On Wax/Off Wax - Building an Edison Wax Cylinder Recorder Kit

[@mikepapafoxtrot9898]

There is a new phrase I am going to start using "I am down to my last candle". Awsome.

[@codygranrud6212]

MikePapaFoxtrot, certainly works as a statement on despair.

[@PsyDei]

Pretty sure it was "a thing" back then.

[@kronos_rides_about_a_bit6125]

Haha. Finally an alternative punchline to the two nuns in the bath joke.

[@ShokaLion]

I wonder if putting the candles in the fridge first might harden them enough to take a finer recording. I've always imagined wax to be a bit on the soft side.

[@ProdigalPorcupine]

You could send an audio love letter on a scented candle.

[@frasergreig]

The fact that you got anything out of that was simply superb... when I heard the playback I had a big grin on my face... Edison himself would have heard something similar once upon a time and would have hot the roof with excitement. Thank you techmoan.... thank you.

[@tomostinato2918]

I'd love to know what the neighbours made of all the shouting! "I'M TALKING TO YOU THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF A WAX CANDLE!" Hilarious!

[@alexpowers3697]

19th Century Spiritualism perhaps?

[@JaseyStudios]

+Alex Powers EDGY

[@Zerbey]

"The weird guy next door is at it again"; "That's nice dear"

[@harringtonprescott]

When I was in Japan around 2004 I saw a similar device in a music store. Instead of cutting on wax, it cut grooves on CDs. Kinda neat! Haven't seen one since though.

[@sammygirlie345]

sony missed a trick here the sony waxman

[@Vegeta8300]

sam737373 It would need some skip protection, for when you are driving or running...

[@kevwang0712]

These kits are available here in Taiwan, both the original Japanese versions and translated into Chinese, although it seems that the Chinese versions never keep up with the more interesting Japanese ones. If you're ever interested in one for a future video but can't find it in the UK please let me know, I could hop on down to the bookstore and try to hunt one down for a donation

[@ClayRoe]

I own one of the Gakken Plastic Cup Kits you spoke of. I assure you, the results aren't much different than yours.

[@gradyj3827]

I have one of these as well, and like yourself I didn't have much success. I never did get the candles that came with it to play, but I did try some large childrens Crayons and it played just well enough to understand. The colder the Crayons were, the better they sounded.

[@KC9UDX]

Grady Cochran The first thing that came to mind watching this was "hot glue stick.". No idea if they would work though.

[@Pynaegan]

I too thought about refrigerating the candles.

[@gunfighterzero]

Pynaegan that was my first thought too. maybe even freezing

[@timwebb21]

so what this could be is the ideal Christmas or birthday present for someone you know who is based at a polar or antarctic research station and has some spare time on the hands ....

[@rager-69]

Yeah, my first thought was maybe the "candles" were too old and either need to be tempered via heat or cold or just use something else. Crayons sound interesting - but maybe too soft (even if cold) and easily chipped. Did you try actual candles?

[@Kaisarfire]

Englishman shouts into strange device and a Dalek replies. Par for the course.

[@Punisher9419]

It's amazing it actually even works.

[@Kiwibloke2025]

isn't progress amazing, we live in the best audio times in history, so many formats to choose from

[@sideshowbob1544]

The gadgets you come up with never cease to amaze me. Especially how you always manage to find just the right size rubber replacement belts.

[@Sekei..]

I think we reached peak-retro, unless you plan on reviewing 17th century automata next (which I'd love to see to be honest).

[@lunsj]

I could go for a video of a Gutenberg printing press :D

[@kinger2005]

I'm listening to an English man shout at a children's toy, at 3 in the morning

[@donpalmera]

>at a children's toy Except the magazine is called "adult science" and I don't think it's about the science of sex aids.

[@mateuszbugaj799]

At 3 in the morning? So go to bed because sleep is important and watch this video when you wake up!

[@PaulyRenzeth]

Sleep is for the week im awake for 4 days.

[@donpalmera]

maybe that's why you don't understand the difference between week and weak?

[@pegtooth2006]

kinger2005 they meant sleep all week, duh lol

[@piratapan]

Techmoan-man, you are one of the best KZbinrs out there, keep it up!

[@nephildevil]

lol that distorted barely understandable vocal sound would be great in a horror game

[@cooliofoolio]

Darkvine Record really quietly on a cassette tape then turn the volume all the way up.

[@Jaqaroo]

Can you use this device as a dash cam...?

[@spikeydapikey1483]

Only in braille......

[@AAAZ2A]

To record video? It's technically possible to store a video-signal on wax, but obviously the device in the video can't do that. Suppose you can use it for audio-recordings but it'd be extremely inefficient.

