Info on record production at Audiophile Records circa 1964

[Kris D]

Some really good info here!!

http://www.franastat.com/ap/apjoke1.htm

Enjoy.

Kris

[Techie]

That is amazing and you have no idea how much I needed that info right at this moment. Thanks!

[fraggle]

what is a skullduggery record lathe?

[Kris D]

The skullduggery lathe was manufactered by Overcut International at their factory in Wownflutter Ohio. They work best with Zippo 30/30/30 three channel cutterheads.

Kris

[piaptk]

I really wish pressing plants would still use Egyptian Beetle Oil in their compounds.

[fraggle]

Egyptian Beetle Oil lol

[mossboss]

Pressing plants do not blend any material at all in the USA or in most of the rest of the world
Wishing beetle oil Hashish oil or any other magic ingredients will only be a case of just dreaming about it
There are two exceptions to the above "no longer blend" statement
One plant in Germany does do its own blending for sure as I have seen photos of the facility as well as had some capacities etc
May be a hangover from days past as I don't think there is any economy of scale there
I also believe that GZ still does its own blending
George can confirm if GZ does do its own blending still
All other plants now days use material ready to use already blended it has either led or tin as an additive including some plasticising agents
These recipes stem from long gone plants when production of PVC record compound was in the multi 100 million tonne rather than quantity required to day
As a rule of thumb it takes a tonne to produce 6000 records assuming that there is 45 M records produced today as a best guesstimate its not that much by comparison
Besides no one is developing any "new" compounds as it is a case of:
Take it or Leave it
Cheers

[Steve E.]

What do people know of ED Nunn (or Ewing Nunn)? That pamphlet is connected to a website about him. I was temporarily convinced he was a mythical figure, a hoax. There have been a couple of "hoaxy" things on this here site, in public and private messages, attributed to various Ewings, (first or last name), but I think this one might be for real. Either that, or it is a joke that the Cullum jazz family has been playing for a crazily long time.

Ewing D. "ED" Nunn, of Saukville, Wisconsin, USA, 1900-1977, inventor, Dixieland jazz enthusiast, and engineer/proprietor of "Audiophile Records" founded in 1947. He allegedly put out a microgroove 78 in or around 1947. Which seems too early for such a thing. Weren't microgroove records first on the market in 1948?

[opcode66]

I don't mean to state the obvious but the "pamphlet" is a joke. On the main page of the site http://www.franastat.com/ap/ap_home.html it is clearly labeled as Audiophile Joke. I wouldn't want someone to think this was a real resource.

The guy Robert Gilchrist Huenemann claims to be a grandson of Ed Nunn.

[fraggle]

[Steve E.]

I wasn't asking about the pamphlet .... I was asking about "Ewing D. Nunn," who made the pamphlet. I think it's a real 1964 pamphlet.

I thought Nunn was a fake, as was Audiophile records. Now I'm pretty sure they were a real, if tiny, Dixieland label. But I'm still not sure Nunn himself was for real.

Here's a 1967 article about them:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19670604&id=wCdhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T3QNAAAAIBAJ&pg=783,675982


And a 1972 Billboard article: http://books.google.com/books?id=eCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA18&lpg=RA1-PA18&dq=billboard+jim+cullum+nunn+happy+jazz&source=bl&ots=xSdVLY-xbP&sig=hJiOMo1KsStHSENyB8ltY0Uf5wQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SBxLT_HAN4XB0AHMhrSNDg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=billboard%20jim%20cullum%20nunn%20happy%20jazz&f=false

One 1967 New Yorker advertisement calls him the "Pablo Casals of High Fidelity."

As for the legitimacy of the INFO in the pamphlet....you've never used Tampax recording tape on a Tampax machine? I miss that stuff. Oh, you young'uns....

[Kris D]

Ewing Nunn and his label Audiophile Records did exist. He put this pamphlet out to thumb his nose at the rest of the industry.

If you look at the pictures on the Audiophile site you can see a Presto 8N with a Cook head and other photos of an 8DG with a Westrex 2B mounted on it.

A friend of mine owns a record on Audiophile which led me to post the pamphlet after researching the label.

Sorry if I created any confusion.
Kris

[mossboss]

Microgroove 1948??? Some of Edison cylinders where indeed microgroove not called as such but it was certainly up there in line density
Nothing new in 1948 apart from marketing hype

Ewing must be real there is a street named after him in Melbourne Australia
Cheers

[Steve E.]

Kris D, I'm glad you posted it! I think he's an interesting guy.

MossBoss, you are absolutely correct. Edison made a microgroove long play record that fit, what? 40 minutes on two sides of a 78? Or even one side? Something absolutely insane. It was vertical cut of course. Apparently they sounded terrible.

What was strange to me about a Microgroove 78 in 1947 is .... Who could have played such a thing? Were microgroove styli available to the public that early?

