The talking machine world (July-Dec 1920)

August 15, 1920 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 75 CUT YOUR COST IN HALF USE PAPER H. G. NEU & CO. PAPER TWINE ENVELOPES 108 Worth Street New York Franklin 2049 ^IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIillll^ I THE IMPORTANCE OF | I THE TONE ARM | I By N. A. KURMAN, New York | iiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiii;iii!:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN From the day that Edison awoke to the fact tliat a membrane could be used to reproduce the voice to the day when we figure our talking machine production by the thousand units, inventors have ceaselessly worked upon the solution of many phonographic problems. Fundamentally the talking machine is exactly the same to-day as then. A diaphragm is caused to vibrate by means of a stylus, in turn vibrated by impressed undulations. This diaphragm is connected by proper means to a horn. This was the first phonograph, and it is the last to date. The first refinement of a radical nature came with the cabinet, when the horn became a joined affair, with its major portion enclosed. The tone arm then came into being, as a means for coupling the moving sound box to the fixed horn, and presented new features for the inventor to work on. To-day there are thousands of granted patents upon the talking machine, each claiming the merit of superiority. What is the matter with them all, and with the art? Why is it that to-day, after all these years of combined eflfort, only a few of these ideas have proven of virtue? Take the tone arm, for instance. You find it round, hexagonal, oval, square, jointed, jointless, ball bearing, pivoted, some with springs, some springless, all of these either straight, curved or telescopic, and constructed of brass, copper, wood, zinc or aluminum. Which of these is the best? If you pin your faith to copper you are haunted by the fear that brass may be cheaper, and so on. How can a man tell which is the best for his purpose unless he has the sound box and amplifier factors in consideration? On the day the guns in France stopped roaring conditions changed the world over. A new silk-shirted aristocracy came into being. The day of the spender was at hand. Prohibition, a little later, by keeping many a worker from the corner saloon, gave his wife the chance to buy many of the things that before had been counted among the unattainables. The talking machine came into immense vogue, many machines were placed upon a market that did not pick and choose. Anything went, any old thing that would make a noise — and the more noise the better— commanded a ready sale. No atttention was given to quality. Many makers lost sight of the fact that a talking machine is a family purchase usually made once for all, and many will find that their names mean something that must be lived down if they wish to continue in business. Trash cannot prevail. Already the condition of things have changed — quality is the only thing that counts. Another condition which I believe is peculiar to this field aflfects this business. There are fewer technical men in this line than, in any other. .A^n egg dealer knows an egg by its middle name, he can tell its age by its teeth, its health by his nose. Any flivver salesman can give a lecture on short notice on the history of the automotive engine. How many makers of talking machines know anything about sound? This explains why we are so grievously afflicted I MICA I ■ DIAPHRAGMS ■ ^1 Absolutely Guaranteed Perfect ^1 We get the best India Mica directly. ^1 We supply the largest Phonograph' Maniifacturers. ^1 Ask for our quotations and samples before placing your order. H American Mica Works H ■ 47 West St. New York ■ by the crank, the hypnotist and the man with the freak talking point. Take the tone arm again. Do you really know whether it is proportionate to your other assembly? Is it the best for the horn you have? Then, on the other hand, is your horn the best you can make to suit the tone arm you buy? Can you or your tone arm maker answer these questions? If you are at all mindful of the signs of the times and desire to put your product on a par with the best, it is up to you to get a good tone arm and sound box combination. Then get an engineer to design your horn amplifier to fit the assembly. This is important, for while all horns are fundamentally the same, the whole virtue of your machine rests upon the proportion of j'our units. The field has narrowed to the point where beauty and quality alone can sell and if you want to shine you must realize that you can no longer slap together thesemediocre assemblies, dignify them with i euphonistic "ola" and expect them to stay sold. The sound box functions to transform the mechanical record undulations into sound waves. In the tone arm these sound waves are developed as far as their depth is concerned. The horn amplifies them. That's all there is to it. Get a good combination and stick to it. Don't trust your ear or that of your foreman cabinet maker. Do not listen to the hypnotic voice of the wizard who can do wonders with a piece of middle-aged spearmint stuck all over the place. You aim to supply the best. Go at it intelligently; you'll win. You will not have uiuch trouble selling something that's good. Let quality be your talking point. If you cut out the habit of standing in front of one of your o^vn machines and "kidding" yourself you will be on the right track, anyway. When you get something good it will hit you; you will not have to go in a trance to find it out. Take the. tone arm, for instance, and think it over. The man with brain shortage usually has lung power to spare. Victor Dealers will find in our new wholesale store every facility for the marketing of VICTROLAS and RECORDS Our Neti) Location at Penn Avenue and 12th Street brings our wholesale department to within one block of the Pennsylvania Station. Be Sure to visit the Model Victor Sales Room on the first floor. PITTSBURGH, PA.