From the Phonograph to A.I.- Controlled Mixing
Take a Walk Through The History of Sound Recording
The music industry has faced significant stressors and paradigm shifts over the centuries. Several of these shifts and disruptions came at the heals of advancements in recording sound technology. This piece will walk you through some of the major moments in recording sound history, its music industry implications, and its effect on the average listener.
To end, I’ll give my predictions for the future.
A Period of Low Fidelity
The first period in modern recording sound technology is referred to as the “acoustic period”. In layman’s terms, sound was collected through cylinder tubes. The air pressure from the sound moved the diaphragm. This now moving diaphragm engraved sound waves into a recording medium.
The biggest moment in this period was the invention of the phonograph. This was the main recording device of the period. Since the diaphragm created scratches in the disc or cylinder there could only be a limited amount of originals. For instance, only about 25 copies could be made by one phonograph before wear and tear made it unusable. Some musical groups packed about a dozen phonograph’s in front of performers to record as many original recordings as possible.
