Tape recorder

All magnetic recording/reproduction equipment is called recorder or magnetophone, although this nomenclature has been appropriated by the open-coil tape recorder.

There are three types of tape recorders:

• Magnetophone open coil.
• Magnetophone casete (case or pletina).
• Magnetophone of cartridges (cartuchera).

The first tape recorder originated in Germany in 1935. The first tape recorder in history used wire as a recording medium, called wire tape recorder or wire recorder.

All of this equipment, to be included in the group of equipment for professional use, must meet four requirements:

Precision of the march

Ensures compatibility between recording and playback speed. Thus a tape recorded on a different team that will be reproduced will have no problem. Standard speeds are 4’75, 9’5, 19 and 38 cm/s. Of these, that of 19 cm/s has been the most used as a radio broadcasting standard, while that of 38 is the one that has been used as a standard in the recording industry for the recording of the shots and for the recording of the Master or final copy to cut off the master disk. At higher speed, higher quality in the resulting sound, especially in response in high frequencies and signal-ruid ratio, so there is even a higher speed than these, which is the 76 cm/s, used for high-quality recordings, such as classical music concerts.

Stability of the march

Uniform speed of movement of the tape. If this is altered, the effect of weeping occurs.

Minimization of the diaphony

Diaphony occurs when read, in addition to the corresponding track, part of the sound of another adjacent track.

Secure the response frequently

Some magnetophones, for being at the end of their useful life or other reasons, are not able to record/reproduce the entire spectrum of frequencies. When this occurs the corresponding head must be replaced.