Blue Amberol Surfaces

[walrus]

Perhaps I'm just imagining it, but from listening to my collection of BAs I get the impression that the cylinders made in 1912-4 generally have quieter surfaces than those issued during the First World War. I know that part of the difference is also due to the dubbing process, but the early dubbed BAs and those made in the 1920s also seem to sound better generally than those made in 1918. Am I just imagining all of this? The BAs from around then just sound fuzzy to me. I know that materials supply problems resulted in abysmal surface quality on DDs during WWI; could this also have affected the materials used in the BA celluloid, particularly the acetone dye used to harden the celluloid?

[maroongem]

Edward,

You will find that the pre dubbed cylinders which were prior to 1915 will sound infinately better than the later dubbed ones. It's not the surface/material of the cylinder as Edison had stabilized this after 1913, but the quality of the dub itself. I have cylinders from various years that either sound muddy or very clear( but not as clear as the pre 1915) so it's a hit or miss proposition. Even the earlier direct recordings that weren't cut out and had made it to the beveled edge changeover can sound better than the later dubs that started around 2488 (Jan 1915).

Bill

[walrus]

Where do you think the muddiness comes from? Is it surface noise from the DDs, or is it just something that happened in the transfer process?

[maroongem]

I would say IMHO that is from the transfer as I have the same song on both mediums and the DD sounds much better in most cases. Perhaps someone else can verify this?

Bill

[phonophil]

May 8, 2008 9:07:48 GMT -5 maroongem said:

I would say IMHO that is from the transfer as I have the same song on both mediums and the DD sounds much better in most cases. Perhaps someone else can verify this?

Bill

I have dubbed WWI-era BAs that have better sound quality than their DD counterparts. I think the BAs were more durable.

Considering Edison's manufacturing process, I think there are three things that affected the sound quality of BAs:

1. A change in the dye process that resulted in a robin's egg blue color (or lighter). The surface on these records supposedly is softer than the darker blue records. I think these were produced before WWI for only a few months.

2. The dubbing process. After September, 1914 Edison began dubbing BAs from DDs. Dubbing continued until the end of BA production in 1929. Dubbed BA quality varies widely. I treasure my non-dubbed BAs.

3. Worn molds. Edison had very crude quality control practices by today's standards. He was also very cheap. I think a lot of BAs were pumped out from molds that were beyond their useful life.