Edison Amberola1A / Opera Cylinder Phonograph........How It Works
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- As is described in my intro in this clip, this phonograph was bought on Ebay around 6 years ago and was put together by the former owner using an Amberola1a mechanism in a reproduction Edison Opera case. The youtube subscriber Clydesight who has watched several of my videos about wind up machines made a suggestion that I make a video of it`s operation since he was curious as to how a wind up phonograph works, and his expertise is more into electronics, mainly fixing and collecting reel to reel and cassette tape recorders. It`s a bit of a long video, but I hope you like it. Grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy.
Not just incredible technology for its time, but also a work of art.
Very nice and clear presentation. Thanks.....Oh my dad had one of these when I was a kid....He sold it for about 500 bucks years ago when money was tight. I really wish we still had it in the family. And incredibly, it was allegedly given to my grandfather, who was a tailor in New Jersey by Thomas Edison himself as payment for a suit that he made for him. Man, if only we still had that machine............
What a beautiful Amberola 1A you have in fantastic condition are you a teacher are engineer your knowledge and the way you speak is outstanding you should be on tv doing this your gifted the way you explain everything so relaxing watching this video because I love these wonderful phonographs you love real to real machines as well amazing old projectors incredible collection you have another outstanding demonstration by you all the best Troupee from Ireland.
Great job in showing this wonderful machine. It shows the height of 19th century technology. Not a single wire, tube, battery, etc. the ultimate in mechanical sophistication. I would love to make a 21st century version using electronic amp etc. Execellent !!
What an outstanding overview of this machine in operation. I am genuinely grateful for how you spoke without pronouns, and actually used the terms. That made it so, so clear. Regards, Gary
Marvellously done! Very detailed and explained so greatly! Even if one deals with Edisons for years there is something new to learn every day! Thank you very much for doing this. This is exactly the kind of videos needed here! :)Thank you!
What an absolutely lovely and informative video Ed. This helped me understand the ways of the cylinder machines much more. I will get one some day and this presentation certainly made me more wise as what to look out for! The song is hilarious and catchy!
: ) Thank you for posting this.
Merci beaucoup pour cette video. Je n'imaginais pas que le gramophone soit si compliqué, mais quelle merveille de construction mécanique ! J'ai déjà réparé des phonographes, et ils sont bien plus simples de conception. Encore merci.
Thanks for this video. I didn't imagine how a gramophone is mechanically sophisticated versus phonographs I have repaired in the past. Thanks a lot again.
Fascinating video. I understand the workings now.
The song feels very like Groucho Marx's "Hooray for Captain Spaulding!"
I'll have to find its date.
WOW! This is a top notch instructional video, absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video and for explaining these machines so clearly! I am amazed at the engineering that went into these things, far more complex than I thought! It's so different from reading in a book "The phonograph used a wax cylinder" to seeing HOW it does it and how many controls, surfaces and gears were needed to ensure that it worked correctly. Of course the treat at the end was to hear the cylinder reproduce the sound, "Christopher Colombo" and your tip about the "flub". I did not hear it the first time! These cylinders were individually made, weren't they? So each one was a unique performance? That makes this a very rare piece indeed!
I imagine there is no SAMS photofact on these machines. How did you learn about them and what all the parts did? I expect that the leather parts had to be replaced because they dry out over time, just like rubber does?
When you showed the details of the stylus flip-over for the 2-4 minute cylinders, all I could think of was the old Astatic ceramic cartridge in my mom's portable record player! And it had a stylus brush built right in! That's amazing!
I think this is just about the best educational video on these machines out there. You did an amazing job of documenting the mechanism of the Amberola and have given history a video record of "How It's Made!" Bravo, Amberola cylinder player and bravo Ed for an incredibly fascinating and clear look into yesteryear. NO wonder you have such respect for these machines, they are a work of genius! NOW what would be fascinating would be to find out how much of this design and mechanism is the brainchild of Thomas Edison, and how much is the genius of his Inventor's workshop! I guess we'll never know that, it was probably a collaborative effort
THANK YOU for a great video! I really appreciate your effort!
