Instrument used in early recordings (4)
I believe the answer is:
lyre
'instrument' is the definition.
(lyre is a kind of instrument)
'in early recordings' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates a hidden word.
'LYRE' is hidden in the letters of 'early recordings'.
'used' is the link.
(Other definitions for lyre that I've seen before include "Old stringed instrument" , "Ancient Greek harp" , "Ancient Greece harp" , "Old instrument, like a harp" , "Ancient stringed musical instrument with U-shaped frame" .)