Turns out the French beat us to it

[rharv]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080329/ap_on_en_mu/earliest_recording

I've always thought the recording I heard of Thomas Edison played in his preserved lab here in Detroit was the first sound recording; apparently not.
 He did make the first phonograph record, obviously, but probably not the first recording.

[kara]

Interesting, I didn't know that
"""
the phonautograph etched sound waves into paper coated with soot from an oil lamp."""   

k

[Marc JX8P]

Seems like Edison can still claim to be the first to create a sound recorder and playback device; the French device was interestingly only intented for registration of sound.

[Max el Belga]

Pffff...  I´ve made already uncountable, purely recording devices; 100% perfect and efficient, but nobody wants them, ´cose I still don´t have the players finished...

FunnyMax... .. .

[folderol]

strange that, I had a similar problem. I've given up designing audio, video and whole environment players because nobody can be bothered to make the recorders

[deaf dunderkwac]

I actually tried to render one of those 'recordings' in the late 60's.
Used various opto graphic readers and an IBM 360.
wasted time, basically.