:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Monday, March 31, 2008 ::

(New) World's Earliest Recording

"American researchers have pieced together a 10-second audio clip of a French folk song which they believe is the oldest recognisable recording of the human voice. The recording appears to be of a young woman singing a couple of phrases from the 18th century folk song Au Clair de la Lune. It was made in 1860 by Edouard Leon Scott de Martinville, a Parisian typesetter and librarian, on a Heath Robinson-style device he called a "phonautograph". But in successfully playing back the clip [134KB MP3], the team from the University of California's Berkeley Lab, may have robbed their compatriot Thomas Edison of the honour long accorded him as the first man to successfully record sound."

Edit: Story causes giggle attack on Radio 4 Today programme [600KB MP3]
[thanks James]

Labels: Audio, Radio4, Recording

:: Dan 31.3.08 [Arc] [1 comments] [links to this post] ::
...

"iKEY Plus Portable USB Recorder, the second in a generation of products providing a more versatile platform for portable live audio recording. Designed to work with an Apple iPod® or any external USB storage device, the iKEY Plus can record live audio to MP3 or WAV format directly to a USB Compatible storage device - in real time! With endless professional and consumer applications, the iKEY Plus Portable USB Recorder is the most convenient real-time recording tool. NOW with Mic Input, Phono Preamp, VU Meter Display, and Headphone Output!"

Cool. Shame it's not an XLR input for the mic. I'd snap it up if it was. But for £115 it is still very tempting. Finally someone has realised that they can never keep up with mass storage device prices so have unbundled the low yield pre-amp components to give you an easy upgrade path. Cunning, even if it does mean an extra cable and more batteries.

Labels: Recording, Tools

:: Dan 3.1.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
...