History of the Cassette Tape Recorder

Given the omnipresence of digital media, it's easy to forget that cassette tapes were the dominant medium for people who wanted a more intimate music listening experience. From their mass market introduction during the technology-crazed 1950s and 1960s, cassette tape recorders represented a substantive leap over their bulkier, clunkier reel-to-reel predecessors--enjoying a heyday that remained unchallenged until the 1980s, when the explosion of digital audio formats spelled the beginning of the end. Still, cassette recorders endure in such unlikely settings as police interrogation rooms--where high fidelity is not a concern--and as the communications tool of choice for terrorist leaders including Osama bin Laden.

History

Portable recording machines have existed since the 1930s--with wire preceding magnetic tape as the storage medium of choice--but did not become more widespread until the post-World War II era, when a booming consumer-goods market made their manufacture a more practical proposition. Open reel-to-reel tape machines predominated during the late 1940s and 1950s. However, concerns of threading unruly reel-to-reel tape through the heads--and the bulkiness of the machines themselves--inspired the search for a more compact and foolproof approach. A machine that completely enclosed the tape itself seemed like the next logical step.

Time Frame

The RCA Sound Tape recorder failed to woo the audio market.

Hoping to become the leader in prerecorded music formats, RCA rolled out the Sound Tape Cartridge system in 1958. However, there was no fast forward--instead, the user had to flip the tape over, rewind it, and flip it back over again, to continue. Not surprisingly, the Sound Tape was a flop, although its plastic body hinted at the future to come. The next leap forward occurred in 1962, when the Netherlands-based Phillips company developed the first widely available audiocassette recorder. Originally intended for the dictation market, Phillips' machines soon caught on for home recording use--which its subsidiary, Polygram Records, was quick to exploit in the 1970s. The enclosed cassette in its portable plastic tape recorder soon became the dominant mass-market format, while the professional recording community stuck with reel to reel tape.

Features

A more complex example of Tascam's revolutionary Portastudio.

Cassette tape recorders reached their peak of popularity during the 1970s and 1980s, as electronics giants such as RCA, SANYO, Sony and Toshiba competed for consumers' affections and wallets with a dizzying series of refinements, such as compact quadraphonic tape recorders. The last major spike in demand occurred in 1979, with the introduction of the Tascam Portastudio. Using the four- and eight-track machines made by Tascam, and its main rival, Fostex, musicians could make quality recordings without using an expensive studio--as Bruce Springsteen famously did on his solo album, "Nebraska." The album's 1982 release coincided with the introduction of the compact disc, which marked the first blow against cassettes as a musical format. The trend accelerated in 1987, when the introduction of digital audio tape marked the beginning of the end for magnetic-based audiotape.

Considerations

Although cassette-tape recorders underwent numerous improvements throughout their history--notably, Dolby noise reduction, and the introduction of separate playback and recording heads--overcoming the inherent weakness of storing analog signals onto magnetic tape proved more difficult. The granular nature of magnetic tape tended to create tape distortion and hissing, the chief complaint cited by most audiophiles. Another common problem, "tape flutter," occurred from variations in tape speed, although the introduction of dual capstans--the spindle that thread the tape through the machine--resulted in some improvements. Other concerns focused on the 30-, 60- and 90-minute storage formats of conventional audiotapes--versus the 100-plus hours offered on most digital voice recorders--and shelf life, because the magnetic oxide eventually falls off the tape, rendering it unplayable.

Potential

Amid concerns raised about the 20- to 30-year average shelf life assumed for most audiotapes, the conventional audio tape recorder remains surprisingly durable--notably, in police interrogation and court reporting situations, where the standard format prevails. The introduction of compact disc technology during the 1980s largely killed off the cassette tape's popularity in the music market, but spoken word mediums--such as the audiobook and religious markets, for example--remained largely unaffected. Terrorist leaders including Osama bin Laden also favor the conventional cassette recorder for one practical, if overlooked reason--digital tape recorders are considered less reliable under extremely hot and humid conditions.

Resources

• Cassette Tape
• Cassette Tape Culture
• Cassette Tape Revival? Probably Not