On Wax/Off Wax - Building an Edison Wax Cylinder Recorder Kit

Рет қаралды 310,821

7 жыл бұрын

In this video I’m assembling an educational kit from Japan. The end result should be a functional model of an Edison Cylinder Phonograph. Places to find Gakken Kits below...
1) Amazon
UK: amzn.to/2pxbGfS
US: amzn.to/2pA3zRR
2) ebay (click a country, ensure ‘International Search’ is turned on
UK: ebay.to/2qve4TT
US: ebay.to/2pOggtl
DE: ebay.to/2p069h4
CA: ebay.to/2quVw6g
AU: ebay.to/2quZzzm
NL: ebay.to/2oP1nqs
3) AdaFruit: www.adafruit.com/category/269
Here is the Gakken Japan website otonanokagaku.net/english/inde...
Q) Have you heard of a thing called the google translate app - you could use that - why didn't you?
A) I do use Google translate - you can see me using it in this video • Movies on Vinyl - VHD ... With any video there are hours of things that occur that were either not shot or were edited out because they didn't add anything of interest to the end video.
On this occasion - a translation app was only used once to confirm the meaning of a single paragraph in the instructions as the rest was easily understandable due to the pictograms.
------------SUPPORT--------------
This channel can be supported through Patreon
/ techmoan
Patrons usually have early access to videos
--------------SUBSCRIBE-----------------
kzfaq.info?...
---------Outro Music----------
Over Time - Vibe Tracks • Over Time - Vibe Track...
-----AFFLIATED LINKS/ADVERTISING NOTICE------
All links are Affiliated where possible.
When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON Sites (including, but not limited to Amazon US/UK/DE/ES/FR/NL/IT/CAN)

Пікірлер: 918

@mikepapafoxtrot9898 7 жыл бұрын

There is a new phrase I am going to start using "I am down to my last candle". Awsome.

@codygranrud6212 7 жыл бұрын

MikePapaFoxtrot, certainly works as a statement on despair.

@PsyDei 7 жыл бұрын

Pretty sure it was "a thing" back then.

@kronos_rides_about_a_bit6125 7 жыл бұрын

Haha. Finally an alternative punchline to the two nuns in the bath joke.

@ShokaLion 7 жыл бұрын

I wonder if putting the candles in the fridge first might harden them enough to take a finer recording. I've always imagined wax to be a bit on the soft side.

@ProdigalPorcupine 7 жыл бұрын

You could send an audio love letter on a scented candle.

@tomostinato2918 7 жыл бұрын

I'd love to know what the neighbours made of all the shouting! "I'M TALKING TO YOU THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF A WAX CANDLE!" Hilarious!

@alexpowers3697 7 жыл бұрын

19th Century Spiritualism perhaps?

@JaseyStudios 7 жыл бұрын

+Alex Powers EDGY

@Zerbey 4 жыл бұрын

"The weird guy next door is at it again"; "That's nice dear"

@sammygirlie345 7 жыл бұрын

sony missed a trick here the sony waxman

@Vegeta8300 6 жыл бұрын

sam737373 It would need some skip protection, for when you are driving or running...

@harringtonprescott 5 жыл бұрын

When I was in Japan around 2004 I saw a similar device in a music store. Instead of cutting on wax, it cut grooves on CDs. Kinda neat! Haven't seen one since though.

@frasergreig 7 жыл бұрын

The fact that you got anything out of that was simply superb... when I heard the playback I had a big grin on my face... Edison himself would have heard something similar once upon a time and would have hot the roof with excitement. Thank you techmoan.... thank you.

@clayroe1631 7 жыл бұрын

I own one of the Gakken Plastic Cup Kits you spoke of. I assure you, the results aren't much different than yours.

@gradyj3827 7 жыл бұрын

I have one of these as well, and like yourself I didn't have much success. I never did get the candles that came with it to play, but I did try some large childrens Crayons and it played just well enough to understand. The colder the Crayons were, the better they sounded.

@KC9UDX 7 жыл бұрын

Grady Cochran The first thing that came to mind watching this was "hot glue stick.". No idea if they would work though.

@Pynaegan 7 жыл бұрын

I too thought about refrigerating the candles.

