[Dixielandjazz] Why are records 12 inches across? Or seven inches?

[Roy (Bud) Taylor]

Perhaps the readers of this article did not realize the windup Victrola
motor was a popular fishing implement in Western New York known as the Seth
Greene rig.

"Around 1896 Eldridge R. Johnson, working for Berliner, invented a
hand-wound
spring motor that allowed for a steady, fairly regular speed. He settled on
78 rpm's
for optimum quality"

The Seth Greene rig was named for the father of fish culture in New York
State who conceived of raising small brook trout in hatcheries and releasing
them in the spring in small streams to the delight of anglers on opening
day.  The Seth Greene rig was a trolling setup for lake trout in the Finger
Lakes that had swivels at regular intervals of about 10 foot that were towed
by small boats.  The line was periodically retrieved by hand and wound onto
a large wooden spool attached to the turntable.  When retrieving line, as
the lures with hooks came along, they could be removed from the swivels.
Since the spring had so many turntable turns it could create, the length of
line could be quite long with a 10 inch spool attached to the turntable.
The turntable brake allowed the line to be set at the desired depth and
would remain stable until that big strike would release additional line as
the fisherman played his catch.


-- 
Roy (Bud) Taylor
Smugtown Stompers Jazz Band
Rochester, New York
Traditional Jazz since 1958
"we ain't just whistling dixie!"