Hands-on historical recording

Abstract

Hands-On Historical Recording explores practice-based approaches to early acoustic recording through documentation, reconstruction, and experimental use of historical equipment. It focuses on recording horns and the technical challenges of replicating early apparatus. Material research is combined with hands-on experimentation, including live recording on a 1905 phonograph using wax cylinders. Immediate playback makes it possible to assess how equipment design, recording mechanics, and acoustic constraints shape sound. The study demonstrates how reconstruction and experimental recording can complement archival research and generate new knowledge about historical technologies and practices.