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CKUA Microphone

Not available for use in Recording Studios

On exhibit

Artifact TypeMicrophone

Manufacturer Western Electric Company, Inc.

Manufacturer LocationUSA

Datec. 1920

This microphone was formerly owned and used by Alberta’s CKUA radio network, Canada’s first public broadcaster. Established in 1927 on the Edmonton campus of the University of Alberta (hence the “UA”), the station has supported the careers of numerous local and independent artists prior to their commercial success. It holds one of the most extensive musical libraries in the country and notable hosts, both past and present, include Tommy Banks, Holger Petersen and Terry David Mulligan.

On loan from CKUA

Operation/FunctionContains internal diaphragm and associated coil/magnet circuitry for producing electrical signals. The specific impedance and directional pattern of this particular microphone is unknown, although it is likely to have been a high gain dynamic/vocal unit.Cultural SignificanceCKUA is considered a national cultural icon, having supported the careers of numerous artists prior to their commercial success and holding the title of first public broadcaster in the country. The microphone has left an indelible impact on the way in which humans are able to communicate and interact with sound. In conjunction with related technologies such as radio, the loudspeaker, and recording media, the microphone has enabled sounds to be captured, stored for archival purposes, or travel vast distances. The microphone in particular has also allowed humans to approach a much closer relationship with their aural environment, disclosing and amplifying sounds that were not typically listened to in such a manner prior to the advent of the technology. Its use in the recording studio and in relation to the amplification of acoustic instruments such as the guitar and piano have also helped massively redefine the course of popular and experimental music.Technological SignificanceThe advent of the microphone is perhaps one of the most significant advances of the electric age, having developed on the basis of early experiments in telephone technology in around the 1870s. The first microphone, a carbon microphone, emerged in the 1870s as the result of efforts by English physicist David Edward Hughes. At the same time, a similar technology was being independently developed in the United States by inventors Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison; Edison was awarded the first patent for the device in 1877. The first condenser microphone emerged from E. C. Wente of Bell Laboratories in New Jersey in 1916, with the first dynamic or moving-coil unit following in 1923 from H. J. Round at the studios of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London. Electro-Voice, the designer of the first shotgun microphone, was awarded an Academy Award for their technology in 1963. The microphone was put to expansive creative and aesthetic use throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s especially, effectively redefining the course of popular and experimental music. Chief among developments of this time was the implementation of small microphones into acoustic instruments, resulting in the emergence of the massively groundbreaking electric guitar. The importance of the recording studio came as a result of improvements and experiments in microphone technology, as well, allowing not only for the most intimate sounds to be captured in ways never before achieved, but also for certain characteristics or qualities of sounds to be shaped, isolated, manipulated, or extended by the device. The microphone was also a pivotal feature in the prevalence of radio technology in the 1920s, effectively enabling the transmission process to occur in a streamlined manner.Users/PerformersThis particular artifact was formerly owned and used by CKUA radio. CKUA was founded on 21 November 1927 at the Edmonton campus of the University of Alberta. Still operational today, the station stands as the first public broadcaster in the country, and the first to feature educational programming including university lectures. CKUA remains one of the most revered stations by Canadian musicians thanks to a policy based on supporting local, independent, and emerging artists. Today, the station’s programming spans a wide range of genres, including classical, jazz, hip-hop, rock, world, blues, folk, and country music. A unique feature of the station is its continued educational programs, which typically come in the form of broadcasted courses offered by Athabasca University. The station also holds one of the most extensive music libraries in the country. Notable hosts, both past and present, include Tommy Banks, Holger Petersen, Bryan Hall, Terry David Mulligan, and Roy Forbes.

Collection