applied sciences Review A History of Audio Effects Thomas Wilmering 1,∗ , David Moffat 2 , Alessia Milo 1 and Mark B. Sandler 1 1 Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK;
[email protected] (A.M.);
[email protected] (M.B.S.) 2 Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 16 December 2019; Accepted: 13 January 2020; Published: 22 January 2020 Abstract: Audio effects are an essential tool that the field of music production relies upon. The ability to intentionally manipulate and modify a piece of sound has opened up considerable opportunities for music making. The evolution of technology has often driven new audio tools and effects, from early architectural acoustics through electromechanical and electronic devices to the digitisation of music production studios. Throughout time, music has constantly borrowed ideas and technological advancements from all other fields and contributed back to the innovative technology. This is defined as transsectorial innovation and fundamentally underpins the technological developments of audio effects. The development and evolution of audio effect technology is discussed, highlighting major technical breakthroughs and the impact of available audio effects. Keywords: audio effects; history; transsectorial innovation; technology; audio processing; music production 1. Introduction In this article, we describe the history of audio effects with regards to musical composition (music performance and production). We define audio effects as the controlled transformation of a sound typically based on some control parameters. As such, the term sound transformation can be considered synonymous with audio effect.