Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded MusicIn 1915, Thomas Edison proclaimed that he could record a live performance and reproduce it perfectly, shocking audiences who found themselves unable to tell whether what they were hearing was an Edison Diamond Disc or a flesh-and-blood musician. Today, the equation is reversed. Whereas Edison proposed that a real performance could be rebuilt with absolute perfection, Pro Tools and digital samplers now allow musicians and engineers to create the illusion of performances that never were. In between lies a century of sonic exploration into the balance between the real and the represented. |
From inside the book
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... instrument. He and his handpicked research team had spent years developing it, doing hundreds of tests and making countless adjustments to arrive at a machine that sounded perfect. They had even invented a new type of resin for the ...
... instrument in which Mr. Edison's new art is embodied.” The invitations had mentioned something about this, some sort of comparison between the live voice and its reproduced facsimile. Fuller told the audience that Edison's machine could ...
... instruments. A computerized external control unit constantly monitors the entire system. The Caliburn itself really costs only $65,000. The extra $25,000 gets you the optional but highly recommended “Castellon”—a chromed aluminum stand ...
... instruments and concentrate on how the voice sounds. Now turn down the volume and imagine what it would sound like if the same person was standing in front of you singing an a cappella version of the same song. Think about the grain and ...
... instrument, and reconstructing sound and its intention.” A few years earlier, H. Stith Bennett, a sociologist, had given a name to this phenomenon: “recording consciousness,” which he defined as a sense of how to tune our ears in a ...
Contents
From the New World | |
Digital | |
Death and Other Dispatches from the Loudness | |
Liner Notes | |
Notes | |
Acknowledgments | |
Notes | |