The Edison phonograph monthly (Mar-Dec 1907)

22 Edison Phonograph Monthly, Dec, 1907 We must not omit to make mention, however, of the spacious experimental room, in which a staff of experts will be constantly at work seeking any possible improvements in material and manufacturing processes. It is expected that the factory will be in full operation early in the present month, and we must congratulate Mr. Riehl on the rapidity with which he is carrying the work through, taking into consideration the attention which has been bestowed in securing perfection in every detail. Six hundred hands will, we understand, be immediately engaged, and the present plan installation will have a capacity of 50,000 Records per day, an output which, if required, can be quickly doubled, as there is plenty of space available in the factory for the necessary increase of machinery. Vibrations of the Voice If the middle C is struck, the note is produced by sound vibrating at the rate of 256 per second. The farther a note is removed on the treble or right hand side of the piano from middle C, the higher it will be, and the farther it is removed on the base or left hand side, the lower. The highness or lowness of a voice — called pitch — is regulated by the number of vibrations per second, the high voice being Droduced by the greatest number, and the low by the smallest. Whatever is the vibration number of any given note, the octave below it will have exactly half the number of vibrations, and the octave about it double the number. Thus the C below middle C, will give 128 vibrations per second and the octave above middle C will give 512 vibrations. The compass of the ordinary human voice ranges from 80 to 1,024 vibrations per second. There are many exceptions to this as is shown by Professor W. Le Conte Stevens, a member of the American Association, who stated that "the lowest recorded tone of the voice is that of a basso named Fischer, who lived during the Sixteenth Century, and who sounded Fo, about 43 vibrations per second." Mr. Stevens himself, without possessing a bass voice, has sounded as low as Ao, 53 1-3 vibrations per second, when his vocal cords were thickened by an attack of catarrh. This, however, is under abnormal conditions. "The highest note hitherto recorded in the books was attained in singing by Lucrezia Ajugari, called 'La Bastardella.' Al Parma in 1770 she sang for Mozart, several passages of extraordinarily high pitch, one of which included C6, 2,048 vibrations per second. She trilled in D5, 1,152 vibrations, and was able to sing as low as G2, 192 vibrations, having thus a range of nearly 4 1-2 octaves. Ajugari's upper limit has been attained by Ellen Beach Law, of Rochester, N. Y. Mr. Stevens has often estimated, by comparisons with a tuning-fork, the "itch of a child's squeal, while at play, which has been repeatedly found to be in excess of 2,500 vibrations per second, in one case as high as G6, about 3,072 vibrations. The total range between these extremes is in excess of six octaves." Dealers and Home Records The fact that the majority of Edison Phonograph owners know so little about making home Records is due in most cases to failure of Dealers to explain the amusement and advantages to be obtained from such a proceeding. The suggestions made in our June issue, for a competition scheme to encourage home Record making, have been adopted by a number of progressive Dealers, who have thereby awakened a great deal of interest in it and will ultimately derive considerable advantage in consequence. It may happen in some cases that Dealers are unable to adopt a scheme of this kind. Their customers may be insufficient in number or live too far apart; but they need not, on that account, cease from making it a strong selling point. The making of home Records is exclusively a feature of cylinder machines, and this ought not to be lost sight of when making sales. M. L. Abbey, Edison Dealer, of Hudson, Mich., is convinced that his customers, if they understand the value of home Record making, will find great pleasure in it, and has obtained good results from the form letter which we print. Other Dealers who have thought less about this end of the business than of selling Phonographs and Records, might take a few suggestions from this well written letter. Home Record-making never interferes with the sale of Gold Moulded Records, but is simply an additional means of profit. Dear Sir:— Why not increase the value of your Phonograph tenfold by purchasing a recorder and being able to make your own Records. . Anyone can make them; it doesn't require any knowledge of music. Your friends all have some little stunt they do extra well. That one who tells a funny story, plays the mouth-organ, sings comic songs, or a dozen other things that would make a fine record. You have photographs of their faces, why not have one of their voices. What would you not give to be able to hear the voice of a departed loved one sing their favorite song or hear the childish voice, now silent, lisp a cut© ssivinff An Edison Recorder is a wonderful device. It adjusts itself automatically to every sound, and embodies all tne important features of the recorders used at the Edison Laboratory in making the masters from which the Edison Gold Moulded Records are made. Half the fun of owning a Phonograph is making one's own records. A Recorder costs you three dollars, and the Edison Shaved Blanks, twenty cents apiece, and can be shaved many times and used over and over for new impressions. When your friends gather in for a social evening, then is the time you will appreciate its real worth, as the bright sayings and witticisms of everyone P«sent can be male permanent and a reminder in after years of happy tin\Ve *a °re enclosing a booklet on the "Art of RecordMaking," and trust it will prove ^of interest tc » you. We are preparing a prize contest for the tbest ,£0™e;™e records, and would like to have you enter with the rest. We beg to express our thanks to you for the courtesies you have extended us, and respectfully solicit an opportunity to merit your further favors. To keep in good standing, be entitled to Dealers' discounts and remain on our mailing list, Dealers must sign the new Dealers' Agreement: If you have not yet signed, do so at once.