By Raphael Dabbs

1. Digital Audio Recording
Raphael Dabbs

2. Digital Audio
Digital audio is an
audio signal encoded
in a digital form.
It is more reliable than analogue audio, which is
susceptible to noise and distortion.

3. Pulse-Code Modulation
This is a method used to digitally represent sampled
analogue signals. It is the standard form of digital
audio in computers, CDs, digital telephony (such as
VoIP programs, e.g. Skype) and many other digital
audio applications.
British scientist Alec Reeves, who
first discovered the potential of
pulse-code modulation, filed for a
patent in 1937; his US patent was
granted in 1943.

4. Full Digital Recording
Released in 1985, the Dire Straits album Brothers in Arms
was one of the first mainstream albums to be a full digital
recording (DDD), when most music was recorded on
analogue equipment.
Peter Gabriel’s eponymous
fourth album (which also
known as “Security” and
“Peter Gabriel 4”) was
another early full digital
recording.
Until the 80’s, music was recorded mainly using analogue
equipment. In 1984, the Society of Professional Audio Recording
Services invented a code for albums indicating whether it was
recorded, mixed and mastered digitally or analogously. Each stage
was indicated with three letters – either D or A. This became known
as the SPARS code.
Ry Cooder’s ninth album Bop Till You Drop (1979) was the
first pop album to be recorded digitally. The 1984 album
Zoolook by Jean-Michel Jarre was the first album to be
given a DDD label.

5. Multitracking
Multitrack recording, otherwise known as multitracking (or
simply tracking) is recording sounds (e.g. vocals) in separate
recording sessions and playing them all together to create
one whole sound.
While it was possible to multitrack on analogue recorders,
digital sound recording and production technology (such as
the music software Logic Pro) made multitrack recording
much easier and more flexible.
The TEAC 2340, a popular analogue home
multitrack recorder created in 1973. It has
four tracks on quarter-inch tape.
The Korg D888, an eight-track digital
recorder.

6. Compact discs
The way Compact discs store audio (through
the use of binary data, or bits) means that
they can only play digital sound.
CD sales have dropped as of late due to other
forms of music reproduction, such as online
digital distribution (such as iTunes) and the
use of flash drives. This has also led to what
some consider to be the return of the vinyl
record.
In 1996, optical discs began selling in Japan, along with DVD players. One form of optical
disc is the Compact Disc (CD), which, by the late 1980’s, had replaced the vinyl record as
the mainstream medium for music reproduction.