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Phonautograph
Leon Scott invented the Phonautograph in 1857. It has a horn which directs sound towards a diaphragm, and scratches out a line on a rotating cylinder. The recordings were very short. The Bell's ear phonautograoh used a human ear to recrord the sounds heard in the horn in 1874. -
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History of Audio Production
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First Sound Recording
On this day, Leon Scott created the first audio/sound recording in Paris. He used paper to make the recordings. This is the oldest audio recording in history. -
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell announced his invention of the telephone, and gets it patented on March 7th 1876. -
Phonograph
Thomas Edison constructed the first phonograph in 1877. Edison was attempting to improve the length of recording and invented the phonograph by doing so. This was very similar to the phonautograph. With the advancement of phonographs, like the graphophone, Edison had to release an improved version of his phonograph in 1886. -
Gramophone
Emile Berliner created the Gramophone in 1887. This system recorded with flat disks, and the sound etched onto the disk. A needle would read the grooves and the sound would be sent into the speaker. -
Telegraph Patent
In 1900, the first telegraph that used steel wire was patented by the Poulson Wireless Corporation of Arizona. -
Detective Dictograph
K. Monroe Turner invented the dictograph microphone, which was a hidden microphone in the detective dictograph. The detective dictograph was a listening device and recorder with the hidden microphone, so this caused many criminals to go to jail because of the evidence the dictograph withheld. -
Wax Dictaphone Recorders
In 1910, wax cylinder recorders and dictaphone wax recorders were used. These were voice recorders that recorded to a wax cylinder, producing a recording span of about two minutes. Once a cylinder was used, you had to peel off the wax on the unit to erase the used cylinder. -
Wire Recorders
In the 1920's and 1930's, wire recorders emerged. They were first known as telegraph phones in 1898, and soon became known as a wire recorder because of its ability to record audio and video on a wire spool. Like the detective dictograph, this also had a hidden microphone. -
AEG Magnetophone
In the 1930's and 1940's, a video and audio recorder was invented, one that has a plastic tape coated with iron powder. This is what is known as the AEG Magnetophon. This was based off magnetic tape recorders, invented by Fritz Pfluemer. -
Reel-to-reel Magnetic Tape
In the 1940's and 1950's, many companies were converting to a magnetic tape system. This was easier and better than using wire spools. By the 1960's and 70's, the magnetic tape recorder evolved. It was improved, it became smaller and cheaper. -
Cassette Tape Recorders
In the 60's and 70's, cassette tape recorders became popular with children and teens. It was used for making copies of records so they could be played in cars, or to play tapes on. -
8 Track
The 8 Track is an automotive record player, it has an endless loop tape cartridge that has a long playback time. It was first installed in Ford vehicles in 1965. -
Compact Disk (CD)
Created in 1982 by James Russell, the CD took a decade to become a hit. It wasn't until the 90's and early 2000's until sales took off and they became popular. -
MP3 Players
The MP3 player took quite a few years to develop and perfect. Karlheinz Brandenburg experiemented with the creation of the MP3 player. By the late 90's, they were available and up for sale.
