A history of key events in the technology of recorded sound.
Created by SeanToohey on Jan 9, 2011
Last updated: 02/19/11 at 05:27 AM
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In the CD's early life some people argued that it had inferior sound quality to that of the LP however the robustness of the CD meant that by 1988 the CD became the most popular form of recorded sound and surpassed the LP interms of sales.
In 1983 more cassette tapes were sold than LP vinyls meaning cassettes had finally become the primary form of recorded sound.
Before the invention of the compact disc (CD) audio was recorded in analogue waves, when CD's were introduced to the market they took the analogue wave and converted it into digital information (numbers) so that when played the digital information could be converted back into sound. In 1982 the first 5-inch CD was sold.
The Sony Walkman portable audio-cassette player was releases in 1979 and became very popular, this helped propel cassettes even further into popularity.
From the introduction of the cassette piracy became prevalent in the recording industry. It was easy for people to borrow an LP and record it onto tape at home. In the 1970's piracy began to effect the industry deeply.
In 1969 Dolby noise reduction was introduced to all cassette tapes, this eliminated most of the hiss and background noise picked up on the recordings and causes cassettes to triumph over the cartridges.
To compete with the new audio cassette a new 8 Track cartridge was created and most cars were fitted with cartridge players, this started the cassette vs cartridge battle.
The first compact easy to use magnetic tapes and tape machines were made commercially available in 1964
During the 1950's all records were recorded in mono meaning all of the sound was recorded in one channel. However record companies found that by recording the left and right channels on opposite sides of the grooves in records and by playing the sound through two loudspeakers the sound appeared more natural. In 1958 a world standard for stereo records was established and stereo records began to be produced. It took quite a long time for all records to be recorded in stereo although eventually popularity of stereo sound caused all records to be produced in stereo.
By 1958 the standard for record releases was stereophonic. recording in stereo meant a more natural sound than in mono by having some sounds coming from the left speaker and some from the right.
Columbia's LP and RCA's EP engaged in fierce competition between 1949 and 1951 each attempting to overthrow the other to become the most popular format of recorded music. In 1951 the competition was resolved when RCA and CBS developed and released multi-speed record players along with records recorded in both LP and EP formats. The LP became the format of choice for classical music and the EP became used more in popular music.
In 1949 RCA introduced the 7 inch EP (extended play) record in order to compete with Columbia's LP. The EP could be easily stacked in a jukebox and span at a faster 45 rpm. The two formats now engaged in a battle for superiority.
In 1948 using technology developed during the war Columbia Records introduced the 12 inch LP vinlylite disk. This new record could hold 23 minutes worth of sound per side and meant that whole symphonies could be recorded for the public.
Although Microphones had advanced significantly by the 1940's and had conqured the problem of high and low frequencies being recorded records were still producing low quality sound. Records could still only hold 5 minites of sound per side.
During the 1930's the jukebox became increasingly popular as a "jukebox craze" began. This gave the record industry a boost as young people enjoyed to dance to the swing bands of the era.
The Microphone (that was originally used in the telephone) began to be used in music recordings. The addition of the Microphone to musicians allowed the vocalists to sing in a quieter fashion as they no longer had to compete with other instruments to be heard. The addition of the Microphone also gave birth to a new singing technique called "crooning" where the vocalist held the Microphone close to their mouth and sang very softly.
The Microphone (that was originally used in the telephone) began to be used in music recordings. The addition of the Microphone to musicians allowed the vocalists to sing in a quieter fashion as they no longer had to compete with other instruments to be heard. The addition of the Microphone also gave birth to a new singing technique called "crooning" where the vocalist held the Microphone close to their mouth and sang very softly.
The advancement in electronics helped instruments like the string bass replace the tuba as the staple bass instrument as they could be amplified using microphones.
During the 1920's radio broadcasts became more superior in terms of sound than records. During the depression radio was seen as a more attractive alternative to records and so the recording industry slumped. Luckily as the depression lifted radio stations played more and more records causing the industry to become popular once more.
One of the first Jazz records is released and titled "Original Dixieland One-Step". This record was very successful and due to its sales of one-million copies the gramophone became even more popular.
One of the first Jazz records is released and titled "Original Dixieland One-Step". This record was very successful and due to its sales of one-million copies the gramophone became even more popular.
Companies began to realize that people did not want to listen to Classical records and so they began to record Jazz music due to its popularity.
It became apparent that records had two main problems. No 1 the speed that they were played at meant there was still not much space for storing sound and No 2 they could not record/playback frequencies that were particularly high or low.
The Gramophone becomes the most popular method of listening to recorded sound due to the superior (yet still not perfect) sound, the amount of storage on each disk and the fact that it was easily mass produced.
Emile Berliner Invents the Gramophone that replaced the wax cylinders of the Graphophone with flat disks of vulcanate rubber that could hold up to two minutes of recorded sound.
Chicester Bell and Charles Tainter invent a second sound recording/playback machine called the Graphophone that used wax cylinders rather than tin-foil for a better quality sound.
Thomas Edison's phonograph becomes patented in the united states.
In 1877 Thomas Edison invented the first tin-foil phonograph. Using this device that used a cylinder coated in tin-foil being scraped by a needle attached to a diaphragm Edison recorded the first ever sound recording "Mary had a little lamb"
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