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Cylinder Phonograph
This invention allowed people to both record and play back the recording on the same device. A blank wax cylinder was used to record the sounds channeled through a bell, which vibrated a very sensitive needle and created grooves in the wax. To play the sounds, the needle was simply reset and the grooved would vibrate the needle, which produced the sounds that were then channeled through the bell. This mechanism was hand-cranked both for recording and for replay. -
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Acoustic Recording Era
Using needles and grooves to produce sound, the production of loud bursts of sound was impossible because it would make the sensitive needle leap off the cylinder or disc during recording, completely ruining the recording. Because of this, Louis Armstrong was made to play his trumpet in a separate room during recording sessions because he played so loud, he made the needle jump. -
Gramophone
This functions very similarly to the cylinder phonograph, using a needle and grooves to produce sound through a bell. The main difference between these two is that the gramophone works with flat disks made of vinyl, whereas phonographs used wax cylinders. -
Wire Recording
This was the very first piece of electronic equipment that recorded music: sounds from a microphone create an electrical signal that alters the magnetization of a very thin stainless steel wire. This is then able to play back the sounds originally recorded on it through the magnetic properties of the wire. -
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Electrical Recording Era
These were the very first electronic recording devices, using an electric signal to manipulate the magnetic properties of a wire or tape. -
Reel-to-Reel Tape
This works very similarly to the wire recording mechanism, but instead of using steel wire, a magnetic tape was used as the recording medium. The tape allowed for faster recording speeds, alterations of sounds, and multiple parallel tracks. -
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Magnetic Recording Era
This was a time when producers began experimenting with the niche sounds only a magnetic tape can produce. They were able to distort voices, speed up and slow down the recording, reverse it, and play sections on loops. This unique type of music was referred to as "Tape Music." -
Stereo Vinyl Record
This takes more after the gramophone, playing with the idea of grooves and a needle. With the stereo record, the grooves are V-shaped, allowing for two signals to be played at the same time: one for the left, and one for the right. The needle itself converts vibrations into electrical signals that can be played through more advanced sound systems. -
Cassette Tape
This is an expanded idea of the wire recording: a very thin wire is magnetized and sends electrical signals to a sound system. Cassette tapes are significantly smaller than the original recording wire, allowing for easier storage and better mobility. -
4-Track Tape
This is an advancement of tape recording: magnetic tape is run through an electromagnet that changes the magnetic properties of the tape. The main difference is that musicians are now able to layer up to four different tracks on the same tape, allowing for more advanced audio production. -
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Digital Recording Era
This spans all the way to our present day, where technology has allowed us to advance in how we record, store, edit, and play music. -
Laserdiscs and CDs
As technology and coding advances, we are now able to use lasers to read indentations and bumps (pits and lands) and convert those signals into music. This is considered a form of "optical data storage," using light instead of magnets. -
MP3 Player
A large leap in technology allows data to be stored in digital audio files. MP3 players are able to use new software to copy and manage audio files while a microprocessor is used to manipulate the device itself. A DSP (Digital Signal Processor) is used to decompress and process the files, yielding to optimal sound production.