Re: [ARSCLIST] NY Times: Researchers Play Tune Recorded before Edison

[Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger and Allison Kulp wrote:
> Some of the DDs were pretty good.Of course I have only heard high condition copies.

> Others can correct me on this,but I think what did Edison in,in the end,was the fact his discs could not be played on oter maker's machines.

That, and the fact that Edison machines were of necessity more expensive 
than lateral talking machines. "Off-brand" manufacturers could (and did) 
toss out very cheap barrel-scraping lateral equipment with inefficient 
horns and misaligned tracking. Edison disc machines had to be carefully 
engineered and precisely aligned, otherwise the record could be ruined 
in a single playback.

Also, because of the weight of the metal used in the construction (sheet 
iron horn, for one), Edison machines tended to weigh a bit more than 
comparable Victor or Columbia machines.

Michael Shoshani
Chicago