Wax Cylinder Archive

Phonograph Reproduction Equipment

The Symposium Records Prototype Electric Phonograph for Archiving: Model 1134,

Archeophone Electric Phonograph, The Columbia Graphophone Phonograph 1899,

Edison Standard Model A, Edison Gem, 2 Pathé Salon: Inter-Cylinder Phonographs

Pickups and Microphones

Canaphonic Archivette, Zylia ZM-1, Shure SM57, Beyerdynamic M160, Roland CS10

Transfer Digitising Software

Audacity

Reaper

Mastering Software

Izotope RX and Ozone

Description

A wax cylinder is an analog recording sound format that consists of a mechanical grooved cylinder made of soft wax. The earliest wax cylinders are a cream colour while subsequent wax cylinders were a warm medium brown colour. The "standard" cylinder dimensions are typically 2¼" in diameter and 4–4¼" in length, although they vary widely, ranging from 1⅓" diameter × 4" length, 2¼" diameter × 8" length, 3¾" diameter by 6" length, and 5" diameter × 4" length.

Transfer Method

The transfer method used for all of the digitised wax cylinders in the archive is the 'Tactile Method,' which is adopted from analogue technology, this emphasises delicate physical groove playback, a process where the object (cylinder) is explored with a precise and light touch using familiar phonographic equipment.

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This is only the beginning, and will be gradually updated as a work in progress archive:

Certain songs in the archive have never been digitised or made available online

All our audio cylinder transfers are in the public domain (read policy)

Please Note: Many of these recordings will have audible imperfections due to age such as noise, static, flutter

and intermittent reduced volume which is normal, depending on the conditions of the cylinder.

Read more about the wax cylinder, 'Cylinder Record Materials by Raymond R Wile'