Oxford University Tape Recording Society

The Oxford University Tape Recording Society (OUTRS) was a student's club of recording enthusiasts that has existed at Oxford from at least 1966[1] until at least 1976.[2] Among its members were AES fellow Michael Gerzon and Peter Craven, co-inventors of the Soundfield microphone, Nimbus Records director Jonathan Halliday and sound engineer and prolific Ambisonic recordist Paul Hodges (father of pianist Nicolas Hodges).

The OUTRS' recordings have been quoted in early listening experiments on four-speaker stereo reproduction.[3] Subsequently, the society conducted some ground-breaking experiments in full-sphere surround recording,[4][5][6] laying the foundation for the development of the Ambisonic surround sound system.

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  • A personal, illustrated account of the activities of the OUTRS by former member Stephen Thornton can be found at [1].
  • The tape collection of Michael Gerzon contains many OUTRS recordings and is available at The British Library Catalogue No. C236.
  • Paul Hodges maintains a site of Ambisonic resources at [2].
  • A short documentary focusing on Michael Gerzon and the work of the OUTRS, including interviews with Peter Craven and Paul Hodges can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X23hZNoSkUs

References

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  1. ^ Stephen Thornton, michaelgerzonphotos.co.uk retrieved 2014-01-01
  2. ^ Paul Wilson and Adam Tovell, The Michael Gerzon Archive and the British Library’s Archival Sound Recordings Project, eContact! Volume 10.x, 2010
  3. ^ Michael Gerzon, Surround sound from 2-channel stereo, HiFi News, August 1970
  4. ^ Michael Gerzon, Experimental Tetrahedral Recording: part one, Studio Sound, Vol. 13, August 1971, pp 396-398
  5. ^ Michael Gerzon, Experimental Tetrahedral Recording: part two, Studio Sound, Vol. 13, September 1971, pp 472, 473 and 475
  6. ^ Michael Gerzon, Experimental Tetrahedral Recording: part three, Studio Sound, Vol. 13, October 1971, pp 510, 511, 513 and 515