In 1925, the engineers at the Western Electric Company invented the "ring and spring" electric microphone, ushering in the electrical age of recording by replacing the low-fidelity acoustic systems that had been in use during the early days of sound recording. This new technology would revolutionize both the recording and radio broadcast industries.
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| Ear Trumpet "Myrtle" Microphone |
Fast
forward 75 years, our family band, The Homegrown String Band™,
recorded our first CD in a modern digital recording studio. Then in
2012, my wife and I took a step back in time when we were invited by the
National Parks Department to participate in a recording session that
would take place at The Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West
Orange, New Jersey.
The antique Edison recording system we would be using consisted of a horn with a diaphragm on the narrow end, a needle, and a rotating wax cylinder. The sound waves coming into the horn make the diaphragm vibrate, which in turn causes the needle to etch a pattern onto the spinning wax disc. The playback system works the same way in reverse. The rotating cylinder causes the needle to vibrate the diaphragm, which reverts the vibrations to audible sound waves. Most of the early recordings using systems like this were made by brass bands, blues shouters, opera singers, and other acts that had enough volume to get that needle vibrating strongly enough to make a good impression in the wax-coated cylinder.
The first band to record at our session was a brass band that played Sousa marches and the like. They positioned themselves about ten feet away from the sound-capturing horn and easily made several successful recordings. When it was our turn to record, we chose two songs originally recorded by early commercial country artists: "The Nine Pound Hammer,” originally recorded in 1927 by Al Hopkins and the Hillbillies; and "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat," recorded by Grand Ole Opry stars Dr. Humphrey Bate and His Possum Hunters. We soon discovered that the only way to make our stringed instruments create enough air movement to get that needle to vibrate sufficiently was to stand about a foot away from the horn. I actually had to stick my head into the horn when I sang.
In 2019, we purchased “Myrtle” from Ear Trumpet Labs in Portland, Oregon. The Myrtle is a large diaphragm condenser microphone modeled after the Western Electric spring and ring microphones of the late 1920s. Since then, we have used Myrtle for live shows, Zoom shows, and our live mono field recordings. The old-school single mic set-up gives us the look, feel, and sound of the music recorded during the golden age of country music between 1925 and 1931.
The antique Edison recording system we would be using consisted of a horn with a diaphragm on the narrow end, a needle, and a rotating wax cylinder. The sound waves coming into the horn make the diaphragm vibrate, which in turn causes the needle to etch a pattern onto the spinning wax disc. The playback system works the same way in reverse. The rotating cylinder causes the needle to vibrate the diaphragm, which reverts the vibrations to audible sound waves. Most of the early recordings using systems like this were made by brass bands, blues shouters, opera singers, and other acts that had enough volume to get that needle vibrating strongly enough to make a good impression in the wax-coated cylinder.
The first band to record at our session was a brass band that played Sousa marches and the like. They positioned themselves about ten feet away from the sound-capturing horn and easily made several successful recordings. When it was our turn to record, we chose two songs originally recorded by early commercial country artists: "The Nine Pound Hammer,” originally recorded in 1927 by Al Hopkins and the Hillbillies; and "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat," recorded by Grand Ole Opry stars Dr. Humphrey Bate and His Possum Hunters. We soon discovered that the only way to make our stringed instruments create enough air movement to get that needle to vibrate sufficiently was to stand about a foot away from the horn. I actually had to stick my head into the horn when I sang.
In 2019, we purchased “Myrtle” from Ear Trumpet Labs in Portland, Oregon. The Myrtle is a large diaphragm condenser microphone modeled after the Western Electric spring and ring microphones of the late 1920s. Since then, we have used Myrtle for live shows, Zoom shows, and our live mono field recordings. The old-school single mic set-up gives us the look, feel, and sound of the music recorded during the golden age of country music between 1925 and 1931.
wax cylinder
a brass band
etched in time
a brass band
etched in time
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