reel-to-reeladj.n.
/ˌriːltəˈriːl/, U.S. /ˌriltəˈril/ A. adj.
Designating or relating to a type of tape recorder in which the tape is carried on separate reels (as opposed to being enclosed in a cassette), two such reels being mounted on spindles on the machine and the tape wound from one to the other, first passing through the head of the recorder; (hence) designating (a reel of) tape used on such a recorder. Cf. open-reel adj. at open adj. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > sound recording or reproducing equipment > [adjective]
integrating1654
phonographical1846
melographic1863
phonographic1878
transcription1936
hi-fi1938
high fidelity1938
low fidelity1939
reel-to-reel1961
1961 N.Y. Times 10 Sept. ii. 15/3 ‘Reel-to-reel’ machines move the tape..from an open supply reel to a take-up reel.
1967 Tape Recording Mag. Jan. 12/2 Transferring recording material on to an orthodox quarter-inch tape reel-to-reel model.
1976 Broadcast 29 Nov. 15/1 Capitol Records..wants..listeners..to send cassettes or reel-to reel tapes of their vocal efforts.
1999 Birdwatch Apr. 53/3 Reel-to-reel recorders. The only model to consider here is the Uher 4200 Report.
B. n.
A reel-to-reel tape recorder; (also) a reel-to-reel tape.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > sound recording or reproducing equipment > [noun] > using tape
recorder1867
Blattnerphone1931
tape recorder1932
magnetophon1946
cassette recorder1968
reel-to-reel1968
cassette deck1972
Casseiver1976
multitracker1986
1968 Morning Herald (Hagerstown, Maryland) 25 Mar. (advt.) 4 track 7″ reel to reel.
1982 B. Seaton Handbk. Eng. Lang. Teaching Terms & Pract. (BNC) 43 Is any recorded material available on reel-to-reel and cassette or only on one or the other?
1987 Making Music Feb. 28/5 So what's it like, moving from 4-track cassette to 8-track reel-to-reel?
2007 Bath Chron. (Nexis) 4 Sept. 14 It'll do..exactly what my dad's old reel-to-reel did, without all the mechanical clunks and whirrs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1961