Interesting! I would have loved some sound in the background like what the machines cutting and knobs turning sounded like. A audio explanation would have made this a perfect video! Very cool to see the process!
I have one of this cutting machines but is damaged. I recovered this before the demolition of Columbia's pressing plant in Athens Greece. This was the smallest from the other cutting machines.
Im a technician in Australia that has been searching for any vinyl pressing gear. There is no used equipment in Australia . There's two phonographic Vinyl pressing companys that are are busy enough to be slow and expensive. Ill take any equipment parts or faulty units. 78rpm is useless though. 45 /33 is what Ill be requiring . . Hack a 78 laith to slow down to 45 if possible .
I have this same record machine !! My uncle is giving it to me in 3 weeks time!! its been in his loft for over 40 years!! i was gonna use just to play some 78rpm records on, how much are they worth?? im in UK btw i love the video thank you for sharing!!
Most 78's aren't worth much. I'm in Australia they practically get thrown at you if you want any. Too many of them, Thier in mono, and alot of people don't like the actual song on them. It's about the pop and hip-hop now. Other countries made 78's till about the late 70's & very early 80's so you could one of them for some newer music you just have to import them. But there's quite a wide range of albums and stuff.
These disc are a lot softer than a standard pressed LP, but on modern equipment, can be played over and over without any serious damage. I have several of these. Some are very old. The only draw back is they are mono, not stereo. (I have a couple cut records in stereo but they are very rare. My old cutter is also mono. Presto N8
I have 2 acetates a recording session from my uncle's band , The Ranch Hands 1959. They were taken from the mono masters originally on 4 track 1/2" tape.
My dad and I are currently repairing a 78 record cutter he made out of washing machine parts, an amplifier and some other turned ones a very long time ago. I'm still amazed at how similar his machine is to this one, since he didn't have access to the internet back then. The machine is all mounted on a thick steel plate, and uses two big pulleys to reduce the washing machine motor's speed to a surprisingly exact 78 rpm, and then drives the turntable using a belt. For the recording arm he connected it using a pretty similar system to this machine, driving it directly from a spiral gear that's under the turntable. And for the cutter itself he removed the cone from a speaker and then attached the needle to the dust cap. The machine had some nice features such as a small hose attached to an air compresor which blew all the swarf off the record, and and also a regular tone arm opposite to the recording one which was used to monitor the recording. It all worked ok and he managed to cut many records, but then forgot about it. It's biggest problem was that you could hear a high pitched scratching noise coming from the recording, mostly because of the needle he used and the fact the recording arm moved like a regular tone arm, which changed the needle's angle and position during recording. We are now working on replacing this bad design for one where the arm slides on a axis (just like the video), and also making a better needle, since the one he used was crap.
i d0nt kn0w this w0rld i just kn0w ab0ut daw. 4 track cassette and digit Portable studio this cool t0 watch what i under stand back in the day bef0re they had h0me cassette they use t0 rec0rd 0n tape then cut t0 rec0rd much respect h0w it all started.
I had a lacquer disk recording machine similar to this (less pricey though, a Speak-O-phone) as a kid. You can hear some of the recordings done on it on Stinchcomb-Schlueter, 1940's and "50's on U-tube. Most of the lacquer disks have held up, some have separated from the aluminium base. If you used a relative light pick-up or tone arm these instantaneous recordings could be played 100's of times without noticeable sound depreciation.
There was also the Wilcox-Gay "Recordio" which was a console radio with a built-in record cutting machine similar to the machines which were once common in malls in the 1940s. I almost brought one home once.
I briefly had a Dictaphone device that recorded on blue plastic wide bands of some sort. As a 12 year old, I had little practical use for it, I'm afraid.
I used to buy and sell tubes and vintage electronics at hamfests and on ebay. I've resold several RekOKut and WilcoxGay record cutters, including a Rek-O-Kut with aluminum blanks, and a Presto record cutter so old it used #45 triode tubes!
My Mom and Dad had a record made of my Brother's early attempts to talk. It must have been a similar machine as the record had 2 holes in it like this one. I helped moved a Rec-O-Kut commercial machine that was many times larger than this, and it took 4 of us to pick it up and put it on a cart.
Eu tinha visto um artigo na revista Mecânica Popular do final da década de 1950 ou 60. Era uma família de músicos nos USA e havia um gravador de discos! Rio RJ Brasil
This is pretty neat. I'm a bit surprised this machine wasn't designed to remove the swarf automatically. One would think a simple spinning brush on the opposite side from the cutter would do nicely.
Yes. The trademark is managed by Apollo which I think is a general electric company. Blank discs are still in some demand and probably will be as long as there are records being made...
Nice machine. I've got exactly the same unit here. Mine is missing the fuse and fuse holder on the front. Could you please tell me which fuse the Rek-o-Kut is using? And maybe what kind of holder supports the fuse? Many thanks. Dave
@RobertC19850209 Most certainly. To get the lathe cut onto a vinyl - use a 'master' blank instead of a 'dub' blank. A mater blank is of a finer and higher quality and is used to create a 'master' which is then processed to create copies in vinyl or other medium. Dubs are used for low play repeats - often DJ 's will cut tracks or have tracks cut onto dubs - but over time they degrade... Masters are meant not to be played at all. They used to cut a record and then used to press multiple copies...
Does this lathe cut vertically or laterally? The old-timers used to do the cut from the inside out so that they wouldn't have to deal with the cuttings while recording... Will this machine allow you to cut like that? Finally, where on earth do you get blank 10 inch acetates for a machine like this these days? Great video. :) JC
It is amazing to see this vintage record cutter in action, and I have some old info. on some of these recorders from the 1940's and 50's, thanks for sharing this demo!!...Friends, Lloyd.
@TrademarkedBandOrder from the website at: apollomasters . com / products . html (RU-vid doesn't accept urls in messages - so I've had to put spaces in it. Remove spaces to visit site)...
Try ebay. I got my machine there. when it arrived, I had to do a bit of reconditioning - but it was worth it. Search ebay for "record lathe" or "record lathe cutter"
Awesome video. What a fascinating machine. I recently discovered Recordisc blank discs, and I am wondering what machines were used to actually record them.
Where can you buy a modern lathe for vinyl? I just purchased a vintage four speed; all my life up to this point, I have always wanted to make my own vinyl records.
My thoughts exactly! With the compact disc or MP3 audio file as an excellent audio source, and a stereo cutting head, you could make your own 45rpm single of a song you always wanted to have on the format. And with MS Publisher you could design your own labels. One VERY IMPORTANT POINT! Don't sell the finished product! The music will be protected by copyrights so keep the disc for your own use!
Anyone notice at Walmart 78 rpm. Records being sold? Vinyl is back and for good reason. Humans operate on analog. With the correct equipment vinyl delivers unsurpassed audio quality. Personally , I would rather listen to a analog record any day than a CD. Analog is a natural way to hear music.
Hi, The discs are blank when bought. They produce blank discs. The recorder cuts into the blank disc and then they are playable on a normal turntable (at the correct speed - 33, 45 or 78 - if your turntable can handle 78).
I have had a similar machine in the attic for years, it was my grandad's along with a box of blanks of differing sizes, I'm guessing pre-war. what are these things worth? good to see an interest in them and blanks still available, I'm in the UK although my grandad lived, worked and died in the US.
Back in late 60s when I was a teen a friend was always finding odd machinery and old electronics. One time he had this strange device, don't know where he got it, but after studying it the best I could figure it was a form of record cutting machine.
Fred. I have a portable Rek-0-Kut machine similar to the one you demonstrated. It's a Model TR43H with an Audax cutter, Model RH5. I haven't cut a record with it in over 30 years, because I broke the cutting stylus--although, it still plays back. It's been in our basement for the last 22 years. We're downsizing and can't take it to our new home. Do you think there might be any serious interest in it? I hate to think I'd have to junk it.
With the record lathe I built, I noticed that if you record (emboss/cut) at half play speed while playing back what you want recorded at half speed, when you play the resulting record back at full speed the high's (treble) has a lot better response. This is due to the fact the "embossing/ cutting" needle can reproduce the lower frequencies better as it does not have to move back and forth so fast. Just a thought.
