Edison tinfoil phonograph demonstration

A demonstration of recording on a tinfoil phonograph, as invented by Edison in 1877. The phonograph seen here is an exact replica of an all-brass exhibition machine as made by Bergmann in late 1878. This replica was built by the late Bill Ptacek. It's a massive phonograph, weighing 125 pounds.

For a more detailed public exhibition of this same machine, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGAVotR7wZ8

Category:

Music

Tags:

• edison
• phonograph
• tinfoil
• recording

[blackcerberus999]

When a person was done with recording could he/she just replace the tinfoil with another? I would imagine if they were still used today the audio could be stored almost indefinitely, considering the care and temperatures used while storing the actual foil, almost like that of a music vinyl- as long as you don't bend, warp, etc it, it could last almost an eternity.

[ReneRondeau]

Once a recorded sheet was removed from the mandrel it could not be replaced and replayed again. These were designed just to show the principle of how phonographs worked. Once a recording was played, it would be scrapped and a new demonstration made. Records that could be played repeatedly weren't developed until the end of the 1880s.

[jackispacki]

I did not know you could have such a good quality tinfoil. I thought with a tinfoil you had to like bellow into the thing and you could hardly hear the playback. Like this:Hello, Hello, mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow and every where that mary went the lamb was sure to go -(playback)dadaa, dadaa, dadedaddaddeda, dadedadadada,dadedidedadadedad­edadadadeda

[ReneRondeau]

The key to making loud and clear recordings is having a very well-made phonograph that is adjusted VERY precisely. These are definitely capable of making good recordings, as you see here, but it takes very careful adjusting to get everything precisely right. Even a slight variation can make a recording that is faint and of poor quality.

[Sonicku]

I dont get it, woulnt it be eiser to use MP3s to record sound?

[ReneRondeau]

Sure it would be easier, but MP3 didn't exist in 1878. This is how sound recording began. Recordings have existed for well over a century before digital recording.

[ReneRondeau]

This is the very first type of sound recording -- a needle indenting sound waves into a sheet of tinfoil. Purely mechanical.

[grvene]

Sorry for my English. I built my phonograph. I'd like to know what material was used for the vibrating membrane of your wonderful reply.

[marcelomelloweb]

Great work! This video is featured in my History of Music playlist , of the Choir Conducting Secondary Technical School , at Ourinhos (SP, Brazil) . Reference: Roy Bennett, History of Music (Cambridge Assignments in Music). ---

Excelente trabalho! Este vídeo faz parte de minha lista de reprodução de vídeos da disciplina História da Música I, do curso de Regência da ETEC de Ourinhos (Centro Paula Souza. A lista está baseada no livro de Roy Bennett, Uma Breve História da Música.

[jojonanable]

@elel70 nope... I'm doing a project on the history of sound recording for school :)

[asharp1999]

@elel70 not completely, i have to watch this for history fair

[elel70]

Am I the only teenager of my generation to be interested in this technology?

[INDYOSKARS]

I NEVER REALISED THAT IT WAS THAT BIG.

BUT I AM THANKFUL THAT WHEN "THE BLUE

YODLER" JIMMIE RODGERS STARTED RECORDING

IN 1927, THAT IT HAD PROGRESSED.

[MRLOL785]

@Imnothecrazyone Definitely gonna do that when I build one.

[Imnothecrazyone]

@Finnstudios Blast some Metallica into that thing, that would be hilarious.

[EmmetEarwax]

And before tin foil, records were made from - paper ! Morse code messages to be sent over the wires repeatedly. Edison got the idea from that.

After tin foil, somebody cut a lead cylinder -which still survives, tho lead is a tarnishing metal. This mess has a lot of surface noise and experiments with different speeds.