Premier Rock Forum

I would have to agree. I think that the concept of music boxes and similar instruments preceeded player pianos. The idea was simple... a metal piece/wheel with little raised metal bumps on it. There is an oscillation/movement, and little forks, or tongs that pluck over the bumps as the bumps move under them. With the tongs varying in size, this creates the difference in pitch. So in fact... you could easily argue that the little metal bumps are the stored data... thus creating your first recording medium.

I can't name many devices off of the top of my head that utilize this method of creating sound. I would guess that the music box would be the most popular universally.