technological developments 2

Question 1

Acoustic horn/cylinder when was it made/invented

Answer 1

1901

Question 2

What is an acoustic horn/cylinder?

Answer 2

• the original process for capturing/recording sound until around the mid 1920s.
• A horn is a tapered sound guide designed to maximise the efficiency with which sound waves from a particular source are transferred to the air. A horn can also be used at the receiving end to optimize the transfer of sound from air to a receiver.

Question 3

How the acoustic horn/cylinder developed?

Answer 3

• Developed in 1877 by Thomas Edison as a result of his work on two other inventions, the telegraph and telephone,
• Initially two minutes of sound could be recorded but later this was extended to four minutes by making changes to the gearing system.

Question 4

Acoustic horn/cylinder key features

Answer 4

-musicians would perform in front of a large flared horn that funnelled the sound waves onto a small thin diaphragm .
-The diaphragm had a stylus attached which imprinted the sound waves onto a rotating wax cylinder.

Question 5

When was the bass guitar invented/released?

Answer 5

1935

Question 6

What is a bass guitar

Answer 6

Since the 1960s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music as the bass instrument in the rhythm section.

Question 7

How the bass guitar developed?

Answer 7

• The first commercially successful bass was the Fender Precision Bass.
• This was introduced in 1951 by Leo Fender.

Question 8

Bass Guitar key features

Answer 8

• The magnetic action creates the electric current that will be amplified to make sound.
• the electrical output must be amplified.
• The metal strings have magnetic properties and so interact with the pick-ups.
• Pick-ups on the bass transform the vibrations of the strings into electrical energy that can then be sent to an amplifier.

Question 9

When was the cassette invented/released?

Answer 9

1950

Question 10

Cassettes

Answer 10

• Compact Cassettes consist of two miniature spools, between which magnetically coated plastic tape is passed and wound. These spools and their attendant parts are held inside a protective plastic shell.
• Two stereo pairs of tracks are available on the tape; one played or recorded when the tape is moving in one direction and the second paid in the other direction.
• This reversal is achieved either by manually flipping the cassette or by having the machine itself change the directions of tape movement.

Question 11

The history of the cassettes?

Answer 11

1958:
- The cassette tape was born
- RCA was the first company to attempt to put reel-to-reel recordings into cassette form.
- One hour of tape cost $9.95 and the product flopped.

1963:
- The first compact cassette was invented.
- Phillips invented the first compact cassette with BASF PES-18 tape, which proved less cumbersome than reel-to-reel tape.

1970:
- Cassettes hit the big time with the decline of 8-track players and the introduction of the Sony Walkman in 1979.
- The Walkman revolution coincided with improvement in cassette sound quality and the cassette tape suddenly becoming the only format that you could have in your home, car and pocket.

1983:
- Cassette tapes overtook vinyl as the most popular medium

1985:
- The first time an album was released NOT on cassette since it had been invented.