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Hardware => Recording Gear => Tape Recorders => Topic started by: chrisNova777 on July 10, 2017, 06:58:12 PM
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Developments in Multitrack Recording
Innovations continued to come at a fast pace from the Fostex development team. In 1983 the X-15 was the first cassette-based four track that was truly portable – it ran on batteries. The size, weight and functionality quickly gained it the 'musicians note pad' nickname and its epitaph is that to this day it remains the No 1 best selling four track the World has ever seen.
B16During the same year the B-16 was born, this time being the first machine to provide for 16 tracks on just _" tape and the first of its kind to offer Dolby C noise reduction. The B-16 was so successful that Ampex complained that they couldn't produce _" tape fast enough in order to meet demand! The B-16 was followed in later years by the E-16 (1986) and G-16S (1990) – the first reel-to-reel to have Dolby S noise reduction, a simplified version of the professional SR type standard.
The final model in this prestigious reign of analogue multitrack machines was the G-24S. Once again the format was squeezed to new levels of tolerance as Fostex succeeded in putting 24 tracks onto 1" tape. This machine represented the pinnacle of what could be achieved including a removable front panel remote control and meter bridge; built-in SMTPE/Midi synchronisation; and amazing levels of recording quality. Often the machine would find its way from a producer's home studio to the commercial facility that they were mixing in as it was felt the quality was high enough not to require a format transfer. -- http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/about/company.shtml