Hey Tim, sorry it`s taken so long to respond to your comment. Thank you so much for the kind words. in regards to the cylinders being indiviually made, only the earliest brown wax 2 minute cylinders were individually made, and the performances had to be recorded numerous times in the studio. What they did was to set up multiple recording phonographs in front of the artist or band and record as many copies on the brown wax cylinders as could be picked up by the number of horns that could catch the sound waves on the diaphragm of the recording heads as possible. For a vocalist maybe 3 phonographs would be able to be used, but in the case of a band selection, because a band would be louder and would be easier to record with, the engineers might be able to set up 5 or 6 phonographs in front of the group and pick up the sounds to be recorded on the cylinder blanks, and then when those copies would be made they would repeat the process and load the phonographs with 5 or 6 more blank cylinders ready to make another fresh group of recordings. As to how I learned about them, basically just by hands on experimenting, and there were a couple of books that were written on how to maintain the machines, disassemble them, clean the individual parts, relube them and put them back together. so it`s kind of been an experience learning how to work on different machines, and even though each phonograph motor has basically the same componants, they also have differences in individual design as to how different manufacturers tried to make their phonographs unique from one another, just like tape recorders.
amberola1b Thanks for the info on recording, I wondered about that! I have three other questions! 1) Since this is a mechanical system, and the cylinders are wax, can you record on an Amberola machine? I know Edison made dictation phonos, but I wondered how far the technology went. 2) I looked up Edison cylinders on the web and E-Bay and found something called a "cylinder reamer". Do you know what that is all about? It looks like maybe the cylinders have a coating inside to grip on the mandrel? It's fascinating stuff! 3) I get the flipping stylus deal, but am confused about the shape of the stylus, is it a needle or a sharp plate and I saw the thread leading to the diaphragm, but how does it connect to the stylus? Obviously it works brilliantly, just curious how.
If I ever were to visit you, I'd spend all day going over the fine details of this technology... I am so amazed at all they did to get it to work. And 100 years later, it STILL works!
Thanks, I really enjoyed your video and watched it three times!
+clydesight First of all Amberola's presentation is top notch, thank you, this is one of my favorite cylinder playing mechanisms. Back to cylinder record making, now, After the multi machine recording method, about the middle of 1901, a more sensitive, higher fidelity recording head was developed, I own an original studio recording head, used possibly at Edison's 79, 5th avenue studio by Edison sound man, Walter H miller, about 1910. And I have posted it in operation. In the studio glass diaphragms were popular, and from .005-.0085 in thickness, the thin ones for weak instruments like a violin, in fact special violins were made for recording that used a diaphragm and horn, to project the sound into the recording machine, some recording diaphragms were cellulose xanathate too, moulded into a dome shape, for higher fidelity. The artist sang into a cone shaped horn, and sometimes several horns were used, with modified valves from trumpets, instead of pushed with a finger pad they had brass handled sliders to cut off, or change the flow of each horn to the recording machine, larger horns, for recording band records (up to five feet long, and even a 125 foot horn was tried, and 6 inch diameter by 27 inches long for vocal, and solo instruments recording.) A brown wax (metallic soap) master cut with a 97 1/3 or double that for four minute feed was used to cut the master cylinder record. In early years the master was vacuum deposited with gold, that is the master put in glass jar, and a pump sucked the air out. After that; gold foil was energized with high induction electricity, it wanted to go from one pole to the other, however the master was in the way, and received a thin coating of gold. The master put in a plating tank of copper sulfate, sulfuric acid, and distilled water, with a filter pump. The cylinder turned side ways on a motor and slightly submerged to break up bubbles, after about a day, it had a copper shell around the wax, it was put on a lathe and the ends turned down, and then put in a cool room, the master came out unharmed to make more molds. The molds were put in bell shaped brass sleeves and went into a machine that mechanically charged the