Early Audio Recording

“Electrical Recording” came into practice about 1925 and provided a decent platform for studio recording and distribution. It would be a few years before a practical version could be taken into the field. The idea of radio-program recording for program distribution was anathema to the networks who feared recordings shipped by mail would do an end-run around wire-based transmission (i.e. the existing networks). Yet something had to be devised to delay programs for later rebroadcast and to get programming to those stations not connected to a network. Early radio-recording technology was similar to that used by the music industry, but then record-cutters were adapted for long-form recording (slower speed; bigger platters: the venerable “ET”). But the quality was constricted by the performance of the disc system. Recording-quality improvements followed the introduction of the tape machine and tape was first used for program-enhancement purposes in the later 1940’s.

It’s all laid out in the pages below…in no particular order at the moment. And there’s more at this page. Enjoy!

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Recorded programs Aug, 1930	Earliest radio recording Feb, 1931	Instantaneous recording Jun, 1931
Recording equipment Aug, 1931	Electrical transcriptions Jan, 1932	Magnetic recording Mar, 1936
Sound-on-wire tape May, 1939	Steel tape recording Apr, 1942	Lib of Congress recording lab Aug, 1944
Silent recording methods Nov, 1944	Noiseless recordings Feb, 1945	Wire recording Mar, 1945
Magnetic recording Jun, 1945	Postwar recorders Dec, 1945	ABC radio on tape Apr, 1950
Disc-cutting Noise Reduction May, 1941	Portable Recording Sep, 1941	Recording History 1888 to 1954 Jul, 1954
BSTJ: High-quality recording	20 Years’ Recording History 1967	BSTJ: Tape Recording
Disc Recording 1937	RCA Tape Recorder	Wire-steel ribbon recording: BLOG
WWII Recording–Michael Biel	Recording before Tape–Blog	Audio Pioneers–Radio World
Der Bingle’s technology	Les Paul on Tape Recording	William Palmer story

History of the cart machine	Library of Congress Rec Labs Aug, 1944	Recording on Film Feb, 1945	Silent Recording Methods Nov, 1944
Brush Sound-Mirror May, 1939 P. 1 missing	Hi-Fi Recording May, 1935	Les Paul's "Garage"	Stokowski-Olsen Interview MP3
Magnetic Recording–Clears Feb, 1948	Mag Tape Recording–Winter Jun, 1945	Mag Recording 1881-1954 Jul, 1954	Jack Mullin's Views
RCA Recording Manual 1940	Post-War Recording Dec, 1945	Recording Equipment Aug, 1931	Steel Tape Recording Apr, 1942
Recorded Programs Aug, 1930	Recording on Wire Mar, 1945	Wire Recorder Feb, 1948	ABC Tape Story Apr, 1950
Earliest Radio Recording Feb, 1931	Electrical Transcriptions–Radio Jan, 1932	Instant Recording Jun, 1931	Rec. on Magnetic Material Mar, 1936
Time Compression Jun, 1953	"Once There Were Giants"	The Wax Museum Pt 1 MP3	The Wax Museum Pt 2 MP3
Billy Murray on Early Mass Record Production MP3	Columbia "Double-Disc" 1912 MP3	AFM Strike