorf8642]

I'm from NH and I didn't even notice the valume thing. Of course now I can't unhear it but whatever

[@Mikeb-NH]

Taylor Fraser I'm from NH too and I immediately noticed it. I guess it depends on the person.

[@KerryHallPhD]

I think your pronunciation of volume is fine. I'd never noticed.

[@Voidling_System]

And he went on a good valume on this video too.

[@user-gu9cb2ql4r]

That’s a really twisted neck

[@PaulyM856]

Wheeww Chicago!!!!!!! ❤❤

[@currykingwurst6393]

Didn't know you watched VinylEyezz. Nice.

[@penelopegarcia6573]

I loved the video....but got distracted by your shirt. I'm pretty sure it was on backwards.

[@rich3371]

"I could totally be wrong about this" ha ha ha

[@teriscallon]

that video was the best

[@1slow370]

I wonder if you could plate the masters, epoxy them into molds, and cast them in vinyl?

[@blooddoni4794]

I saw volume wrong too lol. I'm from Wisconsin

[@JackieTheCatfox]

Now I can't unhear the Valium thing man xD

[@Jesse-mh6hv]

I love vinyl eyezz

[@jmcproductions4477]

Hey rob, i love the vids! i really love the song jeckle and hied song (horible spelling) and was wondering if you will do a how to, thanks!

[@andrewbailey7999]

I wonder how much of a difference it would make to record on a vinyl gramophone from a slightly later era compared to the wax cylinder

[@charlescampbell5894]

Will you ever write a song from suggestions on social media like you did with A Song About Tea?

[@sfatie]

there is pedals on the wall

[@SG-qx2qx]

There is a Rob on the ground

[@c.e.f4916]

Good observation......

[@sfatie]

i too prefer to use the wall as my pedal board as it expands my creative mind

[@chomby3]

Big changes in valium needs prescription

[@tautuajuk2684]

new lingo, "Shave that take"

[@blastdude89]

3:55 wait a minute

[@ericessington907]

lmao theneedledrop commented "valume" xD he's great

[@nickmarsteller6441]

Nice hat!

[@bananabread2458]

Turn the delay off. Wasting battery power bro

[@tinovanderzwanphonocave544]

Shawn Bori is a friend of mine yet that doesn't mean I don't have criticisms on his methods of recording I saw him use the Y split horn system but alas, totally wrong 2 similar size horns don't work one handheld horn on a tube to record vocals and held close to the face while singing and a big one to record the accompaniment behind the singer with 2 horns in front of the singer the background is going to be obscured by the singer making the accompaniment lower in volume. from 1904 onward every phono company cylinder or disc used multi-horn systems with 2 4 6 or more horns all going into one recording head. the famous Caruso sextet used 8 horns 6 handheld speaking tubes and 2 big horns for the orchestra the record would set you 20 dollars back in 1917 a king's ransom!

[@tylercrews9025]

sup peeps

[@tireiron5546]

Hello

[@pijawa2000]

Cant wait for Responding to 100 year old comments from "Responding to Comments from "Recording on 100-year-old equipment""

[@tuckingyouin]

not weird. i knew right away when you said "Volume" you were probably from Illinois, If not the midwest.

[@samus88]

Damn it, now I can't hear anything but valium.

[@nahte-]

hahahaha 11:45 “who’s rob?”

[@gustavstefansson2476]

Is that the black hat that you discussed in the video were you reacted to old videos

[@willempiekip]

theneedledrop is everywhere

[@Sindragozer]

Valium is an anxiety medication

[@AYVABTU001]

Why not throw the acoustic recording on digital and play into the 1800's machine via speaker?

[@DanielBinkowski123]

The drummer is Jake Bowen's girlfriend btw. The music world is so big and still so small man.

[@samlut18]

I have a buddy that pronounces it "vallium" too. Always gave him s*** for it. 🤣🤣 We are in central Illinois so maybe its a illinois thing? Lol

[@zacpilled]

using a pop socket on an SE

[@drumjjj777]

This particular video format cracks me up. At least mic your compadre yo

[@rempitcore]

good content 👌

[@dryued6874]

6:40 JUMPSCARE WARNING

[@ciel1565]

I'm from Chicago and I don't say Volume weird

[@bryceterry5302]

it's that Rick Riffson in the background?

[@dadtrooper]

Hey Rob, nice hat, is that new?

[@nathanseybold6679]

So did you just velcro those pedals to the wall?

[@powerslave0606]

2:37 Spellthony Ortographtano

[@BARRELH8R1]

I used to say Valium. Then i found out i was saying it wrong and now I say it right. Vorlume.

[@lonewolfxiro2545]

Hello bro pls can u tell me from wich website u got ur balalaika and how much ??? Thanks in advance