The National Phonograph Company offered a
wide range two-minute selections, with emphasis on
traditional songs and humorous recordings. Edison and Aylsworth had experimented with
. longer playing
record had more grooves cut into per inch than the standard
100, and this necessitated changes the wax the cylinder
(to make harder), and the design and weight the
reproducer (to avoid skipping from the smaller grooves). The problem here was the reproducer
sapphire point skipping out the groove. This brought concerted effort the
lab and the rapid introduction the Amberol 4-minute cylinder
in 1908. The closer grooves
also cut down the frequency response because the needle could't
fully capture the wide undulations the bass notes.
The introduction 4-minute cylinder the
competition 1907 not only threatened cut into Edison's
cylinder business but also promote the sales machines
capable playing it. This was premature debut the new technology
because the new cylinder was still made the old wax compound
and remained fragile and easily damaged. Repeated playback
erased the high notes that were often the appeal the
recording.VIII-31
records— both cylinder and disc formats— and the West Orange
laboratory had follow suit. The
laboratory staff had been experimented freely this area
since the 1890s, even going 400 threads per inch in
experimental conditions. 1900 Edison's phonograph
business was based the soft wax cylinder that could play for
about two minutes
