Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: Cool History of Audio Tape, Part 5

One of the important pioneers in the world of audio recording is Major Jack Mullin.  Although he was a solider in the US, he was also interested in technology. 

While he moved through Germany mopping up Nazis at the end of World War II, he discovered a secret broadcasting lair.  Inside, he found two specially-modified tape machines.  Now, the idea of a tape machine wasn’t that big of a deal because they were known to exist by many people.  What made these two machines special is that they employed technology that greatly enhanced the quality of audio they could store. 

Major Mullin realized this, disassembled one of the machines, and had it sent back to the States.  Once home, he got a company called Ampex interested and magnetic tape recording was introduced to the market. 

To say that magnetic audio recording shook up the music industry doesn’t even begin to explain its effects.

For the rest of this thread, we have Ongoing History Daily: Cool History of Audio Tape part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39372 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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