Scully Disc Recording Machine Manual

Manual

Accession Number: 2011.41.3

Scope & Content: Red vinyl 3-ring binder containing detailed setup and operating instructions for a Scully Disc Recording Machine, commonly called a record lathe; includes photo diagrams of the lathe with key from several angles and blueprints of various electrical and mechanical systems.

Creator: Scully Recording Instruments Corp.

Interview Date: / /

Collection: APH Collection

Credit Line: APH Collection, 2011.41

Administrative History: Founded in 1919, Scully Machine Company made the finest disk cutting lathes in the recording business. A recording lathe was designed to move the cutting head across the master disk in a precise and uniform motion. APH acquired two Scully lathes as early as 1936 when it established its recording and record stamping operations. The 1936 lathes used wax master disks and cut them directly as an APH narrator read. This manual came with lather serial# 477, purchased by APH as early as 1967 and until removed to the museum in the early 1990s, it was in Mastering Room 1 opposite then Studio 1 (now known as Studio 5). It featured many automatic controls over the earlier versions of the lathe. A tape machine, originally a Scully P-270 and later a Scully 280B, was connected to the lathe. The Westrex 2B recording head cut a groove in a lacquered aluminum disk on the turntable, transferring the recorded information on the tape to the master disk, which was used in later steps to create a stamper for a record press. The 2B was a "hot" stylus, it was heated to yield a smoother, more accurate cut in the lacquer. APH produced its last vinyl records in 1993.

Subjects: Talking Books Phonograph industry