Tape Recorders

To commemorate the centenary of electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram, Caro C explores Oram’s lasting influence in a conversation with Sarah Angliss and Ian Stonehouse.

Working with analogue tape wasn’t all good, but it did impose a discipline on recording sessions that was hugely beneficial — and which our DAWs have made optional.

Audio Design Engineer Andy Bereza founded Allen & Heath Mixers before working for TEAC/Tascam, where he conceived the ground-breaking TEAC Portastudio.

Paul White and Hugh Robjohns discuss the evolution of recording from the perspective of their own experiences, starting with analogue tape and ending with computer-based digital systems.

The final Revox tape recorders left the factory almost 25 years ago, yet the enthusiasm and support for these classic machines remains as strong as ever.

Robin Rimbaud, AKA Scanner, takes us on an autobiographical sonic journey as he talks about his early fascination with tape recorders, to life beyond the computer screen and his studio filled with modular and table-top synths.

Talent and hard work have taken Marta Salogni from dive bars in Italy to working with A-list mixing and production clients in the UK in less than a decade.

What’s better, a DAW or real analogue tape? Both, of course! We take a look at an ingenious system that seamlessly integrates the two.

The sound of analogue tape is still revered, but acquiring and maintaining your own machine presents a unique set of challenges.

Hugh: It's strange. A few years ago I used tape machines almost every day, but now it is something of a...

Second-hand tape recorders are cheap and can provide uniquely warm, organic delay effects. Best of all, its a piece of cake to integrate them into a digital mixing setup. We tell you how...

I recently purchased a second-hand Tandberg reel-to-reel tape machine and I'm having difficulties connecting it to my external hi-fi...

Could you explain the subtle differences between all the different variants of Dolby — A, B, C, HX and SR?

Back in 1986-7, there was an ad for an amazing and inexpensive technique which, it claimed, added many more audio tracks to your eight-track reel-to-reel tape machine. How did it work?

A friend of mine has a couple of old stereo tape reels which he'd like to transfer to CD. I've seen stereo reel-to-reel tape machines for sale and I'm considering investing in one, probably a Studer or a Revox, not only to help out my friend, but also because I'm interested in experimenting with tape loops and tape saturation effects. Are old machines by these manufacturers reliable?