I read the posting about the "crinkly edges" on music box discs,
and I didn't really have any suggestion.  A later missive refers to
extraneous and unpleasant noises heard from the disc while playing
(one assumes other than the desired music).

On this, perhaps I can shed some light.  All disc music boxes "cup" the
discs while playing.  Little wheels hold up the front and back edges of
the tune sheet so the note lugs beneath will not become entangled with
the combs, the bolts holding them in place, the damping rails (which
some boxes have, to make them sound like banjos), etc.  The hold-down
bar forces that part of the disc directly down to the starwheels so the
lugs engage the starwheels, they turn, and Voila!  Musique a boite!
Pardon le pun, mon ami.  Merci.

In time, this slightly-cupped shape become inherent in the disc.  For
most of its life, the disc rests unplayed, in one position, for long
periods of time.  The result is like someone pushing down on the lid
of a 55-gallon metal drum which snaps back with a characteristic 'twank'!
A similar thing happens when the mechanism turns the disc on the music
box, and that cupped part is forced in effect to rotate around the
center pin.

The disc resists this movement, and then the cupped part catches up
with the movement, jumps ahead, and one hears that annoying metallic
SNAP.  About the same phenomenon occurs within the spring case: the
spring unwinds but the grease tends to hold the layers together, which
then suddenly snap out toward the rundown position.

It's not a huge problem in a music box, but in talking machines this
"chugging" causes serious problems.  But that's another story.  Ask
me sometime about the problems Theodore Edison told me he had in the
development of the Edison Long Playing machine and recordings.

Back to our snapping music box:  Some little detail in a scene
overlooked by the cameraman can totally spoil the photo print when
viewed.  In the same way, a recording of a music box snapping away
becomes very annoying.  To some extent, the same is true with bad
dampers.  One's mind tends to cancel out the noise when listening
"live", but notes the noise on the record.  This is true with all kinds
of mechanical and live music performances when heard via recordings.

Many years ago, I made an audition recording of a magnificent Mira
console.  We solved the problem of the snapping discs by donning thick
mittens and placing one's hands on the exposed front and back sections
of the turning disc, then "walking" them along the surface of the disc
as it turned.  It still snapped, but the sound was mostly absorbed.

Incidentally, our thought with the Mira was to use a cross-section
of music -- from ragtime to marches to popular to operatic -- from
Mermod's magnificent disc arrangements.  But all on one LP.   Different
types of songs from the same music box, instead of different music
boxes.

To that date, this had not been done.  The only such recording of which
I know, has more recently been issued by Dani Konvalinko.  It's a fine
example of a gorgeous machine, I think a Polyphon (my tape is packed
away so I can't check this).

That was my idea at the time, but in retrospect I feel that the
sameness of my Mira's sound would have made our recording stinted.
Gloriously monotonous.

In any case, the high-fi recording company we approached said that they
couldn't use the recording because it was made on a certain type of
tape recorder, which they "knew" simply by listening to the recording
(they were incorrect).  They said that was not acceptable for their
purposes.  It seemed a weak excuse to me.

At the time, I lived about an hour outside New York City where they
were located.  I pointed out the ease of bringing the instrument and
discs to them for their own recording session.  I never heard anything
more.  Too bad; I no longer own that beautiful music box, and would at
least have its recording!  I do have dozens of others records to
console myself.  Ouch -- another pun!

One other clue when recording music boxes:  Often the best method with
a table-model instrument is to place the microphone _beneath_ the music
box.  We found the best system was to set the box on a crate, with the
microphone resting on a cloth, foam rubber or the like on the table on
which the crate was placed.  Then the next problem is not to have too
much booming bass sound.

Many music box bedplates are "telegraphed" to the bottom of their
cases, which are of course as important to the production of musical
sound as is the "case" of a violin.  That base is a sounding board,
similar to that in a piano.  Look at some: many have the edges beveled
to a thin edge to enhance this effect.

For the best sound, it's important to place any music box on hardwood
furniture which telegraphs the sound to the floor.  When we created
Yesteryear Museum in New Jersey, with 30 rooms of sound-producing
equipment, our many volunteers spent time and effort making tables out
of plywood tops (the sounding board again) and oak 2x4 lumber.  Not
pretty, but covered with attractive cloth, they produced tonal
delights.

Hope this information helps someone.  Happy days!

Lee Munsick