[@CrashPilot1000]

Probably, you just have to extend the frequency spectrum of that machine to visible light. You'll be probably better off to use the candle as intended for at least a light-effect. Greets from Germany.

[@John_Ridley]

Does it support loop recording?

[@Dogwrangler]

John Ridley o

[@ekcoscott]

I have an Edison model A home Phonograph and can highly recommend one especially if you wish to record your own cylinders. Additionally I would recommend you look out for one fitted with the 2/4 minute adapter so you can play the later 4 minute celluloid blue Amberol records. Original Edison Phonographs preform very well when set up right and actually out preform 78rpm records :) especially Amberol records as they are more hard wearing. If however you find some good condition wax cylinders they tend to be very clear also. I really most try one of the gaken sets seems fun! Best Regards

[@SkeleCrafteronYT]

You have to be the best youtuber. I'm more excited for your new videos to come out than any others. Thanks for awesome videos. Cheers

[@a.j8307]

He's definitely the best British KZbinr that reviews old pieces of audio equipment.

[@MrKarlGP]

I once almost drunkenly won an eBay bid on an actual wax cylinder recorder/player... 300 squid! Built like a tank, but also intricate and requiring much maintenance... A beautiful piece of kit... machined gears, brass recording horn,wonderfully finished hard wood etc and a selection of blank cylinders thrown in (which by 1913 were oddly made of a curious resin "soap" hybrid)

[@SianaGearz]

Wax made you a Dalek.

[@VinchVolt]

A dying Dalek, to be more accurate.

[@lordofrims]

I thought of a Dalek too!

[@yce1234]

What good timing for this video! I visited the Thomas Edison Nation Historic Park just a few days ago (in New Jersey). They played one of these cylinders as well as a "diamond disc" - both of which were close to 100 years old. I was amazed at how loud the player was (powered by a hand-cranked spring) and how good they sounded- even with being that old.

[@BrekMartin]

I've got the Edison standard phonograph. They are built like some industrial sewing machine.

[@EuanTodd]

Brek Martin because they are ​quite a few companies who manufactured these also made sewing machines.

[@F-Man]

I love all of your videos, but this one is truly one of your best. It's a look at a new take of one of the oldest forms of audio recording technology - I was utterly transfixed the entire time!

[@cynic5581]

The playback sounded like the only clue for a detective in a murder suspense thriller.

[@snerls]

Gakken kits is totally something you could make a series of, i'd love to watch that!

[@Terraapples]

Too bad you couldn't get more sound out of it... I was hoping you were going to set it up with your hifi equipment.

[@joeymoldano6246]

Exactly, it needs some lamp amps.

[@tsaszymborska7389]

And stereo. But for that of course you can just use two phonographs.

[@nigelcassidy9880]

Hi, have just built my kit. Like you, no luck the first time but after looking at the angle of the needles and adjusting the screws recognisable results. Good enough for showing my class how the principle works and much easier with your video. Many thanks!

[@TheRivieraKid]

"It's time to get the horn" Techmoan 2017

[@binkcronks2365]

He was quoting James Joyce, to be fair.

[@elliottsimon1957]

This review is the best Gakken review I've seen. More please

[@xaenon]

I was really hoping it would work better than that. But, I imagine Edison had a bit of trial and error making his contraption work, too.

[@davidtuomi8361]

There was a book about the history of recording that came out a number of years ago called Perfecting Sound Forever by Greg Milner. In that book he actually interviewed a fellow who still records onto cylinders professionally. In fact he actually recorded a live act at one of the Grammy awards which apparently came out very well. In the book he describes the process and apparently the wax has to be at the correct temperature for it to be able to take an impression correctly. They heat the wax to soften it. They then record Afterwards the wax is allowed to cool before playback. The book doesn't mention the correct temperatures for playback and recording, however you might be able to figure it out with a little trial and error.

[@GauravA42]

Great video! I had an idea regarding translation. Next time you have a foreign manual, you could try the image recognition function of Google translate (available on smartphones etc). Its obviously not perfect, but can be pretty impressive and might give you enough information to figure out orders/or basic instructions for the manual, and it replaces the text in place, ie where it is on the page already, which should help.

[@evanmoonunit]

GauravA42 I'm surprised he didn't I'm sure he's used it in other videos?

[@Techmoan]

I did use it....I also took a break and had my lunch in the middle, spoke to my dad on the phone and the postman delivered a parcel. There's always *a lot* that happens off screen.

[@misaalanshori]

Techmoan did it work?

