The BTR 1 was EMI’s first magnetic tape recorder, introduced at Abbey Road in October 1948.

Modern tape recorders were developed in Germany around the mid-1930s and weren’t produced here until the Allies discovered several AEG Magnetophon recorders upon the end of the war. In 1946, Abbey Road engineer Berth Jones travelled to Berlin and helped adapt the technology for what became the BTR 1.

*BTR stands for British Tape Recorder

The transition from direct-to-wax to tape recording at Abbey Road (then EMI Studios) was not immediate. Before being trusted on recording sessions the BTR 1 was only used to create back-ups of existing records.

Soon though, BTR machines became the norm in British recording studios as new possibilities for recorded music were realised. Tape allowed recordings to be edited for the first time, forever changing the roles of producers and engineers.

"Tape recording had many advantages over disc recording and opened up endless possibilities for innovation. By using two tape machines a system known as superimposition was soon introduced. The track recorded on the first machine was sent back to the studio where additional instruments, sound effects or in extreme cases even the vocalist could be added without the original orchestra being present." [Source: Martland 1997: 152]