@gunfighterzero 7 жыл бұрын

Pynaegan that was my first thought too. maybe even freezing

@timwebb21 7 жыл бұрын

so what this could be is the ideal Christmas or birthday present for someone you know who is based at a polar or antarctic research station and has some spare time on the hands ....

@rager1969 7 жыл бұрын

Yeah, my first thought was maybe the "candles" were too old and either need to be tempered via heat or cold or just use something else. Crayons sound interesting - but maybe too soft (even if cold) and easily chipped. Did you try actual candles?

@kevwang0712 7 жыл бұрын

These kits are available here in Taiwan, both the original Japanese versions and translated into Chinese, although it seems that the Chinese versions never keep up with the more interesting Japanese ones. If you're ever interested in one for a future video but can't find it in the UK please let me know, I could hop on down to the bookstore and try to hunt one down for a donation

@nephildevil 7 жыл бұрын

lol that distorted barely understandable vocal sound would be great in a horror game

@cooliofoolio 7 жыл бұрын

Darkvine Record really quietly on a cassette tape then turn the volume all the way up.

@Punisher9419 7 жыл бұрын

It's amazing it actually even works.

@Sekei.. 7 жыл бұрын

I think we reached peak-retro, unless you plan on reviewing 17th century automata next (which I'd love to see to be honest).

@lunsj 6 жыл бұрын

I could go for a video of a Gutenberg printing press :D

@stp22 7 жыл бұрын

isn't progress amazing, we live in the best audio times in history, so many formats to choose from

@Jaqaroo 7 жыл бұрын

Can you use this device as a dash cam...?

@spikeydapikey1483 7 жыл бұрын

Only in braille......

@AAAZ2A 7 жыл бұрын

To record video? It's technically possible to store a video-signal on wax, but obviously the device in the video can't do that. Suppose you can use it for audio-recordings but it'd be extremely inefficient.

@CrashPilot1000 7 жыл бұрын

Probably, you just have to extend the frequency spectrum of that machine to visible light. You'll be probably better off to use the candle as intended for at least a light-effect. Greets from Germany.

@John_Ridley 7 жыл бұрын

Does it support loop recording?

@Dogwrangler 7 жыл бұрын

John Ridley o

@Kaisarfire 7 жыл бұрын

Englishman shouts into strange device and a Dalek replies. Par for the course.

@Terraapples 7 жыл бұрын

Too bad you couldn't get more sound out of it... I was hoping you were going to set it up with your hifi equipment.

@joeymoldano6246 7 жыл бұрын

Exactly, it needs some lamp amps.

@tsaszymborska7389 7 жыл бұрын

And stereo. But for that of course you can just use two phonographs.

@sideshowbob1544 7 жыл бұрын

The gadgets you come up with never cease to amaze me. Especially how you always manage to find just the right size rubber replacement belts.

@SianaGearz 7 жыл бұрын

Wax made you a Dalek.

@VinchVolt 7 жыл бұрын

A dying Dalek, to be more accurate.

@lordofrims 7 жыл бұрын

I thought of a Dalek too!

@piratapan 7 жыл бұрын

Techmoan-man, you are one of the best KZfaqrs out there, keep it up!

@TheRivieraKid 7 жыл бұрын

"It's time to get the horn" Techmoan 2017

@binkcronks2365 7 жыл бұрын

He was quoting James Joyce, to be fair.

@nigelcassidy9880 5 жыл бұрын

Hi, have just built my kit. Like you, no luck the first time but after looking at the angle of the needles and adjusting the screws recognisable results. Good enough for showing my class how the principle works and much easier with your video. Many thanks!

@kinger2005 7 жыл бұрын

I'm listening to an English man shout at a children's toy, at 3 in the morning

@donpalmera 7 жыл бұрын

>at a children's toy Except the magazine is called "adult science" and I don't think it's about the science of sex aids.

@mateuszbugaj799 7 жыл бұрын

At 3 in the morning? So go to bed because sleep is important and watch this video when you wake up!

@PaulyRenzeth 7 жыл бұрын

Sleep is for the week im awake for 4 days.

@donpalmera 7 жыл бұрын

maybe that's why you don't understand the difference between week and weak?