[@evanmoonunit]

Techmoan I think people are saying because you didn't mention it as you hade in previous videos. Yo mean you have a life outside of what we seen on screen!?!! Gordon Bennett!! Lol Love the channel

[@ridonculous8374]

He did it already on another video

[@Metal-Possum]

I've got a 1920's HVM gramophone, always a hoot to spin up a 78, especially since it's all mechanical/acoustic. The sound quality is often better and louder than you'd think, and everyone smiles when they hear it.

[@b.hagedash7973]

His Master's Garbled Mumble

[@ishcabittle]

I thoroughly enjoy the lengths we go together to try out a wonderfully silly piece of tech. Well done!

[@Cylume.]

Geez Techmoan. How far back are you going to go? Morse Code recorders? :p

[@TailsFurse]

That ending was amazing Techmoan. It's like... Here is the past, it looks amazing, and here is all the people who make it possible.

[@dennissmithjr.5370]

Thanks for sharing, half expecting you to perform "Mary had a little lamb".

[@cooliofoolio]

Dennis Smith Jr. Mary had a little lamb, performed by the KZbin audio library

[@Eexpers]

Omg I really love idea of taking old cutting edge technology and years later once the industry has advanced so far the materials and such are easy to come by and using it as a teaching tool / demo awesome stuff

[@Sleepdroidstudios]

I'm sorry to do this to you, but now that I've finished watching all your videos and I'm going to need you to pick up the pace a little. I'm afraid you will need to start making them daily now. Again, I'm sorry about that, but I just found the other one's too enjoyable and I finished them all. Thanks, and good luck.

[@peterrafeiner9461]

This has got to be the only channel where a review can end in total disaster and still has an overall positive and entertaining tone to it. One thing seems to be clear, there are folks who belong in the 'cup half full' section of an optimist's version of heaven, and then there is Techmoan. As long as there is some humidity on the walls of his cup he is happy! My only complaint... no candle related commentary from the muppets :-)

[@NikolaosLedZeppelin]

8:46 you can hear the message from Alien movie

[@timwebb21]

I am staggered and amazed with what you come up with ........ fascinating and a real shame it does not give better quality playback, but what can you expect from a candle!

[@id104335409]

Does it have USB typeC?

[@cooliofoolio]

id104335409 Nothing does.

[@joeymoldano6246]

Nope, it is obviousely completely wireless.

[@JacobKelly02]

My phone does

[@cooliofoolio]

Jacob Kelly Same, which can be very frustrating at times.

[@JacobKelly02]

UNKNOWNGAM3r Ikr I literally have one cable to charge

[@FragmaKepi]

Some of these are pretty fun projects for kids. I picked up the pinhole planetarium issue for my 8 year old niece and she loved it. That one was really easy to do and I only had to physically help her through a couple steps.

[@Dzonemp]

11:30 It sounds like its time to rebuild him, make him stronger than before....... :)

[@joinedupjon]

Better... Stronger... Faster Thought I better scroll down a couple of pages to check if anyone else noticed. funny how you can remember a little blip of audio like that after so much time innit?

[@Dzonemp]

I used to record the episodes on cassette tape. So I know the audio sound effects like the back of a fembot's hand. :)

[@shibolinemress8913]

We have the technology.

[@MaxStax1]

Looking forward to more of these kit videos in the future,fun to watch.

[@peczenyj]

8:48 is a DALEK VOICE! EXTERMINATE!

[@trevorstewart3904]

I discovered these sorts of kits on my first trip to Japan. Great little gifts for for friends and family upon returning home. BTW: if you ever get another kit and get stuck with the Japanese instructions, I'd be willing to help translate ... Far from fluent, but normally can stumble through it.

[@nicomonkeyboy]

That's seem like a gadget that the green fella could justifiably complain about...

[@kirbyyasha]

Ahhh I would have loved to hear his commentary on this!

[@JeanRodo]

M would probably praise it

[@Stormy2142]

He would swear candles sound better than CDs and digital files.

[@drasco61084]

Edmo Suassuna They sound a lot warmer

[@mikaelevans6994]

d610 Budum Shiiiiiisst

[@MrGeocidal]

I had the Gakken Ex150 Electronic Block kit when I was a kid. When I saw a picture of it in this video, I felt so excited that I I placed a bid on one on ebay. Hope I win.

[@tod4y]

Does this work under water?

[@sexycavetroll2788]

what? clearly ya didnt watch the video yet

[@tod4y]

You clearly came to kill John Connor.

