Gianni Bettini
Encyclopedia
Gianni Bettini was an early audiophile
. He made a number of high-end phonograph
s that are highly sought after today. He invented a playback device which improves the sound quality of recordings; The Micro-reproducer. There were many models and refinements but it all circulated around the isolation of the stylus, a multi-legged unit he called a "spider." most of his inventions were marketed toward what would later be considered audiophiles. One of his later inventions was a Universal Speed indicator. A device that aided the fine adjustment of a phonography motor.
Bettini was born in Novara
. In the 1890s he was a New York socialite, living in the swanky central park south neighborhood, what is now in the center of Midtown on the edge of the Theater district. It was there that he operated his New York phonograph laboratory. He made of extraordinary recordings of an elderly Pope Leo XIII
in 1903, Mark Twain
and President Benjamin Harrison
. Bettini cylinders are among the rarest in existence. His catalog of opera recordings was 12 pages long, and the cylinders cost $6 when Edison cylinders cost under a dollar. He was selling to a specific clientele.
Before World War I
he brought many of his rare recordings to France. During the war most of them were destroyed, leading to their rarity. Later in his career he went into the motion picture business, to little effect, and he died in 1938 in San Remo
, Italy.
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
. He made a number of high-end phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
s that are highly sought after today. He invented a playback device which improves the sound quality of recordings; The Micro-reproducer. There were many models and refinements but it all circulated around the isolation of the stylus, a multi-legged unit he called a "spider." most of his inventions were marketed toward what would later be considered audiophiles. One of his later inventions was a Universal Speed indicator. A device that aided the fine adjustment of a phonography motor.
Bettini was born in Novara
Novara
Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...
. In the 1890s he was a New York socialite, living in the swanky central park south neighborhood, what is now in the center of Midtown on the edge of the Theater district. It was there that he operated his New York phonograph laboratory. He made of extraordinary recordings of an elderly Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
in 1903, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
and President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
. Bettini cylinders are among the rarest in existence. His catalog of opera recordings was 12 pages long, and the cylinders cost $6 when Edison cylinders cost under a dollar. He was selling to a specific clientele.
Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he brought many of his rare recordings to France. During the war most of them were destroyed, leading to their rarity. Later in his career he went into the motion picture business, to little effect, and he died in 1938 in San Remo
Sanremo
Sanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...
, Italy.