[mossboss]

Of course but they where for the "Audiophiles" They sounded terrible as they played them with the wrong stylus therefore the reputation on flat 78's
One needs to keep in mind the way 78's as against cylinders where produced
The 78's where pressed on very similar lines as we do today however for the Edison cylinders this was a very time consuming as well as expensive method of replicating them
On Edison cylinders where the idea come from for microgroove, was not a big issue in cutting them as well as playing them back as they where a vertical cut
Of course the lead screw driving the play back stylus being in synch with the pitch of the cylinder they had no issue in reproduction of the sound recorded
This is how cylinders where made as against a stamper for flat disc's
They made a single master out of each cut original as the cylinder had to be destroyed so as to remove the nickel electro formed metal master
They some time later ganged up a few copy lathes so the original cut master could produce more masters so they could electro form more metal masters
Than the ebonite material was poured into the nickel master that shrunk in the process of setting
Of course that facilitated removal of the ebonite cylinder but it also decreased the diameter somewhat
To overcome this issue they used to boil them up in water to soften them up, as they become softer they fitted them into a mandrel so as to expand them back to the right size where they let them cool down to ambient temperature
They stayed to the correct size afterwards, a laborious process but they still played very well they are good even today
Of course the ensuing fight over patents between Edison V Berliner on flat or cylinder recording methods where long drawn out causing Berliner to leave the USA returning to Germany founding Deutsche Gramophone
The company he founded is still going strong today where Edison stuff is as they say "the rest is history"
Cheers

[Steve E.]

The Edison "Home Use" long playing disc records I am referring to are described on this page:

http://myvintagetv.com/updatepages1/changer%20videos/EdisonLONGPLAY.htm

They were 400 lines per inch, and played for 40 minutes at 80 rpm! The grooves were FAR narrower than our modern microgroove records. Edison only released a small handful of these, circa 1926-7. Like, 6 or 7 different records!

Around this time, Edison also introduced a "Commercial use" system, which was 300 LPI and ran at 30 rpm. "Radiosonic Broadcast transcriptions." This was used into the 1930s.

[mossboss]

Yes and that is correct Sir They all or most found their way to the scarp metal dealers during WWII where a large part of recorded history disappeared Pity
I am sure that Edison never wanted to be part of standardising his output as it was in the 30's that moves started amongst manufacturers so as to have a uniform speed some kind of a standard on cutting width e queuing cutting levels etc etc etc
Cheers

[Perisphere]

I first heard of Ewing Nunn via an article in THE ABSOLUTE SOUND some years ago. He'd used a Presto disc recorder, and (eventually) condenser mikes he made himself. After tape came into use he used a modified Magnecord deck, and toward the end, a Revox A77.

I have three LPs Nunn engineered; one of them on the Happy Jazz label has a catalogue number in the Audiophile numerical series. This is AP 96, GOOSE PIMPLES by the Jim Cullums' (as in father and son, Sr and Jr) Happy Jazz Band, featuring guest cornetist Bobby Hackett. Two of Nunn's mikes can be seen on the cover along with the band.

It is in stereo (as are all three LPs). Balance has the horns in one channel, the rhythm section in the other, with some natural acoustic spillage from one channel to the other, as to be expected with a live-to-2-track recording.

The three albums I have were mastered and pressed by Wakefield.

His family were the Nunn of Nunn-Bush shoes....

[Steve E.]

Is there anything actually remarkable about the sound of his records?

[racinart]

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Paul, and I am one of seven grandchildren of Ewing Nunn, President of Audiophile Records. I was privileged to be able to assist Ewing with the everyday chores of running the business. Audiophile actually started in the small town of Saukville, Wisconsin. In the mid 60's, we moved it into his home in Mequon, Wisconsin. In the late 60's I was old enough to accompany him on some of the trips he took around the U.S.

On one of the trips to the Southwest, we paid a visit to Wakefield Records in Phoenix, Arizona where the Audiophile records were pressed. On another trip, we recorded a few different bands in San Antonio, Texas, then finished the trip in New Orleans to record a couple of groups. I think my favorite band was the Harold Dejan's Olympia Brass Band. The album we recorded began with the leader explaining a typical New Orleans funeral in his best Cajun tongue. This band had quite a history to it including a Super Bowl appearance, and an appearance in one of the James Bond films, Live and Let Die.

Fast forward to today. Just this week, I donated the entire Audiophile collection to the Oscar Grady Library (http://www.oscargradylibrary.org/ in Saukville, Wisconsin. I've been searching for an appropriate place to house this collection because I'll be retiring next year and moving into our motorhome full time. Not many places to store albums there!

I'm always happy to try to answer any questions if I'm able. I'll try to log into this site periodically, or email me at racinart@gmail.com