The recording industry has evolved from the early years. Music which serves as entertainment for people of all ages is recorded in various recording formats in the past. In recent years, several new inventions and devices have hit the recording industry for recording music. The latest technology recording equipment has made it possible to improve the quality of the music recorded. The following gives a detailed overview of the evolution of the recording and the recording formats used.

Acoustical Recording
This is the ancient type of recording where the live music performance where recorded using a medium by a mechanical process. A diaphragm and recording stylus was used for the recording process. These early type of recordings suffered from low fidelity and volume. Acoustic recording can capture the audible sound spectrum of 250 HZ. Thus this type of recording suffered from sonic limitations. This forced musicians to make use of instruments that were louder like trumpets, cornet, etc. Phonograph which is also called as gramophone is the oldest device used for recording and for playing back the music performances of live concerts.

Electrical Recording
In the later years, the electrical recording was introduced where a microphone was used for the recording of sounds. This helped to improve the quality records to a greater extent. With the help of microphones, it was possible to record higher frequencies, and it maintained a balance between the high and low frequencies during the recording process. The signal could be amplified so that the recording is accurate and of improved quality. One of the limitations of the electrical recording was that it was done on disc and any mistake would spoil the entire recording.

Magnetic Recording
Magnetic recording or wire recording is a technique where thin steel or stainless steel wire was used for the recording purpose. This steel wire would be rotated using a rotating head where the intensity and polarity varies. The magnetic tapes, whose working was more or less the same as the magnetic wire came into use.

Multi-Track Recording
After several developments in the recording industry, the multi-track recording was possible. Here the magnetic tapes were divided, and several tracks were recorded in parallel that was played in complete synchronization. 4-track recording offered more significant benefits to musicians and record engineers. The famous The Beatles and Rolling stones were recorded on 4-tracks.

Digital Recording
This is the recent recording format that is widely followed in most of the professional recording studios. Recording engineers and musicians enjoy greater flexibility in the recording process and the quality of the music recorded is much improved.

There have been massive developments in the recording technology used in the past.