The Edison phonograph monthly (Dec 1914-Dec 1915)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, APRIL, 1915 THE EDISON DISC WINS OUT IN FIVE PUBLIC SCHOOL COMPETITIONS WHEREVER the Edison Disc is heard in fair competition, it usually carries off the honors. In Fall River, Mass., our energetic representative, W. D. Wilmot, has been unusually successful in demonstrating the Edison Disc in the schools of that city, and invariably these demonstrations have been competitive. In one instance the competition lasted two days, the Edison securing 12 out of a possible 14 votes. (An account of this contest was given in our July, 1914, Monthly.) Since then Mr. Wilmot has won out in four more Public School competitions. In the second and third contests the Edison won by a large majority. In the fourth and fifth contests the vote was unanimously Edison. As an indication of how a competitive contest is conducted we give here Mr. Wilmot's account of the last or fifth one: "My opponent was the local agency of the Steinert Company, but in addition to their own local man they had two special demonstrators come to Fall River from their Boston house, as I understand it, and the Boston man began with a talk on the merits of the . "I don't know what he said, for I arrived in the school room just after he had finished talking. "He opened with 'Annie Laurie' by Schumann Heinck, and I followed with Anna Case's 'Pearl of Brazil' (80120). "If I remember right, he then played 'Lark Song' by Gluck, and to show a deep bass voice, I followed with 'Alone in the Deep' (80166). He played something by Geraldine Farrar, and I gave a dance record by request (50137) 'Nights of Gladness.' He followed with some dance record, I do not remember which one. I then demonstrated Edison playing a record of Tip perary, and our Edison record No. 50184 of Tipperary. Have forgotten what he played next, but by request I played a violin record (82043) Meditation — 'Thai's.' He was asked to play a violin record and said he had none with him, but played something else. I was then invited to say whatever I cared to about my Edison and began by telling the twelve teachers present (the principal making thirteen) that they had now listened to both instruments, alternately, and that no doubt had they never heard but one, either would give them perfect satisfaction; but that having now heard them in competition, there could be no question as to relative tone quality and that in as much as the Edison had spoken for itself as no one could speak for it; that I seldom speak of any of its superior qualities, excepting the tone. But since they wanted me to tell a few of its merits I would first mention the thing which everybody talks most about: relief from the bother of changing needles. "I explained that in dancing, or when one cares to play the same record repeatedly, this relief was very desirable, to say nothing of how the steel needle keeps digging deeper and deeper below the sound waves until one hears more scratch than music. "The Edison polished diamond does not cut or scratch, and were I to run it for half an hour on the plain or blank part of the disc, it would make no more mark than a lead pencil would. "Then I spoke of THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN EDISON AND OTHER DISC RECORDS "I explained that the Edison record, being much thicker, gave a solid foundation for the tone, and eliminating the chatter and other noises so prevalent at times in other disc records. "Next I told them that the Edison is cut 150 grooves to the inch instead of 80 and consequently this would make it possible to place whole arias upon a disc, while in dance music it furnished opportunity to play a selection nearly twice as long as an ordinary record. "In speaking of the hardness of the Edison Disc I said that there was little danger of breaking one. I had seen one of my men try to break an Edison disc record by jumping on it with both feet and although he weighed 200 pounds, he had to jump up and down several times before he broke it. However, I didn't advise that way of using records. "Then I pointed out that while other records can be played better on the Edison Phonograph than on the make of machines they are designed for, those machines are unable to play the Edison disc with any degree of satisfaction because the Edison being cut 150 grooves to the inch had double the number of sound waves. Such machines depend upon the needle and the sides of the groove to propel the tone arm across the record. "Speaking then of phonographs generally, I boldly affirmed that Edison is ten years ahead of all competitors. Other instruments must depend largely upon artists' names to sell themselves and their records; yet what greater name is there connected with this class of instrument than the name "Edison," the original discoverer of sound reproduction and the final developer and perfector of art. "In conclusion I said to the teachers: 'You have a direct responsibility before you in selecting an instrument which is to guide your pupils in their musical education, just as though you were selecting text-books or encyclopedias. You would not be justified in providing text books ten years behind the times, nor are you justified in providing a talking machine ten years behind the times. The music you get on discs does not always depend so much upon who the singer or the artist was, as upon the recording, just as when you read the report of a lecture in a newspaper, all depends upon the ability of the reporter to get and give you just what the lecturer said. Mr. Edison gets and gives just what the singer sang, and just as the singer sang it. He knows how, and is not telling his followers how he does it.' "In summing up the whole matter, I said: 'You want the latest and the best. The Edison is not only the latest and the best today but it is the phonograph of the future.' "This morning the Principal and six of the teachers came to my store and selected an $80 Edison. All fourteen of the teachers, (including the Principal) had voted unanimously in favor of the Edison. "This is the fifth time I have come out victorious in a contest with the . "W. D. Wilmot, Fall River, Mass." LOYALTY PAYS "A large part of the loyalty of our sales force," writes one Edison dealer, "is due to the wonderful instrument which they endeavor to sell. When a man sells a thing that he does not have to lie about, it immediately creates a love for his business, and when an article is so good that it at once appeals to the public in general, his work becomes a pleasure indeed."