The History Of Audio Recording

With the capabilities of technology and the understanding of how sounds are used within a recording studio, you may think that recording music is a recent thing. However, recording audio has a much longer history than you think.

Recording sound started back in 1890s when most of recording was done through acoustic means.  The process included the use of a tape that would allow the audio to be documented on. After the documentation, it would go through a horn which would record the sound frequencies that were being played. Then it would be documented by putting grooves into the recording itself through the waves and how they were translated.

This early recording process included limitations on how the sound was recorded as well as the sound rooms themselves. The recording studios that were more upscale usually consisted of only a soundproof wall so that the sound would not bounce around. Abilities such as  master, edit, or mix was not available at the time. A second popular means of recording is for the person recording to take the records outside of the studio and into the field where the sounds of nature were to be placed into the recording.

Different equipment and options for recording sound started in the 1930s. The use of amplifiers and microphones were added in order to record more certain frequencies. By that time the sounds could be manipulated and changed while recording by use of a mixing board and loudspeakers. As a result more accurate recordings could be done.

These combined methods was a popular way of recording among the studios until the 1970s. Acoustic rooms combined with microphones and were recorded live to the mixing board and straight into the disk or recording tape. Unfortunately this left very little room to record or edit. The majority of the recording was done by complete orchestra's bands are groups that would place everything onto the disc at one time.

During the late 1960s and into the 70s, analog recording moved into the field. This would allow for more complex machinery to be at the forefront of recording. This kind of recording consisted of a magnetic tape that would carry the sound waves and read them back through the recording.  This could then be written over and revised according to what was recorded.

This time period created experimentation with new equipment, sounds and effects that became popular for recording studios as well as allow advancement within recording. Those who were working within the industry found not only new technologies for recording, but also developed sounds that were unique because of the ability to process the mixing and mastering in a different way.

The movement into analog recording changed recording into an electronic and digital set of capabilities as well as industry standards that are now accepted as the normal setting among all recording studios. Due to new technology and experimentation, certain conclusions about what worked better with recording and how production could be effective can be made by those who work in the recording industry.

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