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Although digital technology has evolved rapidly since the invention of transistors and integrated circuits in the mid-20th century, digital sound recording took quite a bit longer to develop. Capturing the complexities of sound waves requires encoding thousands of samples per second—each with enough bits of data to recreate the dynamic range accurately—and it took decades to develop systems with enough quality to rival good old magnetic tape.
So, how did we get from the earliest low-res digital formats to the ultra-high sample rates and nearly unlimited dynamic range we enjoy today? Step into the past and join us for a journey through the fascinating history of digital recording!
The foundations of digital audio were laid in the early 20th century when techniques like time-division multiplexing (TDM) and pulse code modulation (PCM) were invented for telegraph and telephone transmission. These early systems showed that information could be broken down into small pieces, encoded as data, and reconstructed on the other end; but it wasn’t until the 1960s that digital technology became advanced enough to convey audio signals with acceptable quality.
NHK develops the first PCM recorder
The Japanese public media corporation NHK is credited with developing the first true digital audio recording system: a 12-bit device that recorded 30 samples per second (30 kHz) onto video tape and featured a compander circuit that reduced the noise floor and increased the usable dynamic range. In 1969, the system was upgraded to record 13-bit, 32 kHz audio on two channels.
Denon produces the first commercial digital recordings
Using NHK’s stereo PCM system, engineers at Denon made the first digital recordings to be commercially released (albeit in consumer analog formats). The first to be recorded was the experimental percussion record The World of Stomu Yamash'ta, while the first to be released was Something by Steve Marcus with Jiro Inagaki and Soul Media.
Denon engineer Takeaki Anazawa standing next to the original DN-023R digital recorder. Source: Audio-Magazine
The BBC develops its own digital recording and broadcast systems
Although the Japanese were the first out of the gate in the digital audio race, the British Broadcasting Corporation followed shortly after with their own two-channel PCM recording system. They ultimately applied this technology to their television broadcast network, using a 13-channel PCM system for remote transmission until the early 1980s. The BBC then licensed some of the technology to 3M, who would later use it as the basis for the first digital multitrack system.
Sony introduces its first PCM recorder
Co-developed by the former head of NHK’s Technical Research Laboratories, the Sony X-12DTC utilized stationary heads like an analog tape deck rather than the rotating (helical) heads of previous digital recorders. The large and bulky unit, which required two-inch tape and 56 channels of data, was used to make a series of classical test recordings and exhibited at Japan’s 1974 Audio Fair. However, it never went into commercial production.
Soundstream produces the first 16-bit PCM recording
Thomas Stockham founded Soundstream in 1975 to sell and lease his own digital recording systems, starting with a prototype 16-bit, 37 kHz stereo mode that was first deployed in 1976 at the Santa Fe Opera. The recording was demonstrated at that year’s AES convention, but the record label ultimately opted to use its own analog recording due to complaints about the digital sound quality. Later, Soundstream developed a 50 kHz system with superior sound quality.
3M develops the first digital multitrack recorders
Using technology borrowed from the BBC’s early experiments, leading tape manufacturer 3M developed the revolutionary Digital Audio Mastering System. The system, priced at $115,000 at the time, consisted of two 16-bit, 50 kHz recorders: a 32-track machine using one-inch tape and a four-track machine using half-inch tape.
Soundstream develops first-of-its-kind Digital Editing System
About a decade before the first Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), Soundstream developed the Digital Editing System: a computer-based system that recorded to a 14-inch hard disk and featured an oscilloscope-style display for primitive waveform editing and simple crossfades. The system was first used to produce a series of classical recordings for Telarc in 1978.
Ry Cooder records the first all-digital album using a multitrack system
Although NHK claimed the very first digital recordings, Ry Cooder’s Bop Till You Drop was the first album of popular music to be recorded 100% digitally using 3M’s multitrack system. Around the same time, British label Decca released the first European digital recording (the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Day concert).
Driven by huge leaps in computing power and microchip manufacturing, the 1980s was a time of rapid growth and innovation in the tech industry that led to once-futuristic tech like personal computers and digital synthesizers becoming more and more common. This decade also saw major advancements in digital recording technology, including the introduction of the Compact Disc (CD), Digital Audio Tape (DAT), and the first Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software.
Mitsubishi introduces X-80 digital tape recorder
Advanced for its time but soon surpassed, Mitsubishi’s X-80 was a two-track, quarter-inch recorder that used an unusual sample rate of 50.4 kHz. Engineers lauded its sound quality but complained of unreliability, and only 200 units were made (including the portable X-80A).
Sony and Philips co-develop the Compact Disc
Based on the LaserDisc video format developed by Philips and MCA in 1978, the Compact Disc (CD) used optical technology to encode digital audio on a thin disc which could be read by a laser and converted back to analog during playback. The “Red Book” CD specification provided up to 74 minutes of 16-bit audio at 44.1 kHz: just enough data to capture the full audible spectrum with an acceptable amount of dynamic range.
Source: Sony
Sony introduces DASH digital audio tape format
Sony’s Digital Audio Stationary Head (DASH) format crammed up to 48 tracks of 16-bit audio onto half-inch magnetic tape—an incredible improvement over 3M’s earlier format. The machine’s accuracy and error correction were so robust that DASH tapes could be cut and spliced just like analog tape, which appealed to analog-minded engineers. Studer and TASCAM produced a range of 2-, 24-, and 48-track DASH machines.
