Editing Phonograph cylinder (section)

==Preservation of cylinder recordings==
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2019}}
[[File:HoldPhonoCylinder.jpg|thumbnail|Proper way to hold a cylinder record: put fingers on the inside; do not touch the outer surface which has the recording.]]
Because of the nature of the recording medium, playback of many cylinders can cause degradation of the recording. The replay of cylinders diminishes their fidelity and degrades their recorded signals. Additionally, when exposed to humidity, mold can penetrate a cylinder's surface and cause the recording to have surface noise. Currently, the only professional machines manufactured for the playback of cylinder recordings are the [[Archéophone]] player, designed by Henri Chamoux and the "Endpoint Cylinder and Dictabelt Machine" by Nicholas Bergh.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Mystery recordings will now be heard for the first time in about 100 years |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/05/1090819310/mystery-recordings-will-now-be-heard-for-the-first-time-in-about-100-years |access-date=2022-04-29}}</ref> The Archéophone is used by the Edison National Historic Site, [[Bowling Green State University]] (Bowling Green, Ohio), the Department of Special Collections at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara Library]], and many other libraries and archives, including the Endpoint by [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts|The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]].<ref name=":0"/>

In an attempt to preserve the historic content of the recordings, cylinders can be read with a [[confocal microscope]] and converted to a [[digital recording|digital audio]] format. The resulting sound clip in most cases sounds better than stylus playback from the original cylinder. Having an electronic version of the original recordings enables archivists to open access to the recordings to a wider audience. This technique also has the potential to allow for reconstruction of damaged or broken cylinders.{{sfn|Fedeyev|Haber|Radding|Maul|2004}}

{{Listen|help=no|filename=Handel - Israel in Egypt, HWV 54 (excerpt).oga|title=An example of a heavily degraded cylinder: Handel's ''Israel in Egypt'' (June 29, 1888)|description=This was played at the conference introducing the phonograph to London.<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/edis/photosmultimedia/very-early-recorded-sound.htm Very Early Recordings], from the Edison National Historic Site, [U.S.] National Park Service.</ref>
|filename2=Arthur Sullivan - wax cylinder recording.ogg|title2=1888 speech by Arthur Sullivan at the Little Menlo, London|description2=One of the earliest surviving wax cylinder recordings.}}