Editing Tape recorder (section)

{{short description|Machine for recording sound}}
{{About|machines used for audio (sound) recording|video recording|video tape recorder|the tape systems used for computer data|tape drive}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2021}}

[[File:Akai GX 635D - edit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|reel-to-reel tape recorder]] from [[Akai]], c. 1978]]

An '''audio tape recorder''', also known as a '''tape deck''', '''tape player''' or '''tape machine''' or simply a '''tape recorder''', is a [[sound recording and reproduction]] device that records and plays back sounds usually using [[magnetic tape]] for storage.  In its present-day form, it records a fluctuating [[signal]] by moving the tape across a [[tape head]] that polarizes the [[magnetic domains]] in the tape in proportion to the audio signal. Tape-recording devices include the [[reel-to-reel tape deck]] and the [[cassette deck]], which uses a [[cassette tape (format)|cassette]] for storage.

The use of magnetic tape for sound recording originated around 1930 in Germany as paper tape with oxide lacquered to it. Prior to the development of magnetic tape, magnetic [[wire recording|wire recorders]] had successfully demonstrated the concept of [[magnetic recording]], but they never offered audio quality comparable to the other recording and broadcast standards of the time. This German invention was the start of a long string of innovations that have led to present-day magnetic tape recordings.

Magnetic tape revolutionized both the radio broadcast and music recording industries.  It gave artists and producers the power to record and re-record audio with minimal loss in quality as well as edit and rearrange recordings with ease. The alternative recording technologies of the era, [[transcription disc]]s and [[wire recorder]]s, could not provide anywhere near this level of quality and functionality.

Since some early refinements improved the fidelity of the reproduced sound, magnetic tape has been the highest quality [[analog recording]] medium available. As of the first decade of the 21st century, analog magnetic tape has been largely replaced by [[digital recording]] technologies.