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Audio Recorders

Audio Recording formats, encompassing both stereo and multitrack configurations, are essential tools in the creation and preservation of audio content. Stereo recording formats capture two audio channels, typically left and right, providing a simple yet effective method for reproducing sound with spatial accuracy. Stereo formats are commonly used in music production, broadcasting, and consumer audio devices, offering immersive listening experiences across various media platforms.

Multitrack recording formats, on the other hand, enable the simultaneous recording of multiple audio channels or tracks onto a single medium. This allows for the independent manipulation of each track during the mixing and editing process, offering unparalleled flexibility and creativity in audio production. Multitrack formats are widely used in professional music studios, film and television production, live sound reinforcement, and podcasting, enabling artists and engineers to craft complex arrangements, add effects, and achieve precise control over the final audio product.

Both stereo and multitrack recording formats have evolved over the years, from analog tape-based audio recorders to digital technologies such as hard disc recording, solid-state recording, and computer-based digital audio workstations (DAWs). These advancements have democratized audio production, making high-quality recording accessible to a broader audience while pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation in the field of sound engineering and music production.

Released in 1984

Fostex B-16 Multitrack Tape Recorder

Upon its release, the Fostex B-16 Multitrack Tape Recorder gave smaller project studios access to a 16-track tape machine that delivered both performance and affordability for the first time. This marked a significant milestone in home and project studio recording, as the B-16 offered professional-grade multi-tracking capabilities at a fraction of the cost of larger studio machines. With its compact design and reliable sound quality, it allowed independent musicians and producers to create more sophisticated recordings without relying on expensive commercial studios, contributing to the rise of home-based music production in the 1980s.
Fostex B-16
Released in 1985

Studer A721 Cassette Tape Recorder

The Studer A721 is a professional cassette recorder with superb audio performance, reliability, and convenient operating concept, including a four-motor tape transport mechanism and modular audio electronics with automatic record parameter calibration.
Studer A721
Released in 1987

Sony DTC-1000ES Digital Audio Tape Recorder

The Sony DTC-1000ES Digital Audio Tape Deck was the world’s first DAT machine, and although it was a consumer machine, it proved to be very successful in the professional world too, perhaps even more so as DAT never really made it in the consumer world.
Sony DTC-1000ES
Released in 1987

Sony PCM-2500 Digital Audio Tape Recorder

The Sony PCM2500 DAT Recorder took over from the Sony PCM-1630 Series Recorders and kept the DAT format alive for years to come in the studio, (with many successful albums having been mastered to it) but DAT as a format, failed to succeed in the domestic market.
Sony PCM-2500
Released in 1987

Sony DRD-100 Digital Audio Tape Duplicator

Sony DRD-100 DAT Duplicator is a real-time rack-mount system offering master-quality copying of digital audio and subcode data in up to fifty linked units operating as master or slave with split-use capability.
Sony DRD-100
Released in 1987

Akai MG14D 12 Track Recorder

One of the most unusual tape recorders released during the golden period of the 1980s, is without a doubt, the Akai MG14D, a tape based analogue recorder that offered excellent sound quality in a relatively compact chassis, released hot on the heels of a wave of digital multitrack recorders.
Akai MG14D
Released in 1987

Akai MG614 4 Track Recorder

The Akai MG614 Recorder was a high-end cassette multitrack recorder and mixer offering four audio tracks plus a dedicated sync signal on track 1. With a six-channel mixer, twin parametric EQs, dbx noise reduction, dual tape speeds, and a built-in auto locator, it delivered professional features for serious home recording. Designed for seamless MIDI integration and efficient workflow, it was a powerful tool for musicians committed to four-track production.
Akai MG614
Released in 1988

TASCAM 238 Syncaset Recorder

TASCAM, in 1988, pulled off the impossible by releasing the TASCAM 238 Syncaset and cramming 8 tracks onto a single cassette tape, and somehow they got it to work without compromising sound quality.
Tascam 238
Released in 1989

TASCAM DA-50 Digital Audio Tape Recorder

The TASCAM DA-50 Digital Audio Tape Recorder was the first US-legal DAT tape recorder with SCMS Copy protection, it was also a rebadged high-end TEAC or in Japan, Esoteric DAT recorder with some cosmetic changes to suit professional studio use.
Tascam DA-50
Released in 1989

TASCAM BR-20 Reel to Reel Recorder

The TASCAM BR-20 Series are highly flexible and reliable professional stereo audio recorder/reproducers that use 1/4-inch-wide tape on 5, 7 and 10-1/2-inch reels, at two selectable speeds: 15 inch/s (38 cm/s) and 7.5 inch/s (19 cm/s). All models are switchable between NAB and IEC equalisation.
Tascam BR-20
Released in 1989

Studer A827 24 Track Audio Recorder

The Studer A827 24 Track Multi-Track Recorder is quite possibly the finest 24-track analogue audio recorder ever made, celebrated for its superior sound quality, reliability, and precision. Released in the late 1980s, it became a staple in professional studios worldwide. Many units are still in use today, valued for their ability to deliver the unmistakable warmth of analogue sound.
Studer A827
Released in 1989

Sony PCM-3348 DASH Multitrack Digital Recorder

Sony PCM-3348 DASH Multitrack Digital Recorder was the State-of-the-Art Digital 48 Channel Recorder offering Professional Quality, Performance and Reliability.
Sony PCM-3348
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