tags: mus-407 recording-technology

Electro-Mechanical Recording

Electro-Mechanical Recording is the hybrid [recording] process that combines [mechanical recording] techniques with technological advances in electronics.

• technological advances enable amplification and [filtering] of sound via electronic means
• availability of [microphones] for more sensitive/accurate capture
  • ([condenser microphones], ca. 1916)
• disc-cutting; electrically driven mechanical process

Electro-mechanical recording led to

• significant improvements in [dynamic range] and [frequency response] of hardware devices in both recording and playback.
• the integrated electrical recording system, introduced by Western Electric ca. 1925
  • supply/research branch at AT&T
  • co-founded [Bell Telephone Laboratories], 1925
• concept of [audio engineering]

Mechanical vs. Electro-mechanical recording

Electro-mechanical recording solved some of the shortcomings of mechanical recording:

• mechanical recording: musicians had to crowd in a small room around a large, bulky recording horn
• electro-mechanical recording: musicians could sit at their normal positions and play towards the microphone

TODO: add pictures from slides

Sources

• MUS 407 Recording Technology