Mystery…tadadadadadah!

[jrittenhouse]

I’ve been a great fan of radio drama for a long time, and if you were to look through my MP3 player and the burnt CDs in my car, you’d see BBC drama, old time radio and the like.  I got a real love for it as a kid, and as it’s drifted in and out of my life, the real problems have been availability - of the programs and for time to listen to them!

Comments

[bigbumble]

Cutting a record, either on a cylinder or flat disc, predates tape recording by decades. Audio tape did not arrive until the 1950s for any kind of practical use.

My dad's family sent him a disc cut at Christmas time 1945 while his was awaiting discharge in the middle East after WWII. I remember and episode of Mr. Rogers neighborhood where they demonstrated the process of cutting a record.

[jrittenhouse]

Before our house burnt down in 1970, I remember seeing voice records that people would go into a record store booth and make and send off to wach other - this was WW2 vintage, as I recall.

[dave_ifversen]

I believe that Bill Higgins has a record cutter - fascinating piece of equipment.

For some number of years before audio tape, there was a device that recorded audio on a small-gauge steel wire. I've played with one of those before - also very interesting (in a tech-geek sort of way).

[jrittenhouse]

I've never seen a wire recorder, myself, though I know about them. Didn't know Bill had that!

[marklafon]

ISTR that metal disks was also used for radio broadcasts pre -tape. Especially for rebroadcasts in different time zones. Beat the heck out of having to re-do entire shows, which was also done at one time.

[stickmaker]

For a long time such recordings were made on acetate discs. These were even called transcription discs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetate_disc

Wire recording predates polymer tape, but in between was steel tape. A German company in the late Thirties or early Forties had a machine the size of a household refrigerator with two huge reels of this tape. The tape was very thin, the reels turned at high speed, and if one came off during use the scene could resemble a horror movie.

[jrittenhouse]

Going home today; see next post.

[jrittenhouse]

You referring to the Internet Archive? Yes, it is.

[angka]

Back in Toledo, ages ago, I always loved "Radio Mystery Theater" on Tuesday nights. No clue what station it was on, but I always had the radio on quietly so I could hear it.

Thanks for bringing up the memory!