@pegtooth2006 7 жыл бұрын

kinger2005 they meant sleep all week, duh lol

@BrekMartin 7 жыл бұрын

I've got the Edison standard phonograph. They are built like some industrial sewing machine.

@EuanTodd 7 жыл бұрын

Brek Martin because they are quite a few companies who manufactured these also made sewing machines.

@Eexpers 7 жыл бұрын

Omg I really love idea of taking old cutting edge technology and years later once the industry has advanced so far the materials and such are easy to come by and using it as a teaching tool / demo awesome stuff

@MrKarlGP 2 жыл бұрын

I once almost drunkenly won an eBay bid on an actual wax cylinder recorder/player... 300 squid! Built like a tank, but also intricate and requiring much maintenance... A beautiful piece of kit... machined gears, brass recording horn,wonderfully finished hard wood etc and a selection of blank cylinders thrown in (which by 1913 were oddly made of a curious resin "soap" hybrid)

@ekcoscott 7 жыл бұрын

I have an Edison model A home Phonograph and can highly recommend one especially if you wish to record your own cylinders. Additionally I would recommend you look out for one fitted with the 2/4 minute adapter so you can play the later 4 minute celluloid blue Amberol records. Original Edison Phonographs preform very well when set up right and actually out preform 78rpm records :) especially Amberol records as they are more hard wearing. If however you find some good condition wax cylinders they tend to be very clear also. I really most try one of the gaken sets seems fun! Best Regards

@SkeleCrafteronYT 7 жыл бұрын

You have to be the best youtuber. I'm more excited for your new videos to come out than any others. Thanks for awesome videos. Cheers

@a.j8307 6 жыл бұрын

He's definitely the best British KZfaqr that reviews old pieces of audio equipment.

@elliottsimon1957 6 жыл бұрын

This review is the best Gakken review I've seen. More please

@yce1234 7 жыл бұрын

What good timing for this video! I visited the Thomas Edison Nation Historic Park just a few days ago (in New Jersey). They played one of these cylinders as well as a "diamond disc" - both of which were close to 100 years old. I was amazed at how loud the player was (powered by a hand-cranked spring) and how good they sounded- even with being that old.

@cynic5581 7 жыл бұрын

The playback sounded like the only clue for a detective in a murder suspense thriller.

@xaenon 7 жыл бұрын

I was really hoping it would work better than that. But, I imagine Edison had a bit of trial and error making his contraption work, too.

@MaxStax1 7 жыл бұрын

Looking forward to more of these kit videos in the future,fun to watch.

@F-Man 7 жыл бұрын

I love all of your videos, but this one is truly one of your best. It's a look at a new take of one of the oldest forms of audio recording technology - I was utterly transfixed the entire time!

@GauravA42 7 жыл бұрын

Great video! I had an idea regarding translation. Next time you have a foreign manual, you could try the image recognition function of Google translate (available on smartphones etc). Its obviously not perfect, but can be pretty impressive and might give you enough information to figure out orders/or basic instructions for the manual, and it replaces the text in place, ie where it is on the page already, which should help.

@evanmoonunit 7 жыл бұрын

GauravA42 I'm surprised he didn't I'm sure he's used it in other videos?

@Techmoan 7 жыл бұрын

I did use it....I also took a break and had my lunch in the middle, spoke to my dad on the phone and the postman delivered a parcel. There's always *a lot* that happens off screen.

@misaalanshori 7 жыл бұрын

Techmoan did it work?

@evanmoonunit 7 жыл бұрын

Techmoan I think people are saying because you didn't mention it as you hade in previous videos. Yo mean you have a life outside of what we seen on screen!?!! Gordon Bennett!! Lol Love the channel

@ridonculous8374 7 жыл бұрын

He did it already on another video

@b.hagedash7973 7 жыл бұрын

His Master's Garbled Mumble

@Metal-Possum 7 жыл бұрын

I've got a 1920's HVM gramophone, always a hoot to spin up a 78, especially since it's all mechanical/acoustic. The sound quality is often better and louder than you'd think, and everyone smiles when they hear it.

@MikeBaxterABC 7 жыл бұрын

I think it shows the proof of concept very clearly ... great video!

