Diploma in
Sound Engineering
Lesson 1: And then there was sound
Learn the origin of sound recording
Understand what a DAW is
Know the types of microphones
Understand how microphones work
Learn the different types of loudspeakers
Objectives
Lesson 1
Early
recordings
DID YOU
KNOW?
140
Years ago
Sound recording first started
more than 140 years ago!
Early recording
formats
• Paper
• Tin-foil
• Wax cylinders
• Vinyl
• Tape
1857
Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville
• Funnel shaped horn to record sound
• Fixed membrane and needle to small end of the horn
• Allowed sound going into opening of horn which
caused the membrane to vibrate
• Vibrating membrane and need drew vibrations on
a turning cylinder wrapped with paper
The result
The first ever documented
sound recording!
Do you know
what this device
is called?
A phonograph
1877
Thomas Edison
• Invented the phonograph to record
telephone conversations
• The phonograph records sound with a needle
attached to a membrane on the mouth piece
of a horn
• When speaking into mouthpiece small
vibrations would carve indentations into tin-foil
on a rotating cylinder
What was so It was the first ever sound recording
important that could be played back!
about Edison’s
invention?
• 1st sound recording was done on tin-foil
• Thomas Edison
Recording • Recordings self-destruct after too much playback
on Tin-foil • Not very loud
• Needed manual turning for operation
1880
Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Tainter
• Tin-foil recording is destroyed after multiple times
of playback
• Choose to create wax cylinders rather
• Successful and music is played in hotels and taverns
without live musicians for first time
• Ceramic later introduced as improvement
on wax cylinders
Recording • Improvement on the
tin-foil design
on wax • Wax cylinder until 1901
and ceramic • 2-4 min total
cylinders playing time
DID YOU
KNOW?
A needle moving along
the grooves playing
back a recording is still
around today.
Can you guess where this is
still used?
In vinyl players
1888
Berliner
Gramophone
Gramophone
• Disc rather than a cylinder
• Easier to manufacture and store
• Berliner avoided Edison patents
How was it made?
• Disc was cut with needle
attached to vibrating diaphragm
fixed to the mouthpiece of a horn
(the same as the phonograph).
• Cut grooves laterally on disc
instead of vertically on cylinder
1901
The beginning of commercially
produced flat disc recordings
More durable than tin foil
DID YOU
KNOW?
• Emile Berliner starts
what is now EMI Records
• Paved way for
commercial music
1931
• RCA Victor releases first
commercial vinyl player
Vinyl and tape recording
• First produced in 7 inch records
• Followed by 10- and 12-inch records
• Much louder and easier to handle
1943
Invented by Alan Blumlein
in 1943
2-track tape
He also invented many
microphone placements
we still use today
Microphones
Important part of your setup
Thousands of available models
All have unique sound qualities
Microphones
Our current mic designs are based
on very early inventions
By understanding where
the technology originated
gives us an understanding
of its possible applications
Microphones
• The right application
guarantees great sound
1857
The first microphone
• The horn
• Was used for the first 40 years
of sound engineering
Phonautograph video:
(1857 Phonograph/recording
Test – IT WORKS)
1886
The moving-coil microphone
Not strong enough for
commercial use
No electric equipment for
recording at the time
DID YOU
KNOW?
change
Thomas Edison invented
the lightbulb two years
after the phonograph
1925
• Western Electric builds first
electric recording equipment
• Microphones mainly used for
broadcast
• Allows for refinement of
microphones
Dynamic Condenser Ribbon
(moving-coil) Microphone microphone
Microphone
types
No. 1: Dynamic
(moving-coil)
Dynamic
(moving-coil) mic
• Diaphragm suspended between 2
magnets
• Sound moves the diaphragm
• Generates current
(Moving coil Microphone & Loud Speaker in Malayalam, 2020)
(Moving coil Microphone & Loud Speaker in Malayalam, 2020)
• Sound source must be close
Dynamic • Picks up low frequencies better than high
frequencies
(moving-coil) • Great for live use on vocals and studio use
on drums, saxophone, trumpet, explosions,
loud sounds
1916
The condenser
microphone
1916 Edward C. Wente
Western electric
No electric equipment for
recording at the time
Edison invented the
lightbulb in 1879, 2 years
after the phonograph!
(Audio recording tutorial: The different microphone types | lynda.com, 2020)
Characteristics
• Needs 48v power
• Not good with loud sounds –
distorts easily
• Great for low noise levels
• Much more sensitive on high
frequencies than the moving-coil
So far:
Dynamic mics are also called
moving-coil mics
Great for loud sounds
Condenser mics are very sensitive
And needs external power of 48v
Condenser mics are brighter than
dynamic mics
1920s
The ribbon
microphone
Extremely fragile
Picks up sound like the human
ear (with a little more bass)
(Audio recording tutorial: The different microphone types | lynda.com, 2020)
Ribbon
mics
• Current through magnetism –
similair to the moving-coil
• Usually no external power needed
• Picks up sound in a
figure-of-8 pattern
DID YOU
KNOW?
The diaphragm of a ribbon
microphone is only 5 microns
thick. That is 12 times thinner
than a human hair!
Formats and
dynamics
• Dynamics is the loud vs soft parts
of a song
• Format and microphones influences
dynamics a lot
• Low noise and distortion is the goal
Loudspeakers
1877
• Werner von siemens (Siemens Inc)
introduced a moving-coil speaker
Moving-coil
(yes, it is also
a speaker!)
• Werner von Siemens in 1877
• 2 Years before the lightbulb was invented
• Still use it every day everywhere we go
Not all speakers
are equal
• Type of speaker for specific
applications
• Think of cellphone speaker vs car
speakers
• Modern speakers have design
origins over 100 years ago
• Designed first loudspeaker
1st Loudspeaker • Not very efficient
1877 • Siemens pointed to amplification as a
possible solution
Werner von
• Remarkable moment – first time a
Siemens sound amplifier was considered!
DID YOU
KNOW?
1877
Werner von Siemens
In 1877, Werner von Siemens
designed the first moving-coil
loudspeaker and started the
technology company called
Siemens.
1898
Moving-coil
speaker
• 1898 Oliver lodge
• 1915 manufacturing started
• 1924 patented by AT&T
(Moving coil Microphone & Loud Speaker in Malayalam, 2020)
(Moving coil Microphone & Loud Speaker in Malayalam, 2020)
Moving-coil
The moving-coil principle allows
us to record and produce sound
with the same basic physics
Dynamic and
frequency range
• Every speaker is designed for a specific
purpose
• Shapes and sizes affect sound quality
• Deep and wide can produce lower
frequencies
• Small speakers with tight coils are good
at producing high frequencies
Speakers are designed for specific purposes
Big speakers Smaller speakers
Moving-coil
loudspeakers:
• Produces lower frequencies better
than the very high ones
• Has a comfortable mid range for
listening
• Many different sizes
• Very common loudspeaker
Speaker types
• Subwoofers
• Designed for low-frequencies
(bass)
• Range of 22-125 Hertz
Designed for a purpose
Tweeters
• Small speaker
• For high frequencies
• “Brightness”
Speakers
Subwoofer
Moving-coil
Tweeter
Audio examples
(View summary notes)
• Biggest differences?
• Balance
• Tonality (bright or dull)
• Noise
Dynamics in
recordings
• Tape vs Online streaming
• Technology improved and music
changed
• Surround formats
Moving-coils
Worked in 1925, still works today