mold with enough wax to finish nicely, it went down rollers, at 1,300rpm until it was solid. While still hot, and in the mold a lathe cut the ribs, and taper in the center of the record. Next a cooling cage with water circulating through it, cooled the wax down, and it was put on an extracting machine, where the weight of gravity, caused the record to come out of the mold, while still warm put on warm metal cores for two hours, and a hand press pressed them off the cores, the records boxed and sold. The blue Amberol records, like in this video (the electrical 5000 series cylinder masters were indeed recorded on a modified Amberola 1 A) with an electrical recording head, on a modified microscope stage, mounted where the reproducer post is on this machine. Acoustical two and four minute master recorded on modified Edison spring motor, and Triumph model A mechanisms, with large flywheel and special trunion, the recorders also had next to the sharp .041 cylindrical recording stylus, a round ball on a spring loaded bar, that raised and lowered the stylus into the master record, the adjuster called an advance ball, it not only took the weight of the recorder off the cutting stylus, it also burnished the blank before the cutting stylus. The Blue Amberol cylinders. Celluloid tubes 30inches long, were rolled smoother, and an acetone based dye was used to dye the celluloid tubes the weather had to be just right, so the dye did not streak when it dried, and sometimes the person who did this work, would get up out of bed at 1am go to the works and dye the celluloid while the conditions were favorable. The tubes cut 4.38" long and the molds, (this time backed with steel shells, and a closing door on top) were put in a clamped mould holder with an air bladder, at first steam was circulated to heat the mold up , and then the air bladder inflated, which forced the celluloid tube against the impressions in the mold. Compressed air caused the celluloid to shrink. The celluloid was put in a plaster filler, and then the plaster baked in, at under 200F (celluloid is very flammable, so it could not be high enough to distort, or catch it on fire, ) to set the plaster. the records were reamed and given internal ribs on a lathe, then the outside washed in a special solution, and then boxed and sent to dealers.
+Shawn Borri Wow, you really know your stuff! Thanks for that education in Edison technology. It is amazing what they were doing at the time. I am very impressed with their perseverance and creativity.
It is amazing, to me, also. The Amberola 1 A machine was the top of the line equipment, and went for $200.00 in its time.
I just bought a real Opera in oak. Thanks for this tutorial which I needed. Good job!
THIS IS AWESOME!! I Want One! : D
Excellent. Thank you for the hard work.
Most enjoyable. Thank you for uploading.
You're welcome.
I Have a EDISON Home Model A Like Yours! But Mine has the larger reproducer with a top mount for the MISSING Horn! Or at least Mine looks exactly like Yours Exposed Feed Screw and all! I LOVE Watching these Play! I am using a Morning Glory Horn, My gate is different as well, With a Toggle instead of a clip knob! And a single spring motor! It was a Junker, Until I restored it! The Feed Screw was replaced! What type do I have? I have another that has the same reproducer that is being Restored By Me at present!
Fantastic presentation. I am really impressed by the quality of the reproduction.
Question: How is the lateral position of the feedscrew synchronized with the grooves on the record - after all, the record may be placed in any random position with respect to the feedscrew.
Wow great ! Thank you man.
I found a 1900-1901 Edison home phonograph in my Grandma and Grandpa's attic. I'm not sure what model, but I'm pretty sure it's a model b
You say the cylinders are indestructible. I've got one (Cal Stewart / "Train Time At Punkin' Center", or something very close to that) and it has a crack about half way through the beginning of the record. On the inside of it, it looks like it has a plaster shell inside of a thin tin cylinder that appears to be backing the blue wax. A few crumbs of the plaster have fallen off.
Red Vynil That is because it has shrunken. The 100+ year old plastic shrinks over time and the plaster doesn't so the plastic cracks and the plaster chips. And by indestructible, the meant that, unlike other kinds, the temperature of you holding the wax with a hand won't break it. It also meant you found drop it quite a bit before it would break. Nothing is indestructible.
Red Vynil Adding to my other comment, the 2 minute records were made of a type of soap that you could not wash with. The blue ones, called Blue Amberol records were made of celluloid and were tougher and lasted for four minutes.
Can you send me this radio