Since 2012 analogue audio tape recording has quietly made a resurgence, both in the consumer and professional audio sectors. Considered obsolete as a recording format in the mid-1990s, today the credibility of its return has been assured by the introduction of at least four new tape-recorder models and its use in music composition, performance and album production by major artists. Prices of machines dating from the 1970s and 80s have trebled in the last five years. But this renewed interest has created confusion, myths and a knowledge-gap of the format that were rarely seen when tape recorders were the only viable medium to create quality recordings.
Now providing specialist open reel tape services and consultancy via his business Reel Resilience, former BBC Radio engineer Iain Betson began his talk with the fascinating origins and history of the format, including the early use of steel tape by the BBC, the key improvements made in Germany during WWII and the commercialisation of the medium by Ampex and Bing Crosby after the war. Mindful that many in the audience were too young to even have seen a tape recorder in the studio, let alone used one for professional work, Iain went on to explain the basic theory of analogue tape recording and playback, and then explained key practical matters such as tape type and construction, track formats, recording speeds, bias and equalisation. Problems such as noise, crosstalk and print-through were discussed and some of the methods used to ameliorate these were explored, not least the use of noise reduction systems such as Dolby A and Dolby B. The talk ended with an open debate as to the reasons for tape's re-emergence, including discussion of whether some sort of "tape sound" was responsible, despite the fact that a well-aligned professional machine will actually be very transparent indeed, and should add no real sonic character of its own. With 65 on-line attendees and 13 in the room, the very lively Q&A session could have continued much longer than was sadly possible, and the evening closed with much discussed but clearly with scope and appetite for a return to this fascinating topic. Our sincere thanks to Iain Betson for a splendid talk, and to Michael Ward, Barkley McKay and all the staff at Leeds Beckett University for hosting us in their superbly-appointed new School of Arts building.