[@afrog2666]

Of course it works under water, just drive your thorium powered car on the plastic solar roadway to the ocean and dive on in ;)

[@AAAZ2A]

No it won't. The batteries will short out, and the spindle won't move. But suppose you're making a recording by turning the spindle by hand, then it will work! But you'll run in to some major problems, for example the needle-pressure will be significantly lowered so you need to compensate for that. Also the membrane will obviously be submerged which makes it very difficult for it to move... but if you were to yell at it you could probably get something on there, like an anomaly.. it'll probably sound very alien. But it's a very interesting question, we need answers!

[@phillipsofthedriver]

@AAAZ2A - yes it would "work" for a time underwater. Simple low voltage electric motors and their batteries can be submerged in fresh water and still function for a time. May not work at all the next day, but it will work immediately upon submersion. I had a toy battery electric tank when I was a kid, I was tired of it, and wanted to see if it would work underwater. And it did in the apartment complex's pool, until the batteries ran out, about the same amount of time they'd take if it were dry. Motor didn't work very well the next day, even though I had dried it out fairly well, so I took it apart to scavenge parts, and it wasn't too bad, the water had washed out some of the grease lubrication, but other than that it was fine. Salt water on the other hand, nope, not long at all, salt water is far more conductive so the batteries died pretty quickly. And all the steel parts will rust quickly.

[@markaz2kk]

great outro ending. always great to watch your shows 😊

[@CreatiVastARTS]

7:44 HELLO THERE!! lol

[@deepdownstudios]

That made me laugh so much!

[@alexandersedov125]

love your work, great stuff, the level of detail you go into, technical, historical, anecdotal, is very interesting and very much appreciated... you have a very good calm and informative style of delivery, I was sure.you are an engineer but you say you are not...? also.your selection of rare historical kit for review on occasion is extremely interesting, for its.own sake,. and also from the point of view of 20th century mass market.applied technology progress... in.short very much enjoy watching your work, well done, please keep it up...!

[@darkwinter6028]

Now for extra credit, retrofit a headphone diaphragm to the record head, and transcribe a FLAC file. 😎

[@MikeBaxterABC]

I think it shows the proof of concept very clearly ... great video!

[@EliTheMonKEE101]

Never clicked so fast. Gotta go fast.

[@SianaGearz]

Saaaaanic!

[@ITSTIMETOSTOP]

Elie Tutone gotta go fest

[@D4RKFiB3R]

Nicely done on the new outro. Massive improvment.

[@HoosierCallin]

I have a portable wax cylinder phonograph. Its called a wax man

[@Runicen]

Good effort on this one. Honestly, I was almost more intrigued by Gakken's kits than I was this specific one, but it's neat to see what they were able to accomplish with a budget kit. And we all know that, somewhere out there, someone is using wax stick recordings to add ambiance to an indie horror film!

[@Faigh_as]

build a pinhole camera

[@dubsy1026]

James _h you literally put a small hole in a price of paper. Boring, and this channel is not about assembling ridiculous kits, it's about retro audio equipment

[@Atka59]

"Mr. Techmoan, I need you" You find the coolest things my friend.

[@jcraig6431]

Gotta groan at that pun in the title (not your fault).

[@ve2vfd]

I'll second the recommendation for Gakken kits. I ordered the Gakken-Flex twin lens reflex 35mm camera kit a few years ago. It was a ton of fun to assemble, and though photography with it was quite rough, it was an interesting experience.

[@Zephieish]

What a pile of wax.

[@IAMENS1]

Loved this kit and video! Would be really interested in seeing you put together and review more!

[@20EsOfficial]

Wow, I haven't watched your videos in a while but damn they have gotten even better. I mean, they were always good, but they are way better now. keep up the good work, Techmoan!

[@joevining2603]

Have you tried warming the wax stick to around 90° F just before recording? It may help smooth things out and allow for deeper cutting (which should equate to higher amplitude). Just be sure to cool it down to room temp before payback.

[@HouseNuova500]

Hello, I'm following you since a lot of time now, and I wanna say, I love you man ! (No gay thing here, just loving your way of presenting things ;)). If there's one thing I know I want to do since my childhood, it's to find all the machines used to record some sounds on them, and you're always demonstrating things that I mind "No, it's impossible to find, I cannot imagine finding one". You managed to teach me about some formats that I never heard about ! I really wanna meet you, really. If it would be possible one time in our lives, I would love it. The next time I go to Great Britain, I would love to see you, and to talk about these losts formats. Kindly, Greg.

[@arsukfjorden]

In the world of digital media where you often dont even have an idea about which format you are listening to, it is so fascinating to see sound being recorded on something as simple as a candle.

