Alan Blumlein demonstrated the first “binaural” recordings, acetate discs dramatically improved the economy of recording, and the wide deployment of jukeboxes created a future market for records (which wore out easily) and provided a new kind of access to and for music consumers. In this time of uncertainty, however, recording technology developed significantly. The combination of the expansion of broadcast radio and the Great Depression dealt a severe blow to the record industry. Incidentally, that decade proves a poignant example for comparison to our own time. That his middle chapter is “The Crucial 1930s” illustrates as much. Sound Recording: The Life Story of a Technology is a helpful guide to the journey.ĭavid L. The long and winding road from the “phonautograph” recording demonstration in 1857 France to the ubiquitous MP3 of today is full of wrong turns and stubborn resistance to change (new Edison wax cylinders were still available for purchase into the 1960s, for example). Recording on tinfoil? Wax? Even compared to an 8-track tape, that is downright primitive. Sound Recording: The Lifestory of a TechnologyĮarly attempts at sound recording were a bit like my own pre-teen efforts at coding a card game in BASIC-interesting and mildly promising, but resulting in a marginally useful outcome.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |