Tape recorder how does it work
We will continue the discussion by learning about another device which is a major source of entertainment in most households, namely a tape recorder. Agreed that with the advent of the computer age and the continuous downslide of the memory prices, we are mostly switching over to digital storage media such as hard drives, flash drives and so forth. But still there are a large number of people who use the magnetic tape recorders to play back and listen to audio and video content.
But have you ever thought how your voice is stored on a thin strip made of some magnetic material and how is it replayed from there? This article explains how does a magnetic tape recorder work and what is the technology behind it.
Before actually going into the details of the magnetic tape recorder, I would like to talk a bit about the tape which is used for this purpose. Actually the tape is made out of a special type of plastic material which is stable and can withstand continuous rubbing against the head.
Normally this material is either PVC or Mylar which are quite resistant to wear and stretching which is necessary for the tape to remain useful for a long period of time. On top of this plastic base, there is a thin layer of magnetic material, usually Iron Oxide. Once the sound is recorded, it can then be reproduced using the player component that almost any tape recorder will have.
It was the dominant audio technology during the last several decades of the 20th century. These devices work by running a tape coated with a type of iron oxide over the electromagnetic head of the machine.
Depending on what its function is at that particular time, new information can be put on the magnetic tape or it can be read back. Due to the use of magnets, the audio cassette is highly susceptible to magnetic fields and therefore needs to be kept away from all magnets. This is one of the easiest ways to damage a recording. The tape recorder was the precedent of the video recorder, which is still in widespread use today. The basic technology between the two is very similar.
The cassette used in a recorder can be the standard size, or one much smaller, which is known as the microcassette. Either way, the function of the tape recorder remains the same.
Analog recording, of course, predates tape — with everything from wax cylinders to wire being used to capture a performance. The format offered two major advantages over the acetate disks of the day: a recording time of more than 30 minutes, and the ability for recordings to be edited.
It was the first time audio could be manipulated. Ampex and Mullen soon followed with commercial grade recorders. One of the first Ampex Model recorders was given to guitarist Les Paul, who took the concept of audio manipulation to a higher level.
Paul had already been experimenting with overdubbed recording on disks and, quickly realizing the potential for adding more channels and additional recording and playback heads, came to Ampex with the idea for the first multi-track tape recorders. The format evolved from two tracks to three and four, and although Ampex built some of the first eight-track machines in in the late s, most commercially available machines were limited to four tracks until , when Abbey Road recording engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Townshend began experimenting with multiple machines during the recording of Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Ampex responded to the demand the following year, introducing the revolutionary MM, which recorded eight tracks on one-inch tape. Scully also introduced a track one-inch design that year, but it was quickly overshadowed by a track version of the MM, using two-inch tape.
MCI followed in with 24 tracks on two-inch tape, and the two-inch track became the most common format in professional recording studios throughout most of the s and s. With the prevalence of home and project studios and digital technology in the late s and s, a number of other tape formats emerged, including various multitrack on-reel and cassette configurations as well as multiple digital tape formats. But for the sake of this article, we'll focus mainly on multitrack analog tape, the most sonically revered recording medium of all time.
In the simplest of terms, magnetic tape consists of a thin layer of Mylar or similar material coated with iron oxide. The tape machine head exerts a charge on the oxide, which polarizes the oxide particles and effectively "captures" the signal. It's a process that creates some interesting byproducts, many of which directly influence the sound of the recording.
Tape warmth adds a level of color to the sound, primarily softening the attacks of musical notes, and thickening up the low frequency range. Recording at slightly hot levels to analog tape can also produce a nice distortion that works well with certain types of music such as rock, soul, and blues. As multitrack recording evolved, a number of different manufacturers began to emerge. By the early s, Ampex was no longer the dominant multitrack manufacturer, facing stiff competition from MCI, Studer, 3M, and Otari.
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