Mitsubishi introduces ProDigi format
To compete with DASH, Mitsubishi quickly developed a successor to the X-80 called the X-800, along with a new format called ProDigi. The 32-track X-800 used one-inch tape, but half-inch 16-track and quarter-inch two-track models followed, including the X-86HS (which was capable of 88.2 and 96 kHz recording) and the X-86C (which could play back 50.4 kHz tapes made on the original X-80). But despite their brief success, Mitsubishi ultimately stopped making digital recorders in 1988.
SPARS codes developed to identify digital recordings
As digital audio continued to creep into the music production process, the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS) developed a three-letter code to inform consumers. SPARS codes printed on records classified the recording, mixing, and mastering stages with an A for analog or a D for digital. Under this system, “AAD” denoted a digital remaster of an analog album, “ADD” indicated an album recorded on tape but mixed and mastered digitally, and “DDD” specified an all-digital production (such as Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms).
Sony develops Digital Audio Tape (DAT) format
Compared to previous digital tape formats, Sony’s DAT offered convenience and flexibility that appealed to consumers and home recordists alike. Using small cassettes instead of open-reel tapes, DAT recorders featured three 16-bit modes (48, 44.1, or 32 kHz) as well as a 12-bit, 32 kHz mode which provided up to six hours of recording time. DAT machines initially came in two varieties: S-DAT, which used stationary heads; and R-DAT, which used rotating heads. In the end, R-DAT became the standard due to its capability for four-track recording.
Digidesign introduces Sound Tools, the precursor to Pro Tools
While Sony, Mitsubishi, and others battled for supremacy in the digital tape market, a company called Digidesign (now Avid) was busy developing a revolutionary hard disk-based recording system based on their Sound Designer visual editor for the Emulator II sampler. Combined with proprietary A/D and D/A converters, Sound Tools provided two-channel, 16-bit recording and editing at the newly standardized sample rates of 44.1 and 48 kHz.
Screenshot of Digidesign Sound Tools. Image Credit: yamaha.com
Slow to trust new technologies and heavily invested in analog equipment, many studios still relied on multitrack tape throughout the 1980s. Meanwhile, many home recordists relied on affordable cassette-based systems such as the TASCAM Portastudio line. But in the 1990s, all of that began to change. As new digital formats emerged, sound quality and affordability increased, and DAWs became commonplace, a paradigm shift was underway.
Alesis introduces ADAT format
At the 1991 NAMM Show, Alesis debuted a new format that improved upon the earlier DAT format. Alesis Digital Audio Tape (ADAT) could fit eight tracks of 16-bit audio onto a standard S-VHS videotape, making it popular among home recordists and home studios. Up to 16 ADAT machines could be connected for 128-track recording, but this functionality proved unreliable and ADAT was eventually overshadowed by hard disk-based systems.
Digidesign introduces Pro Tools software
The first version of Pro Tools combined Digidesign’s ProEdit software with ProDeck, a four-track DAW developed by OSC that features automation, MIDI sequencing, and DSP effects such as EQ, delay, and chorus. At the time, Digidesign was still offering Sound Designer II for two-track editing, and Sound Tools II came out the following year.
Screenshot of Digidesign Pro Tools
RADAR becomes the first 24-track disk-based recording system
After about three years of development, Barry Henderson of Creation Studios debuted the Random Access Digital Audio Recorder (RADAR) at the 1993 AES convention. Initially marketed under the Otari brand, RADAR was the first hard drive-based system capable of recording 24 tracks of 16-bit, 48 kHz audio. With its tape machine-like user interface, the RADAR system gained a small but loyal following among older engineers, and the company later produced several more models, including the DAW-compatible RADAR Studio.
TASCAM introduces DA-88 digital audio tape format
Similar to an ADAT machine with increased reliability, the TASCAM DA-88 provided eight tracks of 16-bit audio with the capability to sync multiple machines for higher track counts. Later models offered higher sample rates and the DA-88 eventually won an Emmy award for technical excellence.
Digidesign introduces Pro Tools II TDM and is acquired by Avid
Pro Tools II TDM (also known as Pro Tools 2.5) utilized Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) technology to route audio between multiple DSP cards. This not only made it possible to link four NuBus cards to create a 16-track system but also allowed the user to run multiple real-time plugins. Later that year, Digidesign was acquired by Avid, makers of the popular Media Composer video editing software.
Avid introduces Pro Tools | 24
Thanks to new PCI cards, Pro Tools | 24 (also known as Pro Tools 4.1) offered 24-bit recording on up to 64 simultaneous tracks. The increased track count and greatly improved dynamic range finally made Pro Tools a direct competitor to tape and RADAR systems.
“Livin’ la Vida Loca” becomes the first #1 single to be fully produced in a DAW
At the end of the 20th century, digital recording hit a milestone that heralded a new era for the industry: Ricky Martin’s 1999 hit “Livin’ la Vida Loca” became the first chart-topping single to be recorded, edited, and mixed entirely within Pro Tools. While the merits of digital and analog audio were still hot topics of debate, this event certainly tipped the scales.
By the year 2000, digital recording had finally gained widespread acceptance in the industry. After decades of evolution and numerous technological breakthroughs, DAW-based recording made digital tape obsolete and eventually supplanted analog tape as the default in all but the most old-school studios.
In the 21st century, DAWs have continued to evolve at a rapid pace, high-quality converters have become more affordable, and innovations like 32-bit floating point recording have made digital audio practically indistinguishable from real life—but that’s a story for another time.
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