Wax Cylinder Restoration
OUR MACHINES
WE USE THE ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE SYMPOSIUM RECORDS ELECTRIC PHONOGRAPH 1134 CUSTOM BUILT FOR TRANSFERS. WE ALSO USE OUR HISTORICAL EDISON MODEL A, EDISON GEM AND
PATHE SALON PHONOGRAPHS COMBINED WITH THE LIGHTWEIGHT CANAPHONIC
ARCHIVETTE FOR CYLINDERS THAT ARE LESS FRAGILE.
THE ARCHEOPHONE ELECTRIC PHONOGRAPH CAN ALSO BE REQUESTED FOR CYLINDER TRANSFERS.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR DIGITISATION
1. Working with audio fies (quality)
Encoding and conversion of files are done using several software programs including Audacity and Reaper, and tag editors for metadata. The correct file format is important, working with the highest quality files we would recommend PCM uncompressed 192khz/24 bits. For audio archiving purposes the file quality that we
would recommend is PCM uncompressed WAV at 96Khz/24 bits. For general file storage we
recommend a WAV file that is 44.1Khz /16 bits or MP3 2 channels at 320kbps.
2. Cylinder Considerations
Wax Cylinders are considered fragile and improper handling can result in serious issus such as cracking. Please read the guide by CLPGS which details good practice in storing/handling cylinders and also their guide on cylinder cleaning.
METHOD OF TRANSFER
In reference to the transfer process we employ the 'Tactile Method,' this emphasises a delicate physical groove playback technique.
This differs from the non-contact 'Optical Method,' where the surface of the cylinder is mapped and scanned
using reflective light and processed using computer software, that method is most
useful for highly fragile and broken cylinders.
WAX CYLINDER FORMATS
We are able to transfer to digital more than 16 different wax cylinder formats.
Within the term 'Wax Cylinder' we can find differences such as:
– Chemical Composition
– Rotation Speed
– Diameter
– Length
– Width
COMMON FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT A CYLINDER
Cracks, breakage of parts, scratches, mould, embedded dust in grooves, plaster deformation, bulging and shrinkage, wax degradations and general wear.
MOST FREQUENT AUDIO ISSUES
Noise, clicks, crackle, hiss, wow and flutter. We use Izotope RX to reduce noises with minimum interference to the original audio.
CYLINDER TYPES THAT WE CAN TRANSFER TO DIGITAL
– Edison Bell - wax cylinder transfers to digital
– Edison Brown wax cylinder transfer to digital
– The Blue Amberol, cylinder transfer to digital
– The brown concert cylinder transfer to digital
– The gold moulded, cylinder transfer to digital
– Pathe records wax cylinder transfer to digital
– Pathe, large Salon cylinder transfer to digital
– Dictaphone record cylinder transfer to digital
– International indestructible, transfer to digital
– Oxford record wax cylinder transfer to digital
– Columbia 20th c. cylinder transfers to digital
– Columbia, brown cylinder, transfers to digital
– Columbia's Indestructible, transfers to digital
– Clarion records - cylinder, transfers to digital
– Sterling records - cylinder transfers to digital
– Miller Morris - wax cylinder transfer to digital
PHYSICAL REPAIR
This type of repair is intended for a cracked cylinder. We have done some physical repairs to broken cylinders with positive results,a possibility of physical repair would depend on the extent of the damaged areas. Please feel free to enquire below to find out if your cylinder meets our criteria for possible repair.
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