@Cylume. 7 жыл бұрын

Geez Techmoan. How far back are you going to go? Morse Code recorders? :p

@NikolaosLedZeppelin 7 жыл бұрын

8:46 you can hear the message from Alien movie

@davidtuomi8361 7 жыл бұрын

There was a book about the history of recording that came out a number of years ago called Perfecting Sound Forever by Greg Milner. In that book he actually interviewed a fellow who still records onto cylinders professionally. In fact he actually recorded a live act at one of the Grammy awards which apparently came out very well. In the book he describes the process and apparently the wax has to be at the correct temperature for it to be able to take an impression correctly. They heat the wax to soften it. They then record Afterwards the wax is allowed to cool before playback. The book doesn't mention the correct temperatures for playback and recording, however you might be able to figure it out with a little trial and error.

@snerls 7 жыл бұрын

Gakken kits is totally something you could make a series of, i'd love to watch that!

@dennissmithjr.5370 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing, half expecting you to perform "Mary had a little lamb".

@cooliofoolio 7 жыл бұрын

Dennis Smith Jr. Mary had a little lamb, performed by the KZfaq audio library

@nicomonkeyboy 7 жыл бұрын

That's seem like a gadget that the green fella could justifiably complain about...

@kirbyyasha 7 жыл бұрын

Ahhh I would have loved to hear his commentary on this!

@JeanRodo 7 жыл бұрын

M would probably praise it

@Stormy2142 7 жыл бұрын

He would swear candles sound better than CDs and digital files.

@drasco61084 7 жыл бұрын

Edmo Suassuna They sound a lot warmer

@mikaelevans6994 6 жыл бұрын

d610 Budum Shiiiiiisst

@StaticReplication 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the content Techmoan, your video are always top notch and entertaining.

@WiggysanWiggysan 7 жыл бұрын

That magazine looked great. So much information.

@Sleepdroidstudios 7 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry to do this to you, but now that I've finished watching all your videos and I'm going to need you to pick up the pace a little. I'm afraid you will need to start making them daily now. Again, I'm sorry about that, but I just found the other one's too enjoyable and I finished them all. Thanks, and good luck.

@peczenyj 7 жыл бұрын

8:48 is a DALEK VOICE! EXTERMINATE!

@fasstang87 7 жыл бұрын

pretty awesome video. Keep up the great work, looking forward to the next kit.

@D4RKFiB3R 7 жыл бұрын

Nicely done on the new outro. Massive improvment.

@Dzonemp 7 жыл бұрын

11:30 It sounds like its time to rebuild him, make him stronger than before....... :)

@joinedupjon 7 жыл бұрын

Better... Stronger... Faster Thought I better scroll down a couple of pages to check if anyone else noticed. funny how you can remember a little blip of audio like that after so much time innit?

@Dzonemp 7 жыл бұрын

I used to record the episodes on cassette tape. So I know the audio sound effects like the back of a fembot's hand. :)

@shibolinemress8913 4 жыл бұрын

We have the technology.

@id104335409 7 жыл бұрын

Does it have USB typeC?

@cooliofoolio 7 жыл бұрын

id104335409 Nothing does.

@joeymoldano6246 7 жыл бұрын

Nope, it is obviousely completely wireless.

@JacobKelly02 7 жыл бұрын

My phone does

@cooliofoolio 7 жыл бұрын

Jacob Kelly Same, which can be very frustrating at times.

@JacobKelly02 7 жыл бұрын

UNKNOWNGAM3r Ikr I literally have one cable to charge

@1978SOOTY 7 жыл бұрын

That was still cool and proves the concept. I would have had fun experimenting with different types of wax as well. Great vid.

@frankwest6984 7 жыл бұрын

This is really cool! Another great video, Techmoan!

@darkwinter6028 7 жыл бұрын

Now for extra credit, retrofit a headphone diaphragm to the record head, and transcribe a FLAC file. 😎

@CreatiVastARTS 7 жыл бұрын

7:44 HELLO THERE!! lol

@deepdownstudios 7 жыл бұрын

That made me laugh so much!

@TailsFurse 7 жыл бұрын

That ending was amazing Techmoan. It's like... Here is the past, it looks amazing, and here is all the people who make it possible.

@anegg8285 7 жыл бұрын

I love these kinds of models.

