Hear where recorded sound got its start
The acoustic era of recording began with Thomas Edison’s 1877 invention: the phonograph, which allowed sound to be reliably recorded and played back for the first time in history. Sound is captured via a mouthpiece, which vibrates a needle or stylus, making grooves in strips of tinfoil or wax wrapped around the recording cylinder. The recording is then played back using another needle and a horn. The AMPLab is home to an Edison phonograph that plays 2” cylinders through an elegantly painted horn.
Fun fact: The first phonograph recording is of Edison himself reading Mary Had a Little Lamb, which he demonstrated at the offices of leading technical publication Scientific American on December 7, 1877.
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Model #: Edison Standard acoustic phonograph
Quantity: 1
User Manual
