Well, the "first" would have to decidedly be given to the Player Piano with the Pianorolls.

Regina was around the turn-of-the-century/WWI era, but Player Pianos date back to at least the American Civil War era, circa 1860s or so.

Les Paul performed his first experimental "overdub recordings" as a child by pasting paper over the holes in his parent's player pianorolls and then punching his own holes as needed to create his own arrangements. Maybe Les was the first to view and use the concept in this fashion.


--Mac