@HoosierCallin 7 жыл бұрын

I have a portable wax cylinder phonograph. Its called a wax man

@EliTheMonKEE101 7 жыл бұрын

Never clicked so fast. Gotta go fast.

@SianaGearz 7 жыл бұрын

Saaaaanic!

@ITSTIMETOSTOP 7 жыл бұрын

Elie Tutone gotta go fest

@20EsOfficial 7 жыл бұрын

Wow, I haven't watched your videos in a while but damn they have gotten even better. I mean, they were always good, but they are way better now. keep up the good work, Techmoan!

@markaz2kk 7 жыл бұрын

great outro ending. always great to watch your shows 😊

@tod4y 7 жыл бұрын

Does this work under water?

@sexycavetroll2788 7 жыл бұрын

what? clearly ya didnt watch the video yet

@tod4y 7 жыл бұрын

You clearly came to kill John Connor.

@afrog2666 7 жыл бұрын

Of course it works under water, just drive your thorium powered car on the plastic solar roadway to the ocean and dive on in ;)

@AAAZ2A 7 жыл бұрын

No it won't. The batteries will short out, and the spindle won't move. But suppose you're making a recording by turning the spindle by hand, then it will work! But you'll run in to some major problems, for example the needle-pressure will be significantly lowered so you need to compensate for that. Also the membrane will obviously be submerged which makes it very difficult for it to move... but if you were to yell at it you could probably get something on there, like an anomaly.. it'll probably sound very alien. But it's a very interesting question, we need answers!

@phillipsofthedriver 7 жыл бұрын

@AAAZ2A - yes it would "work" for a time underwater. Simple low voltage electric motors and their batteries can be submerged in fresh water and still function for a time. May not work at all the next day, but it will work immediately upon submersion. I had a toy battery electric tank when I was a kid, I was tired of it, and wanted to see if it would work underwater. And it did in the apartment complex's pool, until the batteries ran out, about the same amount of time they'd take if it were dry. Motor didn't work very well the next day, even though I had dried it out fairly well, so I took it apart to scavenge parts, and it wasn't too bad, the water had washed out some of the grease lubrication, but other than that it was fine. Salt water on the other hand, nope, not long at all, salt water is far more conductive so the batteries died pretty quickly. And all the steel parts will rust quickly.

@jcraig6431 7 жыл бұрын

Gotta groan at that pun in the title (not your fault).

@pizzamangargatuloth4804 7 жыл бұрын

This is really awesome. I want to try one of these kits!

@ishcabittle 7 жыл бұрын

I thoroughly enjoy the lengths we go together to try out a wonderfully silly piece of tech. Well done!

@Zephieish 7 жыл бұрын

What a pile of wax.

@Faigh_as 7 жыл бұрын

build a pinhole camera

@dubsy1026 6 жыл бұрын

James _h you literally put a small hole in a price of paper. Boring, and this channel is not about assembling ridiculous kits, it's about retro audio equipment

@FragmaKepi 7 жыл бұрын

Some of these are pretty fun projects for kids. I picked up the pinhole planetarium issue for my 8 year old niece and she loved it. That one was really easy to do and I only had to physically help her through a couple steps.

@timwebb21 7 жыл бұрын

I am staggered and amazed with what you come up with ........ fascinating and a real shame it does not give better quality playback, but what can you expect from a candle!

@IAMENS1 7 жыл бұрын

Loved this kit and video! Would be really interested in seeing you put together and review more!

@TheFrancisLalanne 7 жыл бұрын

This brings me joy

@CJT80 7 жыл бұрын

Another great TechMoan video, and i am still loving the new outro!

@peterrafeiner9461 7 жыл бұрын

This has got to be the only channel where a review can end in total disaster and still has an overall positive and entertaining tone to it. One thing seems to be clear, there are folks who belong in the 'cup half full' section of an optimist's version of heaven, and then there is Techmoan. As long as there is some humidity on the walls of his cup he is happy! My only complaint... no candle related commentary from the muppets :-)

@Evan420 7 жыл бұрын

I love edison phonographs! Good review

@Atka59 7 жыл бұрын

"Mr. Techmoan, I need you" You find the coolest things my friend.

