page_title: Pathé Records
section_title: Pathé cylinders and discs
hierarchical_section_title: Pathé Records / Pathé cylinders and discs
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ungarische Tiefenschriftplatte von Pathé mit Firmenschutzhülle English: Hungarian Pathé Record Magyar: Magyar Pathé hanglemez, 90-100-as fordulatszámra 日本語: パテがハンガリーで発売していたレコード Italiano: Ungherese Pathé record Français&#160;: Pathé disque Norsk bokmål: Ungarsk Pathé-dybdeskriftplate med omslag Português: Disco húngaro da Pathé
context_page_description: Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s.
context_section_description: In 1894, the Pathé brothers started selling their own phonographs. The earliest Pathé offerings were phonograph cylinders. Pathé manufactured cylinder records until approximately 1914. In addition to standard size cylinder records (2 ¹⁄₄-inch-diameter (57 mm)), Pathé produced several larger styles. The "Salon" records measured 3½ inches in diameter and the larger "Stentor" records measured 5 inches in diameter. The "Le Céleste" records, the largest commercial cylinder records manufactured by any phonograph company, measured 5 inches in diameter by 9 inches long.
  In 1905 the Pathé brothers entered the growing field of disc records. They needed to employ several unusual technologies as preventive measures against patent infringement. At first they sold single-sided discs with a recording in wax on top of a cement base. In October 1906 they started producing discs in the more usual manner with shellac. Even with this less eccentric material, the early Pathé discs were unlike any others. The sound was recorded vertically in the groove, rather than side-to-side, and the groove was wider than in other companies' records, requiring a special ball-shaped .005-inch-radius (0.13 mm) stylus for playing. The discs rotated at 90 rpm, rather than the usual 75 to 80 rpm. Originally, the groove started on the inside, near the center of the disc, and spiraled out to the edge. In 1916, Pathé changed over to the customary rim-start format, a more nearly normal 80 rpm speed, and paper labels instead of the stamped-in, paint-filled text previously used. Pathé discs were commonly produced in 10 inch (25 cm), 10 ​¹⁄₂ inch (27 cm), and 11 ​¹⁄₂ inch (29 cm) sizes. 6 ​¹⁄₂ (17 cm), 8 inch (21 cm), and 14 inch (35 cm) discs were also made, as were very large 20 inch (50 cm) discs that played at 120 rpm. Due to their fragility, unwieldiness, and much higher price, the largest sizes were a commercial failure and were not produced for long.
  In France, Pathé became the largest and most successful distributor of cylinder records and phonographs. These, however, failed to make significant headway in foreign markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States where other brands were already in widespread use. Although Pathé cylinder records were never popular outside France, their disc records sold successfully in many foreign countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Russia.
  Pathé was the first company to make master recordings in a different medium than the final commercial product. In the Pathé recording studios, masters were cut on rapidly spinning wax cylinders that measured about 13 inches long and 4 ½ inches in diameter. Beginning in 1913, special "Paradis" cylinders about 8 inches in diameter and 8 ½ inches long were used. The large, fast-spinning cylinders allowed for a greater level of audio fidelity. The various types of commercial Pathé cylinders and discs were then dubbed (or "pantographed") from these masters. This dubbing process enabled copies of the same master recording to be made available on multiple formats. The process sometimes resulted in uneven results on the final commercial record, causing a pronounced rumble or other audio artifacts. (This rumble was generally undetectable on acoustic wind-up phonographs of the period, but is noticeable on electric and more modern equipment.)
  The vertically-cut Pathé discs normally required a special Pathé phonograph equipped with a sapphire ball stylus. The advantage of the sapphire ball stylus was its permanence. There was no need to change a needle after every record side. Since most records and phonographs used a different playback method, various attachments were marketed that allowed one to equip a Pathé phonograph to play standard, laterally-cut records. Attachments were also sold to equip a standard phonograph to play Pathé records.
  In 1920, Pathé introduced a line of "needle-cut" records, at first only for the US market. The needle-cut records were laterally-cut discs designed to be compatible with standard phonographs, and they were labelled Pathé A
caption: Hungarian Pathé record
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