Is this the beginning of the L.A. record business?

John Levin, a wax cylinder collector, purchased a box of cylinders from someone in the Midwest. After months of research, he thinks he discovered some of the earliest musical recordings from Los Angeles.
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS AND NEWS
kzbin.info_c...
www.latimes.com/subscription
LET’S CONNECT:
Facebook ► / latimes
Twitter ► / latimes
Instagram ► / latimes

[@BrentMorgan]

This is great. Maybe John can be a regular feature in the LA Times?

[@whatnow9159]

Very good. Thank you.

[@wbail3109]

Bless you, sir. 💕

[@bergfish7328]

That was super interesting and fascinating. Thank you 🌺

[@babybloc]

Marvelous story! So many details on the development of the technology.

[@stratobee]

Absolutely fascinating.

[@bertrandszoghy364]

Collectors are the ones who preserve culture.

[@musingsofrock]

That's the melody to Yankee Doodle.. lol He's playing that on banjo I suppose? Yankee Doodle went to town A-riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni.

[@HandyAndyTechTips]

As an Aussie, I'm very interested in that "Australia Moulded" cylinder. Does anyone have more information on that?

[@johnlevin2368]

The company operated very briefly between about 1904 and 1909. Its records (and boxes) rarely surface.

[@HandyAndyTechTips]

@@johnlevin2368 Thanks for the info! You're doing a great job preserving all of these historic recordings.

[@terrorshark6836]

Wow

[@PRECIADOR]

I LOVE THIS. THIS IS LIKE A SOUND (AUDIO) ARCHEOLOGIST 👍🏻

[@josiahcole3186]

It’s a real branch of archaeology called Archeophony!

[@superblondeDotOrg]

Now scratch that cylinder to cut a sick beat, I dare you. wacka wacka waaah

[@ksteiger]

This is great but I hear a lot of 'flutter". Is that on the original recording?

[@organfairy]

Yes, there is often quite a lot of flutter on those early cylinder recordings. I believe the primary reason was that the wind-up motor on the recorder was regulated, but the movement was transferred to the cylinder holder with a leather belt that had a bump in it where it was joined together. As an engineer I have always wondered why they made them like this. If they had just attached a flywheel of some sort to the cylinder holder it would record and play much smoother.