@Spaghettiboy359 7 жыл бұрын

Wow super neat more gakken vids pls

@marcovoltage 7 жыл бұрын

That was fun to watch. Thanks. 👍

@alexandersedov125 6 жыл бұрын

love your work, great stuff, the level of detail you go into, technical, historical, anecdotal, is very interesting and very much appreciated... you have a very good calm and informative style of delivery, I was sure.you are an engineer but you say you are not...? also.your selection of rare historical kit for review on occasion is extremely interesting, for its.own sake,. and also from the point of view of 20th century mass market.applied technology progress... in.short very much enjoy watching your work, well done, please keep it up...!

@ve2vfd 7 жыл бұрын

I'll second the recommendation for Gakken kits. I ordered the Gakken-Flex twin lens reflex 35mm camera kit a few years ago. It was a ton of fun to assemble, and though photography with it was quite rough, it was an interesting experience.

@Runicen 7 жыл бұрын

Good effort on this one. Honestly, I was almost more intrigued by Gakken's kits than I was this specific one, but it's neat to see what they were able to accomplish with a budget kit. And we all know that, somewhere out there, someone is using wax stick recordings to add ambiance to an indie horror film!

@MrGeocidal 7 жыл бұрын

I had the Gakken Ex150 Electronic Block kit when I was a kid. When I saw a picture of it in this video, I felt so excited that I I placed a bid on one on ebay. Hope I win.

@Funboxr 7 жыл бұрын

that was a amazing device!

@jacknicholson1288 7 жыл бұрын

Amazing, as per usual.

@matthewedwards2046 7 жыл бұрын

great channel love your videos

@Sky1 7 жыл бұрын

very interesting I used to build electronic kits all the time and had so much fun

@StormyX73 7 жыл бұрын

The Gakken Strandbeest kits are very cool.

@2112starman54 6 жыл бұрын

Man, Japan comes up with crazy stuff.

@cliffordsmith9628 7 жыл бұрын

Good video keep up the good work.

@widgity 7 жыл бұрын

Recently got a GAKKEN nsx-39 evocaloid stylophone. great fun to play with! planning to use it (either rip the chip out of it or via USB) as a vocal synthesiser for one of my projects.

@cri24x36 7 жыл бұрын

Ah ah ah !!! exactly what i expected from a audio recording on a candle!!! Sounds like the movie "mission to mars"

@MikeNHOC 7 жыл бұрын

That was pretty cool.. Thank you for sharing!

@trevorstewart3904 7 жыл бұрын

I discovered these sorts of kits on my first trip to Japan. Great little gifts for for friends and family upon returning home. BTW: if you ever get another kit and get stuck with the Japanese instructions, I'd be willing to help translate ... Far from fluent, but normally can stumble through it.

@ReallyRareRecords 7 жыл бұрын

You might try heating the candle before/during recording to make it softer, by using a heat lamp or something above the machine. Cylinder recordists typically do that, and it helps. Mapleson, who famously recorded some fragments of Metropolitan Opera performances in the early 1900s (the earliest such "live" recordings) would heat the wax cylinders in an oven at a low temperature before recording.

@gsacni 7 жыл бұрын

Gotta admire your perseverance with these gimmicks :-)

@TylerMiller87 7 жыл бұрын

I would subscribe to an English Gakken catalogue in an instant. Somebody needs to get on that.

@oldvideopro 7 жыл бұрын

Well worth 8 minutes of my time, Matt! :-)

@wilhelmsenholderlin8025 7 жыл бұрын

Techmoan is updating! Best day in this week.

@andrewuribe3300 6 жыл бұрын

I actually have one of these. Very fun to listen to, and watch how it works.

@MikeZdoesitz 7 жыл бұрын

Really good video, enjoyed it immensely, and don't listen to people complaining !

@aljr357 7 жыл бұрын

These are so neat. I had a couple of them that I got at yardsales in the late 1980s and early 90s. Sadly we had a house fire and I lost them and even worse my video games collection which would cost me over 100 000 to replace today. I have been trying to get my video games collection back for the last few years and I'm on 1/10th the way back to having all my consoles back and 1/100th the way back to getting my games back. I have 32 consoles now including handhelds and about 350 games but I'm having a hard time affording the more rare consoles and games. The old computers which I include in my collection is the really hard thing to find working.