What is Reel-to-reel tape recorders?
[[File:Akai GX 635D - edit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A Reel-to-reel tape recorder from Akai, 1978]] '''Reel-to-reel tape recorders''' (often called R2R, open reel decks, etc.) were used during the 20th century, mostly in professional [[studio]]s from the 1940s and quickly spread into people’s homes in the 1950s and 1960s. Popularity peaked in the 1970s, probably because people needed higher quality recordings. This [[technology]] was like a revolution, because everyone could record any kind of sound ([[vinyl record]]s, [[radio]] [[broadcast]], [[voice]] and [[music]]), then play it many times without the quality getting worse, and they could overwrite it many times. This technology has some weak points though: size of reels, sensibility, durability; but still, it has certain advantages over today’s “[[digital media]] [[format]]s.” Also, some famous bands and artists used reel to reel technology as a [[musical instrument]] <ref>Emerick, Geoff. Here, There & Everywhere - Geoff Emerick's Life Recording The Beatles. 6. Gotham Book, 2006. 113,139,168,215. Print.</ref> or even as a separate [[band]].<ref>http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/12/reeltoreel-ensemble.html{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> == Technical information == These reel to reel [[deck]]s are usually [[analog signal|analogue]] [[sound]] devices using a [[magnetic tape]] of ¼ inch (i.e. 6.25&nbsp;cm) width. This [[plastic]] tape is covered by a special [[magnetic]] substance which is being made into [[magnetic domain]]s when it is being recorded. The tape recorder must have a [[sound recording and reproduction|record]], [[playback]] and an [[erase]] head which transfer the signal onto the tape. The more expensive tape decks have three or six separate [[head]]s. Tape recorders combine knowledge both on [[mechanics]] and [[electronics]]. There must be very precise [[motor]]s and moving parts, but also a complicated [[circuit board]]. It has to contain [[transistor]]s, [[amplifier]]s etc. The usual functions