Two delightful people came by here the Saturday after Thanksgiving to sing into the recording horn. The pair are members of a duo called The Wall and the Window. I was too busy messing with the recording process, talking (teaching), and cramming as much Edisonia into the afternoon that I forgot to ask what the band name refers to. The members are Kristen Holtschlag and Adam Mormolstein from the Chicago area.
I've been busy with other things, as readers of the blog know. (Sal-Mar - the performance was all we had hoped, thanks! The novel - it's a draft. Can't wait for the end of the term to write a second draft. The semster - undergrad version of Media class - a total demoralizing bust. :- The semester - playing for class - for some reason that genius streak eluded me this semester. :-) I blame the intense work on the novel over the summer. I really think I blew out a gasket in my brain somehow. And the sick part is, I want to do another one! A better one! One that I might actually sell!) Ahem. So in the week leading up to the Wall and Window session, I had some wax record making chores. I made a new bigger recording horn to accommodate two voices. I tried this out and found that I needed to come up with some rubber tube plumbing to also record a guitar. I shaved up some blanks. (I'm using the Paul Morris blanks steadily now, and have a good supply on hand.) I did some maintenance on the recorders. (Not enough, maybe.)
They came for their session in Victorian clothes, armed with cameras and mics. We didn't use the mics. I had a roaring fire going even though the temperature on the 26th of November was pushing mid 60s. I wanted to warm up the wax and the machine. I also had my heat lamp going, clamped to the cygnet crane. The rig, not visible in the video, involved some piping. I used my two construction paper horns, the large one on the voices and the small one aimed at the guitar's sound hole. The large horn hung from the front mounted crane. I suspended the other one on a mic stand. The temperature at the mandrel was about 90 degrees Farenheit. We cut a test, and went upstairs for electronic playback. This was the signal path throughout: Acoustic to wax, wax to computer via magnetic cartridge on the Extensible Edison (my homebrew player/recorder).
The duo made two masters. One you see/hear above, with the audio coming from the cd they took home, the first playback of the freshly cut wax. The other was of a song called "I'll Fly Away." So far that one has not appeared on youtube. Adam and Kristen were apparently pleased with their experience. After the sessions we sipped wine and listened to a bunch of records. They heard themselves and others on both of the Edison cylinder machines. They were appreciative of the effort we made, despite the difference in amplitude between my waxing technique (acoustic audio engineer?) and that of the Edison labs. I was not that pleased with my result. I was utterly delighted by The Wall and the Window. It sent me off on yet another exploration of the art of recording to wax, both ancient and contemporary.
Here are a few of my findings:
- Since I'm getting my wax from Paul Morris, the actual medium is not a variable I can readily adjust. The Morris blanks are good, though they vary in formulae. This is to be expected and is nature of the beast. Who knows what the Edison formula was exactly? Consider one ingredient, the stearic acid; the ingredient is not manufactured in the way it once was. Once upon a time, stearic was bear grease: Nowadays, it's vegetable matter. These things make a difference. Is it a critical difference? Well, you can compare the Morris blanks with NOS blanks (or shaved brown wax). I don't find a huge difference.
- The recorder and the horns are the most easily adjustable items in the chain of variables. I had two two-minute recorders at the time of the Wall/Window session. I tried both, and only one was capable of cutting a groove. I did some research into recorders after the fact and came up with several items of interest. First, the diaphragms were thin glass. I have only mica. Glass is available from time to time on Ebay. The stylus bar was fastened to the glass with "Stratena." Amazingly enough, this Victorian glue is also available on Ebay! The above Nipperhead link gives a perfectly clear example how the stylus bar, diaphragm and gaskets are assembled. A picture is worth a thousand... So the thing to do is to take down one of these recorders and outfit them with contemporary glass. I spent some time working with the parts I have. I got the second recorder working, and resealed the diaphragms of both recorders. Still, my achievable amplitude is about what it was. I won yet another two minute recorder on Ebay. This one was alleged to be more sensitive. It is, but not by much. It also rattles a bit.
- I discovered Peter Dilg. This guy is getting results, as far as one can tell. (Any mic in the signal chain upsets the acoustic experience. Amplification is amplification. The only give away is the noise floor - the S/N ratio.) Here's an Edison's Attic playlist which demonstrates his mastery on the evidence of frequency response and clarity alone. He may not be the ONLY one making wax records, but he may well be the BEST. Borri cannot be ruled out. For some reason, he doesn't get much traction in phono circles. Fabrizio said it was a personality thing. He's restless, mercurial. Don't count on the link staying valid for long.
- I discovered Madame Pamita. She's well out onto the turf that The Wall and the Window now begin to tread. She's got the proper horn singing style down. Here's how to do it on the OTHER side of the horn! This also give you a glimpse into the world of Duncan Miller (Vulcan Records). He's another, possibly stronger, contender for BEST acoustic recordist. He's making his own acoustic recording gear. The machine shown in this video is very beautiful, unique, handmade equipment.
- The Victrola Man. He's on the recordist path, and a prolific uploader of videos of phonographs and record players. His channel will provide your fill of seeing antiques sing and speak.
- The bottom line: the curiosity about wax recording is very much alive and well. Many (more than a handful) are involved. The information is out there. With the exception of a supply of cutting saphires and stylus bars, parts are out there.
I am motivated to pursue The Window and the Wall. With this post, I hope to woo them back for another, better, session. I might need to get out a fountain pen and write the man a letter.