1898 Telegraphone Wire Recorder
Aug 28, 2008 2:07 PM
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This Month in Mix
Tape recorders may not be as important as they once were in modern recording studios, yet magnetic recording technology continues to permeate our lives in the form of hard disks, mag stripes on credit cards, etc. The lineage of magnetic recording can be traced to Danish engineer Valdemar Poulsen (1869-1942), who created the Telegraphone magnetic recorder in 1898.
In his U.S. patent (#661,619) Poulsen described the system as an “essential advance in this branch of science, as it provides for receiving and temporarily storing messages and the like by magnetically exciting paramagnetic bodies... such as a steel wire or ribbon which is moved past an electromagnet connected with an electric or magnetic transmitter, such as a telephone." The Telegraphone medium was steel piano wire wrapped in a tight spiral around a small brass cylinder, although Poulsen later developed reel-to-reel recorders using spools of wire.
Poulsen's 1900 Telegraphone recording of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph is the earliest magnetic recording in existence. Listen to a 10-second clip of this historic recording. (Note: The sound clip loads slowly!) Click here to read Poulsen's original Telegraphone patent.
Modern Recording and Mixing
This 2-DVD set will show you how the best in the music industry set up a studio to make world-class records. Regardless of what gear you are using, the information you'll find here will allow you to take advantage of decades of expert knowledge. Order now $39.95
Mastering Cubase 4
Electronic Musician magazine and Thomson Course Technology PTR have joined forces again to create the second volume in their Personal Studio Series, Mastering Steinberg's Cubase(tm). Edited and produced by the staff of Electronic Musician, this special issue is not only a must-read for users of Cubase(tm) software, but it also delivers essential information for anyone recording/producing music in a personal-studio. Order now $12.95
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