The cassettes did revolutionise the way we listened, interacted with and dealt with music. It was all due to Lou Ottens who invented the cassette. Until the close of the nineteenth century, the only option to listen to music was live. With the advent of recording, sound could be preserved and played at will. Recording of sound was hugely qualified and came with conditions that the limitations of the technology imposed upon on it.

However, by the nineteen fifties and sixties, the world of sound was rocked by the invention of the portable tape recorder. Many who ventured from abroad - and not many ventured very often - came back carrying a tape recorder, a Grundig with spools of various sizes. It was brandished as a rare and precious acquisition. The machine was exhibited and played to unbelieving audiences, comprising family and friends. Once the word spread round, people made a beeline for the houses and became a nuisance overnight for the proud owners of the tape recorder who wanted to flash their asset but on their own terms.

Everyone one wanted to have his or her voice recorded and played back for the instant thrill and surprise at hearing one’s own voice. This was a new experience for the common person, but still a half satisfying experience for the vocalist and the film actor used to recording of sound in the film studio, for radio and for recording outfits.

Many a simpleton spoke a few words tentatively, but there was a bigger lot, who considered themselves vocalists of great merit. They had been regaling private audiences to their musical feats, winning many a plaudit from their besotted following. However, as they pounced on the opportunity to have their sound recorded, many did not have a flattering thing to say about the machines. Their recorded output was often much less than their own expectation as most found that they were not Mohammed Rafis or Lata Mangeshkars or Noor Jehans but only untrained voices that struck notes that were, to say the least, not full throated.

But it was never their own singing that was at fault; the fault lay with the machine because it failed to capture the genius that lay embedded in their vocal chords. The machines were inadequate or basic compared to the ones in the professional recording studios where the quality of Lata or Rafi or Noor Jehan was allegedly enhanced, while the one at home diminished it.

Other than recording the voices of those that one wanted to, the big advantage of these machines was that music could be recorded. One’s favourite programmes on the radio could be recorded by just putting the microphone in front of the radio and then switching on the recording system. The programmes could now be replayed no matter how flawed the recording was, especially if the broadcast happened on the short wave.

The other big advantage was to record private mehfils (concerts) of music. By inviting ustads to one’s house or the house of one of those who held such mehfils, music could be recorded. These machines could also be taken to the melas, urs and music conferences where proceedings could be recorded. If the machine was too big and could not be disguised, some organisers objected to recording. Sometimes it was too cumbersome to carry these or there was no reliable supply of electricity. Battery cells, about six in number, could run out in half an hour and the rest of the session could go unrecorded.

People recorded what was of interest to them: sermons, recitals, recipes, declamations, speeches of political figures and some of actors delivering Agha Hashr, or rarer still, Shakespeare. It was all great fun laced with the excitement and thrill of accomplishment.

Then came the cassette and with it the cassette player and from the privileged few it became an accessory within reach of lower middle class buying power. The cassette was much more convenient to handle. It was compact, within a case and the tape did not spill over or unroll as in the case of spool tape recorders. It was much smaller in size and could be carried in a pocket. It was also low maintenance, could stand rough handling and remained serviceable unlike the spool or tapes that were big and cumbersome requiring greater maintenance and care. The cassette player, too, could be played much longer with dry battery cells and it became a portable necessity for many doing the chores. It was common now to see a cassette player blasting from a distance or fixed on to the tractors while the fields were ploughed, or attached to the battery of a bus or a truck.

It was still unaffordable for many and efforts went in seriously to repair a cassette if the tape was broken or lost is magnetising gloss. Parts were clipped off and broken tape mended using nail polish borrowed from a sister or a cousin.

The question of sound quality was not always the foremost concern. Cassettes made the act of recording easier. This required no more than pressing a couple of buttons. The master tape could be rerecorded or copies made endlessly. The regard for copyright, if any, was thrown to the winds. The consumption of music vaulted many times over. Bigger, better-equipped studios were displaced largely by cheap basic technologies with recording sessions of variable quality flooding the market.

This left the field open for the amateurs to make their presence felt in the market. There was a rush towards a more democratic opportunity, which the many benefited from and availed. As always, the larger quantity was followed by higher quality.

Lou Ottens died last week.

The writer is a culture critic based in Lahore