SOTH would like to thank our latest contributor Michael Lloyd-Davies for his insightful review on the memoirs of Joe Batten – pioneer recording manager. By Michael Lloyd-Davies In his foreward to Joe Batten’s memoirs, Joe is described by Sir Compton McKenzie as “that other great recorder” bracketed with Freddy Gaisberg. Joe Batten’s story isContinue reading “Joe Batten’s Book: The Story of Sound Recording”
Category Archives: gramophones
Captain Scott’s Desert Island Discs. A flavour of what were the happening sounds in Antarctica 100 years ago
This article was written by Jasper Rees and published on theartsdesk 11 April 2012 The gramophone on which Scott and his men listened to music hall and opera at the bottom of the world Centenaries are sizeable business in 2012. It just so happens that the Olympics are coming to the United Kingdom for theContinue reading “Captain Scott’s Desert Island Discs. A flavour of what were the happening sounds in Antarctica 100 years ago”
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 5
Today we publish the fifth and final in our series of extracts from this fine new book, with kind permission from its creators Christopher Proudfoot and Brian Oakley. While the gramophone horn was a wonderful piece of design and construction and served its purpose well during the early years, when it came to portability itContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 5”
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 4
From functional to luxury. Within a short 3-4 years the Gramophone became the status symbol of the age, so inevitably the designers determined to take advantage of the privileged market by creating machines that were not only wonderful pieces of furniture, but also hid the rather cumbersome horn. Enter the Sheraton Grand, the first enclosedContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 4”
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 3
As interest in the gramophone increased, so did the ingenuity of the Gramophone Company’s technicians. Outside the limits of most people’s finances, these machines were still largely owned by the wealthy, so how to bring all this wonderful recorded music to the mass public? The early machines and discs were incapable of fillingContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 3”
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 2
With kind permission of its creators Christopher Proudfoot and Brian Oakley we continue our series of extracts from “His Master’s Gramophone” … Introducing the Single Spring Monarch Style No.11 In production from 1901-1905, this machine was specially designed to play the newly introduced 10” Concert recordings issued in 1901. Costing £10 in 1901, the price wasContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 2”
Setting up a record company: #1 Get the technology right
When William Barry Owen and Trevor Williams shook hands to establish the UK’s first record company, The Gramophone Company, in 1897 they sent for Fred Gaisberg, an American “recording expert” to come over to England to help them by setting up the recording department and the UK’s first recording studios in Maiden Lane. Fred’s involvementContinue reading “Setting up a record company: #1 Get the technology right”
Every picture tells a story.
This is a scanned page of a Gramophone Company catalogue from 1902. The company had progressed from making 7″ records to 10″ records by late 1901 and this catalogue shows the new range of discs retailing at 5 shillings a piece. There were 20 shillings to a £, so five shillings expressed in modern moneyContinue reading “Every picture tells a story.”
Emile Berliner cuts the first discs: Tvinkle, tvinkle, little star, how I vunder vot you are
Emile Berliner may have been the most talented of all the great inventors playing with the new audio technology during the second half of the 19th century. He was born in Germany 160 years ago today, May 20th 1851, and moved to the states when he was 19. Berliner is probably most famous in theContinue reading “Emile Berliner cuts the first discs: Tvinkle, tvinkle, little star, how I vunder vot you are”
Our First Plug!
This is very exciting. We’ve been asked to spread the news about a new book. Our first plug! And we are very pleased to say that the book in question is rather lovely; it’s a lavishly-illustrated, information-packed hardback book printed on high quality silk paper with colour digital photographs, comprehensive descriptions, technical details, originalContinue reading “Our First Plug!”
Sound Of The Hound 