The A–Z glossary

All-analogue recording, mixing and mastering chain, when documented.

Head-gap alignment relative to the recorded magnetic pattern. Errors reduce high-frequency accuracy and stereo phase consistency.

High-frequency signal used during recording to improve linearity.

Historical standards organisation; in tape listings often shorthand for IEC1 EQ at a stated speed.

Unwanted signal leaking between tracks or channels.

Brief loss of recorded signal, often associated with coating or contact defects.

Equalisation: frequency-dependent processing. Playback standard and tape-specific record adjustment are different concepts.

A magnetic tape signal measure, commonly expressed in nWb/m.

A copying stage in a recording’s lineage.

Margin between operating level and unacceptable overload or distortion.

Designations used for standard equalisation characteristics; speed must also be specified.

Inches per second: tape speed, not reel rotation speed.

Non-magnetic tape used for handling and separation.

A production reference source; the term needs context and provenance.

A standards designation used for both an EQ system and a mechanical reel-hub format.

Monitoring the recorded signal from the playback head while recording.

Unwanted magnetic transfer between adjacent tape layers, heard as pre- or post-echo.

Four longitudinal tracks across the tape; often two stereo directions on domestic tapes.

The flanged carrier that holds a tape pack.

A nonlinear recording region where increasing input no longer produces proportional tape output.

Storage with the programme’s end outermost; rewind before normal playback.

A level indication with defined time response, not a universal peak or tape-flux limit.

Slow and faster pitch variations caused by speed instability.