The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-05-11

ranged. If the number features some
special band or orchestra the players
are, of course. brought especially to
Camden, but for Ordinary accompani-
ments the company maintains its own
organization of thirty men. They have
to be artists of the first quality, bee ause
there is always that little imp of the
cabinet to be considered with his ir ritat-
ing demand for absolute perfection. If
a mistake is made he seizes it gleefulIy
and transmits it to all the thousands of
his children who are stamped from him.
to trumpet abroad wherever they are
played. So the director will top the
whole proceeding at any point with a
tap of his baton, if his ear catches the
slightest error.
Visitors are not encouraged in this
inner sanctum. The faintest whisper
or rustic is caught up and recorded Just
as faithfully as the aria itself If a
visitor does gain admittance, he notes
that the arrangement of the orchestra
is quite different from the ordinary one
in the opera or concert work. Some of
the men are perched on high, some are
drawn up close to the recording cabinet
while others are withdrawn. Each in
strument has different carrying power
and a different recording quality, so
that special arrangement is necessary
to get the proper effect.
When the number has been played
the little imp in the cabinet has every
tone-shade safely locked in his bosom.
They take him and give him an cleo
troplating bath that coats him with
enduring nickel, and there you have
your master record. One such master
record is put on file, and from second
the ordinary disk records are made.
The black material that you see in
monograph record is composition of
shellac, which softens under the in
tiuence of heat. The material is rolled
out into great sheets and cut into
squares twelve inches on a side.
These squares harden as they cool,
and in their hardened condition are sent
down to the room where the impressing
is done. Here they are laid on a hot
table moment to soften and then
placed over the nickel master record.
They are stamped and trimmed-and
there is your Caruso or Tetrazzini ready
for the cabinet
The life of a record is a matter of
some interest to the owner of phono-
. graph. With ordinary use disk should
last indefinitely, Of course. the fric-
ton of steel, tungsten or sapphire on
even the hardest material will event
ually wear it out, but unless you play
some particular piece many hours day
there is no deterioration. The question
of ''overtones" comes up in this con-
nection. 1t has been stated that the
overtones wear off record more quick
ly than the notes of the dominant oc-
tave, and thus spoil the quality of the
recorded voice. even while leaving pitch
and volume unimpaired. 1t is true
enough that the quality of any musical
note depends largely on the overtones.
but according to the local company. at
least, there is nothing in the theory
that overtones are destroyed by normal
playing of a record.
After the disk itself the most inter-
esting part of the monograph mech
anism is the motor which revolves the
record under the needle. The motor
has to be little wonder of its kind. 1t
must work at an absolutely even speed
more even than that of a clock mech
anism, because a clock may have COM
pensating defects and still keep time.
If the phonograph motor works shade
too fast or too slow, the whole effect is
marred A change of speed not only
spoils the tempo of the number being
played, but actually changes the pitch
of the notes given out as we'll. This
company estimates that if the springs
they put into their cabinets were joined
together a years supply would reach
from London to New York.
Much of the mechanical side of
monograph building is, of course, very
like similar processes in any other craft.
The record, the motor. and the little
mica disk whose vibration does the ac-
tual "singlng" are the three unique
points. The worlds whole mica pro-
duction is picked over by the phono-
graph builders in their search for the
most perfect pieces, and only the best
of it is sufficiently fiawless for use.
The phonograph industry, as whole,
is unique, not only IN the industrial
field, but in its relation to art and So
ciety. 1t is putting music for the first
time in history on footing similar TO
that of the other arts. 1t is having the
way to cumulative musical achievement.
We have had cumulative achievement
in literature, in sculpture and in paint
ing. In these arts the treasurers of the
ages are piled up. Each new master
measures himself not only against his
cnnten DOraries hut against the mas