AES Historical Committee

This Site and Its Links

Patents of All Countries

Author's Affiliation Index of AES Publications: Know the author's company but not the author's name? Look here!

Links to Other Historical Sites, and Museum Coordination project

Timeline of Audio Engineering, from cylinder to DVD

Audio Patents, the plan for a project to improve access to the patent literature.

Auditory Perspective, the classic Bell Telephone Labs "stereo" paper from 1934 (4.5 MB file)

Book Listings and Reviews in the AES Journal, 1990...2002, Index of

Books & video tapes now available on audio engineering history

The Thiele-Krause Archive for Audio-Visual Media Technology (currently off-line)

Digital Audio Engineering Standardization History at the AES: The history of the development of the AES digital audio standards, as given in the AES Journal minutes and reports of the Digital Audio Standards and Technical Committees between 1977 and 1984, and in Bart Locanthi's 1986 summary of the Committees' work.

"The Dawn of Commercial Digital Recording ", (2008 Spring) by Thomas Fine. Although wide-spread digital commercial recording is only about 30 years old, much mythology and many claims of  "firsts" have sprung from the mists of time. This article seeks to set the record straight.

Disk (mechanical) Recording

Audio Record, a trade publication of Audio Devices, Inc., of which several volumes are available from its start in 1945 July until 1952. Hopefully more material of this kind will turn up. Audio Devices, Inc. was a licensee of Pyral lacquer disc technology from 1938, but created a very strong in-house research team, developing not only Audiodisc, Audiopoints (stylii) and Audiotape products, but also played a major role in the huge upheaval from 78 rpm to 33 1/3 and 45 as well as early tape development and recording. Audio Devices, Inc. was one of the big magnetic tape suppliers from late 1948 to about 1970 along with 3M, Reeves Soundcraft, and Orradio Industries (Ampex).C.J LeBel was a vice president of Audio Devices, Inc.and a f ounding member of the AES, and its first president. In 1947 he took over a series of regularly featured technical articles in Audio Record, and they are among the most level-headed I have read. There are also magnificent listings of disc cutting and very early tape recording equipment with prices and thumbnail descriptions. You will also find reports on recording projects and recording studios, in particular in broadcasting and educational institutions.    [Thanks to George Brock-Nannestad for calling our attention to this publication.]

History of Disk Recording, (1985) by John G. Frayne. (with 9 references).

Historical Developments in Audio Engineering 1877...1977, a summary paper by Daniel von Recklinghausen, with 81 references to papers and patents

Historical Issues of the AES Journal,  The contents pages for "The Phonograph and Sound Recording After One-Hundred Years" (1977-10) and "The AES: 50 Years of Contributions to Audio Engineering" (1998-01)

History of Audio Engineering as Told Thru the AES Journal: The "non-technical" part of the Journal that's not contained in the "Electronic Library"

Forensic Audio Engineering: The complete "Watergate" report, formally called "The EOB Tape of June 20, 1972: Report on a Technical Investigation Conducted for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, by the Advisory Panel on White House Tapes May 31, 1974", that is the basis for much of present-day forensic audio engineering.

Magnetic Recording

Ampex Museum & Historical Collection at Stanford University

AC-Bias at Bell Telephone Labs, 1936-1939, by Jay McKnight

Develpment of Coated Tape and the Magnetophon in Germany in the 1920s thru 1950s

Analog Magnetic Tape:

3M Tape types, Index to and scans of all 46 issues of 3M "Sound Talk," etc.

Agfa, BASF, and IG Farben Tape Types

Before 1943, History of Audio Engineering and Magnetic Recording

Bibliography of Histories of Magnetic Tape Sound Recording, Selected

"Tape Degredation Factors and Challenges in Predcting Tape Life", a link to Richard Hess' ARSC Journal paper. Squealing tape, and what can and can't be done about it to play those tapes, including a new method.

Motion Pictures, History of Audio Engineering in

Audio Engineering in Motion Pictures, including EW Kellogg's 44-page review paper, with 406 (!) references, from the 1955 J SMPTE.

"A Brief History of Early Motion Picture Sound Recording and Reproducing Practices", (1985) by John K Hilliard

"[History of] Motion Picture Sound Recording", (1976) by John G Frayne.

"Motion Picture Sound Engineering":  The Science and Technology Council [of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] occasionally uncovers, and makes available at no charge, publications of historical interest to researchers and moving image enthusiasts.  Motion Picture Sound Engineering is the first of these free downloadable publications. This must be the "great-granddaddy" (1938) of all of the really technical books on audio engineering. See the rest of the introduction here, and download the whole book (40 MB PDF file) here.

Recording Studios, A Thirty-five Year History and Evolution  (1980) by "Bill" Putnam.

Standardization Activity of the AES (1982) by Langdon, Queen, McKnight, and Campbell --the History Before 1982

A New Standard Volume Indicator and Reference Level, (1940) by Chinn, Gannett, and Morris. The classic IRE paper on the development of the "vu meter". Includes the history of volume indicators, the engineering factors in designing the meter, and the text of the original standard.

Some Questions and Answers on the Standard Volume Indicator ("vu meter"), by Jay McKnight. A personal interpretation of the Chinn et al paper.

"Measuring the Dynamics of a Standard Volume Indicator (SVI)", by Jay McKnight. A "How to do it" paper.

Personal Histories:

Oral Interviews, including Oral Histories are available for purchase at the Historical Committee Web Store. Also see the "AES Celebrates 60th Anniversary".

Talks and Papers, including some "Afternoon With..." Ray Dolby, Cyril Francis, Ross Snyder, Robert Callen, John Hilliard, Bill Putnam, John Frayne, Harry Bryant, Paul Klipsch, Carson Taylor,   Texts of Interviews and Talks

Obituaries ("In Memoriam"),  Index and links to the Journal pages.

Company Histories:

         "History of the Early Days of Ampex Corporation"  by John Leslie and Ross Snyder

Ampex History Project Description

AES Celebrates 60th Anniversary presents oral history to complement the written history below in "How the AES Began" and "Histories of the Founding of the AES".

How the Audio Engineering Society Began, and Volume 0 of the AES Journal -- 1947...1952. Letters in 1947 and 1948 to "Audio Engineering" (AE) magazine suggesting the formation of an Audio Engineering Society, plus an index of all of the AES papers published in AE ("Volume  0" of the Journal) before the Society started publishing its own Journal in 1953. With links to all of these AES papers.

 Histories  of the Founding of the AES: Then-Executive-Director Don Plunket's tabulations of  Officers and Governors, Conventions and Conferences, and Awards

Japan Section of the AES, History of

Operating Structure: The Committee's charter.

Guidelines: Committee purpose, officers, membership requirements, and meetings.

Officers and Project Leaders. Current Projects listed, with their leaders names and email address links.