Sound mixing and recording is the process by which music is recorded and prepared for release. Pre-1925 sound recordings were made acoustically with sound waves driving the process. Sounds captured by collecting horns directed a stylus or similar device to cut grooves directly into a disc. The disc, usually made of wax, was used as a master to make copies. Recording studios were cramped and heavily curtained, making them uncomfortable for musicians. In 1925, recording became electric, and the first microphones were introduced. Styluses could cut a wider range of frequencies into grooves when driven by electric current, but until the 1940s, when magnetic tape became widely available, recordings could not be edited or mixed. The recording process was also limited by the time available on each disk. It also took an enormous amount of time to set up a studio, and each master disk had to be checked for quality before another was recorded. An error would result in the whole process starting over again. Sound quality was also not great. Indeed, until the introduction of stereo in the 1950s, recordings could not reflect the depth and breadth of sound.
Before magnetic tape, there were efforts as early as 1898 to make magnetic recordings on steel wire (though no reliable machines existed until 1912), and steel tape. Magnetic wires found limited use through World War II, but by war's end, magnetic tape technology had come of age. A resilient tape, one coated with magnetic oxides, became available. Magnetic tape recordings are made by storing sound wave patterns as analogous variations of magnetic flux. Magnetic tape proved much more flexible than discs in the recording process. The tape length far exceeded anything possible with discs. Tape could be easily started and stopped. Mistakes were easily erased and redone. Tapes could be edited. The best part of a performance take could be saved, and joined to other superior takes. Indeed, all the musicians did not have to be in the same studio at the same time to record as discs required. Tapes could be recorded one place and edited together at another.
Early magnetic tape recordings were single track affairs. In the late 1950s, multitrack tape recording was introduced. Multitrack recording involved the creation of individual tracks on different tapes. Individual instruments could have their own microphone, resulting in their own track. With individual tracks available, mixing became possible. Tapes could be mixed on mixing console. In mixing, the relationship between sounds can be changed. Sounds could be optimized, and texture, balance, and spatial relationships could be composed. Musicians had the means to make their intentions clearer. Effects became possible, as well as overdubbing and other studio wonders. By 1970, 24-track recording was possible. One major problem of magnetic tape recording was solved in this time period: tape noise. Noise reduction systems were introduced in the mid-1960s, and the most successful ones were invented by Ray Dolby.
In the mid-1970s, digital recording came to fruition. Digital recordings are made by regular sampling of sound waves, and converting them into a number sequence. This data can be stored on magnetic tape or computer. When digital recordings are stored on computers, recordings can be instantly, easily played back without problems of tape speed fluctuation or background noise. Indeed, when digital recordings are stored on discs, moments can be more easily and precisely pinpointed than on tape. Digital recording also offers more sound effects and sound modification possibilities, as well as more mixing possibilities. With the advent of the compact disc, a totally digital means of hearing music, on the consumer market in 1980s, digital recording became dominant.
As technologies like DAT (digital audio tape) players and recorders become more inexpensive and portable available, musicians can record and mix tapes as good in quality as those made in a recording studio. Personal computers also have recording and mixing capabilities via sound cards and special software. They also can be used in home recording. In the future, computer's role in sound mixing and recording will continue to grow.
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