[@StaticReplication]

Thanks for the content Techmoan, your video are always top notch and entertaining.

[@1978SOOTY]

That was still cool and proves the concept. I would have had fun experimenting with different types of wax as well. Great vid.

[@CJT80]

Another great TechMoan video, and i am still loving the new outro!

[@ReallyRareRecords]

You might try heating the candle before/during recording to make it softer, by using a heat lamp or something above the machine. Cylinder recordists typically do that, and it helps. Mapleson, who famously recorded some fragments of Metropolitan Opera performances in the early 1900s (the earliest such "live" recordings) would heat the wax cylinders in an oven at a low temperature before recording.

[@WiggysanWiggysan]

That magazine looked great. So much information.

[@cri24x36]

Ah ah ah !!! exactly what i expected from a audio recording on a candle!!! Sounds like the movie "mission to mars"

[@wilhelmsenholderlin8025]

Techmoan is updating! Best day in this week.

[@aljr357]

These are so neat. I had a couple of them that I got at yardsales in the late 1980s and early 90s. Sadly we had a house fire and I lost them and even worse my video games collection which would cost me over 100 000 to replace today. I have been trying to get my video games collection back for the last few years and I'm on 1/10th the way back to having all my consoles back and 1/100th the way back to getting my games back. I have 32 consoles now including handhelds and about 350 games but I'm having a hard time affording the more rare consoles and games. The old computers which I include in my collection is the really hard thing to find working.

[@TylerMiller87]

I would subscribe to an English Gakken catalogue in an instant. Somebody needs to get on that.

[@StormyX73]

The Gakken Strandbeest kits are very cool.

[@martinlund4510]

It's probably already been mentioned, but the term "Mook" is a japanese portmanteau of "Magazine" and "Book" - which is very fitting for that type of specialized publication. Thanks for a great video also 😊

[@anegg8285]

I love these kinds of models.

[@gsacni]

Gotta admire your perseverance with these gimmicks :-)

[@2112starman54]

Man, Japan comes up with crazy stuff.

[@MikeZdoesitz]

Really good video, enjoyed it immensely, and don't listen to people complaining !

[@bwgti]

More of these kits please! I enjoy watching your trouble shooting. Too bad this did not work a little better. It's a little different than you other videos. In a good way. Thanks for the great videos sir!!

[@anders7317]

Very interesting indeed! I bet that if you get hold of a device that is a bit more fine tuned and a little more expensive, the tech it self should be prooven a lot better. Great video and super nice effort.

[@widgity]

Recently got a GAKKEN nsx-39 evocaloid stylophone. great fun to play with! planning to use it (either rip the chip out of it or via USB) as a vocal synthesiser for one of my projects.

[@oldphonographsteve]

Fantastic and informative video! I almost got the Gakken kit myself, and it's too bad that it is discontinued. I collect antique phonographs and records. I also make videos of my collection and rare recordings, some of which date back to the 1890s. If you are interested videos regarding this subject please feel free to check them out.

[@Evan420]

I love edison phonographs! Good review

[@kareno8634]

The Motor says it all. Soundproof that monster. Can the Speed be Adjusted?

[@AtomicShrimp]

Record the sound on the candle at room temperature, then put the candle in the fridge before playing back - the wax will be harder and the playback head should not chew it up so much.

[@fasstang87]

pretty awesome video. Keep up the great work, looking forward to the next kit.

[@paulhicks9399]

Hi Mat. Excellent video as always. Any chance you can make a video about audio cassette head alignment please? Cheers

[@andrewyellstrom2585]

The problem with cleaning up those wax shavings is they are so small any friction will start melting them and the get even more tacky. The best way to clean them is use are to blow them if you can then use the a brush to sweep them around.

[@paulgascoigne5343]

That was amazing. It even translated what you were saying to Japanese!

[@pattyoneill91]

i would say its more so a matter of poor recording medium. perhaps you could dip the candle into another wax that would be better suited to this? this may be a good method of turning the recorded object back to a "blank medium" lol. its worth a thought, i really like this thing though, great concept and it would be a perfect gift for a child in ones family that is a bit of a thinker/tinker-er. Btw techmoan, im the guy who emailed you about the old reel tape player, didn't know if it was something good so i messaged you that day haha you probably have to much going on to remember such a short interaction but just wanted to say I appreciate the response as some people just wouldn't respond as soon as they learned it was no good to them. love your channel bro, good stuff! thanks man!

[@Takeshi357]

Gakken is also the manufacturer of the EX-System, the old transistor radio looking educational electronic kit some of you might remember. It's still getting reissued in Japan but seems to have vanished from the western market, outside of imports.