Recording is the art of capturing and “printing” sounds. It is the most vital aspect of music production. After all, if there are no recordings, there is nothing to mix!
The First Record
The art of recording dates all the way back to the 1800’s with the invention of the phonautograph by French inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. He used his device to record a woman singing a verse from “Au Clair de la Lune,” an old folk song.
This is the first audio recording in human history. Listen to its eerie warbles below:
Not the best quality, to be certain, but still a significant milestone in the history of music.
We have come a very long way since the age of the phonautograph, but the fundamental goal has yet to change – capture a permanent, replayable record of a performance or sound. The difference is that nowadays, we have high technology that would have been considered nothing short of sorcery in Mr. Scott’s day.
Recording Acoustic Instruments
When it comes to recording acoustic instruments, there are two essential components: a capture device and a capture medium. The capture device, the microphone, will translate sound waves into an continuous, fluctuating electrical signal that can then be “printed” to the capture medium. The capture medium can be anything from a magnetic tape strip to a vinyl record to the digital .wav file in your DAW.
But a microphone produces relatively weak electrical signals. This is where a special piece of gear called a preamp comes in. A preamp’s job is to boost the voltage of the electrical signal produced by a microphone to a line-level signal. This is essential for a microphone signal to be heard – especially in the case of special microphones called condenser microphones.
Recording Electronic Instruments
Recording electronic instruments, such as electric pianos synthesizer, and drum machines, are a little bit different. Microphones and preamps are not required because these types of instruments produce line-level electrical signals from the start. These signals can be printed to the capture medium as-is, though it is often a good idea to do some basic signal processing – such as applying EQ and compression – as the signal is printed.
For more on microphones, preamps, and recording acoustic and electronic instruments, check out the following articles: