New-York tribune., 1921-10-23
{SA FROM SQUAWK TO BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY
BY 1AWTON MACKALL

developed steadily from It's dark ages Of not
sc lons ago, and will continue to progress,
and the world will have the benefit Of better
records and better machines.
Quaint indeed were those clark ages"
Carusos and Ponsclles and Kreislers were un-
dreamed Of. There were no sumptuously
equipped phonograph shops where people
could drop in and hear the months new re-
leases of operate music, snappy dance num-
bers and Broadway hits. Instead, there were
struggling agents going from Office to Office
trying to get business men to rent crude cylin-
der machines at $40 month. One of these
humble agents, now the prosperous head OF a
big recording laboratory--when dropped in
upon him he was telling an automobile sales
man that the two cars he had would do for
the present--grins at the memory Of those
uncertain days.
II remember trying to convert a Boston
fnancier. He was a great, big, impressive
looking specimen of humanity, and was a
nervous young man. But he had enough
curiosity about this new thing to allow me to
set up the machine in his Office He watched
me patiently while put the thing together
and monkeyed with the adjustments 1t was
a terribly complicated affair, with all sorts
of screws and things that had to be regu-
lated just right. He watched me go through
all this and speak few words into it, and
fhepy ye,1t %11n
some more adjustments till at last had sue
ceeded in making it give back sounds that
could be recognized as my own voice
Him. he said, $40 month? Does that
run it?"
Music recording began even more pre-
cariously AS there was at first no way of
duplicating records. each cylinder sold had to
be an original Consequently the money that
could be squandered on talent" was next to
nothing. Imagine what sort Of magazine this
would he if only copy could be printed!
If it sold for 81. Irwin Cobb would get nickel
for a story.
One of the veterans tells how he picked up
German band that was umpahing on saloon
corner, brought it into his laboratory and kent
it footing all day long for $6 and few bonuses
of beer. To get the full value out of his in
vestment he had whole roomful of machines
going at once, so that every tune in the Dutch
repertory was registered on about fifteen evil
lnders each time it was played. The machines
In the middle got fairly balanced recording:
those nearest the cornet got at least the mel
ody; those in the vicinity of the tuba got
mostly grunts.
Yet when people ran off this magnihcence in
their homes they heard it preceded by the high
falutin but nasally intoned: "Forget Me Not
Polka, played by the Imperial Concert Band. of
New York and Paris"--or something to that
effect
The first vocal offerings were equally afro
clous, It not more so. AS a singer cannot scat
ter his voice among flock of recording horns
but must sing directly into one, only single
cylinder could be made at one time. Conse
quently, the vocal hacks Of those early labor
atorles literally warbled themselves hoarse.
NO wonder the canned screeches sounded fer
rible
Unable to obtain either quality or paoduc-
ton by such methods, the phonograph COM
panies eked out their business by selling blank
cylinders and urging people to do their own
recording at home. Certainly the home re-
cordlng was no worse. In fact it had very
interesting possibilities.
well known architect told me story about
one OF his outfits which he had in his home to
amuse his children. AS they grew older and
got tired of it he gave the machine and wax
cylinders to cousin. Recently he visited that
cousin and was astonshed to hear a record
OF his own voice relating the story of "The
Three Bears" made so long ago that even the
children Tor whom he spoke it have now chill
dren of their own Hearing that wheezy old
cylinder made him see himself young father
again, brought back with a thrill and almost
pang the days when that family now scat
tered to houses of their own were. still his and
he was young draughtsman struggling am
bitlously to support them.
1t is pity that home recording is now prac-
tically thing of the past Innumerabe are
the albums of snapshots which the owners have
made and now treasure for memory's sake, but
auditory snapshots in wax are no more