On 4/28/2015 13:31, Paul Stamler wrote:
> And, to add to the muddle, A-440 is a relatively recent standard.
> According to the always-reliable Wikipedia:
>
> "Prior to the standardization on 440 Hz, many countries and
> organizations followed the Austrian government's 1885 recommendation of
> 435 Hz. The American music industry reached an informal standard of 440
> Hz in 1926, and some began using it in instrument manufacturing. In 1936
> the American Standards Association recommended that the A above middle C
> be tuned to 440 Hz."
>
> It's worth noting that Edison got out of the record business in 1929 --
> only three years after the American music industry's "informal standard"
> was adopted.
>
George Frow states in a chapter footnote in "The Edison Diamond Disc
Phonographs And The Diamond Discs" that a pitch pipe in A was available
to dealers for adjusting the turntable speed of Diamond Disc machines,
along with a special record that had an A recorded for tuning. The
actual pitch of the A is not documented, but then again it wouldn't be
relevant to a dealer who was simply tuning the record by ear using the
pitch pipe.
Given the rather conservative nature of the Edison business enterprises,
I'd wager that A-435 is their likely standard.
Michael Shoshani
Chicago
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