Electrical Era of Sound Recording (1925-1945)
Replacing the “Acoustic Era” of sound recording was the new era that started in 1924, the “Electrical Era”. For many years sound recording didn’t rely on electricity, in fact Thomas Edison was the first to propose the use of electricity to record sound. Edison attached a small stylus to the diaphragm of a telephone receiver and let the signal vibrate the stylus, these vibrations cut the groove. This proposal never really got anywhere however because of the lack of amplifying the telephone signal, this created weak recordings in comparison to simply using recording horns. Bell Telephone Laboratories lead by Western Electric engineers Henry Harrison and Joseph Maxfield developed an electrical phonograph recording system using the Condenser Microphone, invented by Edward Wente. The microphone was connected to a vacuum tube amplifier and fed the amplified signal to an electromagnetic disc cutting head to make the records.
-Edward Wente with his Condenser Microphone
The new recording system improved the frequency range of the previous acoustic recorders from 250-2500Hz to the now 50-6000Hz. This wider bandwidth added another octave of sound reproduction in addition to reduced harmonic distortion and a more realistic sound image. All in all, this made the electrical system much more robust than the previous acoustic process. Below is shown an old picture of the frequency response of the electrical amplification and condenser microphone of the Westrex System.
The Western Electric company didn’t make records but instead sold its’ technology to record companies, the first being The Victor Talking Machine Company. In April 1925, the Victor Talking Machine Company used this technology and licensing to make the first Electrical Recording a symphony orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, performing ‘Danse macabre’ by Camille Saint-Saens.
The link below is to a YouTube video of this Orchestra:
Edward Wente and his team developed a light emitting vacuum tube that converted audio voltage into variable levels of light to expose movie film. The light output in turn produced a variable density sound pattern on the film. This was later the basis for the Western Electric sound on film process. The business was established and acquired by Warner Bros in 1925 in which they introduced the Vitaphone on August 6, 1926 with the release of the first ever full-length movie, the silent feature Don Juan, that had no spoken dialog. The first sound on film made with the Vitaphone was The Jazz Singer. Released in October 1927 and premiered at the Warner Theater in New York City, it broke box-office records and established Warner Bros as a major player in Hollywood. The Jazz Singer single-handedly launched the sound on film revolution.
-The Premier of The Jazz Singer in 1927
-The original design of the Vitaphone
Link to a short snippet of The Jazz Singer:
Sources:
Link – 1925 First Electrical Recordings
Link – Development of Electrical Recordings
Link – Audio History Timeline
Link – Electrical Recording
Back to Main Page: Welcome!
History of Recording 