You are right, it is half speed mastering. lets say the recording head is limited to 10,000cps, most of these non cooled, non feed back heads, don't go much above that, most are only capable of 7,000 or 8,000cps in reality. So you record the 33 1/3 record at 16 and some change rpm, and play that back at full speed, of course the half speed, if it has frequencies of 10,000 cps, then it records up to 20,000cps during playback, most of these cutters have a range of 75-,8,000cps, so half speed mastering, and play it back at full speed it is then capable of recording 16,000cps, still certainly high fidelity. So for 78 you would want a variable speed and master at 39 rpm to make a 78rpm with a 14,000-20,000 cps high frequency response.
I have NEVER found one of these machines on ebay that ever worked..everything is dryed up...The sellers all play dumb, you have to fight to get your money back. Save your money and the aggravation.
That's Wilcox-Gay. Record cutting machines were also made by Presto. Wilcox-Gay, and Webster Electric (later called Webcor) were also the two best known names in wire recorders, which literally recorded ---- somewhat poorly ---- on a spool of stainless steel wire, and they later built portable reel to reel recorders. Germany originally developed the superior magnetic-film recorders, and after WWII, an army radio operator brought some home with him to analyze and try to clone and improve upon. With seed money from Bing Crosby, the Ampex tape recorder company was formed.
Amazing! Who knew those blank discs were still available? I would imagine that the blank discs are vinyl for a superior sound quality. I guess that this was the format of choice at least until the mid '50's.
Definately. Most recordings were cut live to discs before 1950's. Tape was introduced by the German's as early as the 1930's (or wire recording) as far back as the 1920's but they weren't widely used as much as direct to disc recording...
@@dead_formats some of the Rek-O-Kut machines used aluminum blanks. I've bought and resold a few of their machines, one of which came with a bunch of blanks, but they had tangential, not linear-tracking, cutting arms.
There's an excellent 4-part PBS series called American Epic about the record producers and amateur "songcatchers" who fanned out across the country with portable recording equipment in the 1920's and 30's to capture and preserve various styles of music, from country and bluegrass to folk traditionals to blues, Cajun and Hawaiian music. The final episode features a lovingly restored Western Electric recording system with a rack of tubes and a beautiful record cutter in gleaming gold and brass that used an 80 pound, slowly falling lead weight to drive the platter at an accurate controlled speed. Famous musicians such as Willie Nelson,, Merle Haggard,, Elton John,, Jack White and Beck show up to record direct to disc though a single shared microphone. An excellent series that dovetails with but also elaborates on musical styles not heavily covered by Ken Burns' documentary on Countru music. One episode tells the story of the rediscovery of Mississippi John Hurt, another delves into Cajun and Hawaiian music. We watched (streamed) it on the Prime channel. Highly recommended!!
@krimskrams No. The knowledge for making and pressing 78rpm records in shellac is not lost - but the process isn't cost effective anymore - so most 78rpm pressings that are still made are pressed on vinyl. For example, historic Masters (historicmasters (dot) org) use original metal masters of 78rpm records and press them in vinyl. (BTW, vinyl is too soft for use on gramophone or phonograph machines). MORE INFO AT: 78rpmcommunity (dot) com
@krimskrams No. The knowledge for making and pressing 78rpm records in shellac is not lost - but the process isn't cost effective anymore - so most 78rpm pressings that are still made are pressed on vinyl. For example, historic Masters (historicmasters (dot) org) use original metal masters of 78rpm records and press them in vinyl. (BTW, vinyl is too soft for use on gramophone or phonograph machines). MORE INFO AT: (dot) 78rpmcommunity (dot) com
Depending on the brand - they are worth a couple of hundred dollars only. Most need reconditioning and people who buy them need to spend additional $ on fixing them.
@krimskrams No. These fragile discs can only be played on a modern turntable equipped to play speeds 78rpm, 45rpm or 33rpm. More info at: 78rpmcommunity . com
Increíble APARATO DE HIFI VINTAGE,Una Joya,Muy bien Cuidado y preservado,Gran Calidad de AUDIO,Hermosa Sinfonía, primera vez que escucho un acetato de 78 RPM con esa Calidad,Felicidades.Saludos Desde ZACATECAS Cápital MEXICO
Hi A.C., I got mine off eBay. It's the only place that deals with older machines like this. They are not advertised all the time - so set up a an eBay email alert. Hope this helps...
