[78-L] The cylinder is coming back

[buster]

April Fools!

On Apr 11, 2011, at 2:28 PM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca> wrote:

> http://www.catherinenorth.com/
> 
> Real vintage analog rules at Catherine North
> 
> by kathleen on April 1, 2011 · 5 comments
> 4retweet
> 
> Artists who are seeking the ‘ultimate vintage analog recording experience’ will 
> now be able to take advantage of Catherine North Studios’ exclusive new 
> direct-to-wax cylinder recording service.
> 
> “We’re really excited to be bringing back a recording technology that hasn’t 
> been used in almost a century,” says studio co-owner Duke Foster. His business 
> partner, Michael Chambers, agrees. “Analog tape is great, but the ability to do 
> multiple takes has really been abused in recent years,” says Michael. 
> “Recording directly to wax cylinder is a more honest, artist-oriented approach.”
> 
> Sound purists will appreciate the complete absence of all electronics in the 
> signal path. “At first, I was a bit concerned when Michael and Duke told me we 
> were getting rid of all electronics at the studio,” explains Catherine North’s 
> house tech Tristan Miller. “But when I realized the fidelity of sound 
> transmission through mechanical coupling, I was completely blown away.”
> 
> 
> The process offers many advantages from a production standpoint. “What’s really 
> great about wax cylinder is the speed and simplicity of the process,” explains 
> producer and artist Marcone. “You just basically position your musicians around 
> the recording horn, get them to play the song as loudly as they can, and you’re 
> done. My upcoming EP, Wax Cylinders From The Flood, took only 17 minutes to 
> record.”
> 
> Jordan Mitchell, one of Catherine North’s in-house engineers and member of 
> indie band The Rest, is also a fan of the wax cylinder approach. “After doing 
> an A/B comparison between wax cylinder and digital recording, I was completely 
> sold,” explains Jordan. “Our band is super excited about the sonic possibilities.”
> 
> 
> Though wax cylinder playback machines aren’t currently available on the market, 
> Tristan expects this to change soon. “Since there’s nothing left to repair at 
> the studio, I’ve been able to devote more time to designing my TM-1200 Wax 
> Cylinder USB Phonograph,” adds Tristan. “This device will provide an easy way 
> for music lovers to transfer their wax cylinder collection to MP3 format. We’re 
> hoping to start shipping units to retail by June 2011.”
> 
> "Finding NOS Edison cylinder blanks has been a challenge," explains Michael 
> Chambers of Catherine North Studios.
> 
> Michael Chambers admits that the transition to wax cylinder hasn’t been easy. 
> “Finding enough blank recording media to meet the growing demand from our 
> clients has been a real challenge,” explains Michael. “NOS Edison cylinder 
> blanks are really hard to find. But it’s worth the hassle, given the quality of 
> the final product. You just can’t match those pure wax tones.”
> 
> In-house engineers Dan Hosh and Patrick Sirrs agree. “I can’t wait to get into 
> the studio to record to wax cylinder,” explains Hosh, whose own band 1951 
> expects to release some exclusive wax cylinder recordings soon. “The artists we 
> work with are just chomping at the bit to ‘cut some wax,’” adds Patrick.
> 
> Even Catherine North’s student intern, Sean Thompson, is excited about the 
> shift to wax cylinder. “One of the first things I had to do here was test every 
> single cable in the studio. Man, what a hassle… wax cylinder is really going to 
> simplify things around here.”
> 
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