WWII to MP3 Society of Sound (416) 937-5826 Jack Mullin
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THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY B U L L E T I N www.torontoaes.org J UNE 2012 2011-2012 AES TORONTO EXECUTIVE Movie Presentation and Year End Social Chairman Robert DiVito Sound Man: WWII to MP3 Society of Sound (416) 937-5826 Jack Mullin Vice Chairman Frank Lockwood Lockwood ARS date Tuesday, 26 June 2012 (647) 349-6467 time 7:00 PM Recording Secretary Karl Machat where Ryerson University Mister’s Mastering RCC 204, Eaton Theatre, Rogers Communications Building House 80 Gould Street, Toronto, ON (416) 503-3060 Corner of Gould and Church, east of Yonge St (Dundas Subway) Treasurer Jeff Bamford Engineering For parking info and map, goto www.ryerson.ca/parking/ Harmonics (416) 465-3378 Pizza and refreshments will be provided Past Chair Sy Potma as part of our year end social. Fanshawe College, MIA (519) 452- This month’s meeting will NOT be available live on-line. 4430 x.4973 Membership Blair Francey Music Marketing Inc From 1877, with the birth of Edison’s cylinder phonograph, how much time 416-789-6848 elapsed before home audio achieved today’s quality? How good was magnetic tape recording in the U.S. in 1948? Who built the first magnetic Bulletin Editor Earl McCluskie Chestnut Hall Music videotape recorder? (519) 894-5308 Learn the answers to these and other historical puzzles and see firsthand Committee Members on DVD the growth of entertainment technology as we present Sound Keith Gordon Dan Man: WWII to MP3. VitaSound Audio Mombourquette DM Services (519) 696-8950 Sound Man: WWII to MP3 Advisors/Contributing Members Director: Don Hardy Jr. Writer: Scott Budman Jim Cox Jim Hayward Stars: Les Paul, Stephen Stills, Jeremy Cohen, Chuck D. and Kathryn Robert Breen Denis Tremblay Grant OIART IMAX (519) 686-5010 AES Toronto appreciates the continuing support of The Toronto AES Section Bulletin is published ten times yearly by the Audio Engineering Society Toronto Section and is available on the Internet at www.TorontoAES.org Submissions are welcome. Articles may be reprinted with the author’s permission. Space is available for AES related companies and individuals wishing to address our members. For submissions, advertising rates or other info, email [email protected]. PLEASE POST - MEMBERS AND GUESTS WELCOME Storyline Jack Mullin's influence extends from the creation of tape following World War II to the rise of the iPod in recent times. Sound Man sheds welcome light on the career of this neglected pioneer, responsible for the innovation described as "a musician's dream." A Bay Area engineer turned WWII soldier, Mullin came upon a certain recording machine during his expeditions in Europe. The contraption, known as magnetophone, was to become the linchpin for the U.S. recording industry, allowing the voices of Bing Crosby and Les Paul, among others, to be saved for future generations. From then on, it's only a step to the shift from records to tapes and the growth of Ampex, one of the early titans of the Silicon Valley. Having helped revolutionize the entertainment world, Mullin, quietly living with his family, was happy to stay out of the spotlight. Sound Man's subtitle, "From WWII to MP3," indicates the important contributions of this fascinating personality, finally given deserved tribute. Director Don Hardy has assembled a vast array of interviews (including musicians Les Paul, Greg Kihn, Chuck D., and Stephen Stills, Bing Crosby's widow Kathryn, Mullin's friends and family) to bring us the story of this essential player in the music industry, a true "sound man." (synopsis courtesy IMDb) Biographies Jack Mullin John T. "Jack" Mullin (1913–1999) was an American pioneer in the field of magnetic tape sound recording and made significant contributions to many other related fields. From his days at Santa Clara University to his death, he displayed a deep appreciation for classical music and an aptitude for electronics and engineering. Mullin’s passion for classical music, his engineering skill, and innovative determination led to a distinguished career in the recording industry. Over the course of his career, he worked doggedly to capture an authentic sound of live music and voice. His revolutionary tape recording technology enabled stars like Bing Crosby to pre-record their radio shows for later airing and forever changed the way Americans listened to music. When he died in 1999, Jack was buried with a rosary and a reel of magnetic tape. A 2006 documentary movie, Sound Man: WWII to MP3, was made about his life and contributions to sound recording. Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mullin Additional Links http://www.aes.org/aeshc/pdf/mullin.pdf http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_john_mullin_man/ Download PDF version of Bulletin here. http://torontoaes.org/download/AES_2012-06.pdf .