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5000 Cylinder Recordings Placed Online
Jon Noring writes "The Department of Special Collections at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) Davidson Library recently placed online, with free access, over 5000 sound recordings as part of its Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project. These recordings date from the 1890's to the 1920's, all transfered from Edison cylinders using state-of-the-art equipment. The restorations are first-class, using CEDAR tools. Besides MP3 and streaming audio, the raw transfers are also available for diy'ers to try their own hand at audio restoration. For those who like their music 'hot', there's not much there since most of the cylinders predate the start of the Jazz Era (ca. 1917), but there is some early 'mouldy fygge' dance-type jazz, like 1920's 'Peggy' by Lopez and Hamilton's Kings of Harmony Orchestra."
Oh man, as if having Sony on their asses wasn't enough, these guys are going to bring the wrath of Edison down on themselves!
Well, I guess a recording of this one won't be there...
After watching this video I guess there are 4999 left for them to archive:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/techtvblooper.html
Friggin hilarious!
I remember when I was a young whippersnapper, I listened to the Sony cylinders and it loaded a rootkit on my Babbage Calculating Machine. It took forever to calculate 12 + 15...that is if the infernal machine wouldn't jump up by itself and crash on the floor.
Don't be stupid! Of course we didn't rip them just to mp3 format. We copied all cylinders to C-cassettes before destroying the originals.
They'll still be around in another 100 years.
Yeah, but if you ever do lose or damage the wax cylinder, the EULA means you'll have to delete your MP3s as well...
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Imagine if they had the equivalent of DRM and/or EULAs in the 1900s...
Each cylinder would come with a warning
This cylinder may only be played using a licensed RCA needle. Using any other needle is a violation of the Pony Millenium Rights Act and is a federal offense. By removing this cylinder from its box, you agree to be bound and gagged by the terms of this End-User License agreement. You may not play this music before a publicly audience without expressed written consent of RCA. Within 30 days of purchase, you must write RCA via pony express to "activate" your cylinder. Failure to do so is a violation of this agreeement and is punishable by hanging. After 5 different people have heard playback (or any portion thereof) this cylinder, you might re-activate it by submitting a written request to RCA. Failure to do so is punishable...
Boston Tea Party? Nah. What were they thinking???????????
Even still, it is a shame that these recordings, the largest collection of its type in the world, is being hidden from the public just for what can't possibly be more than a few thousand dollars a year. (You can actually listen to most of the sounds in low resolution streaming on the web, but you can't do analysis at the quality they offer.)
That's what they say about the Rolling Stones, but they're still touring...