reel-to-reel

American  

[reel-tuh-reel] / ˈril təˈril /

adjective

1. of or relating to an audio sound-equipment system or motion-picture camera or projector through which the tape or film must be threaded onto a take-up reel.

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reel-to-reel British  

adjective

1. (of magnetic tape) wound from one reel to another in use

2. (of a tape recorder) using magnetic tape wound from one reel to another, as opposed to cassettes

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Etymology

Origin of reel-to-reel

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

The photographer returned to Chicago with a portable reel-to-reel recorder to capture the voices and stories behind the black-and-white images.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2024

For 45 years, Peter Gordon has held onto a reel-to-reel tape of a show he performed in 1979 at the Mudd Club in New York City with a trio called the Blue Horn File.

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2024

But UT maintained its own archive on 12,000 reel-to-reel tapes.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 20, 2024

He kept in touch by sending Ruth reel-to-reel tape recordings, which Ndinda still treasures today.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2023

After a long shift, she’d head over with a reel-to-reel tape of the Woodstock concert to share.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge