Fostex G24S
A one-inch 24-track that convinced working engineers they didn't need two-inch tape, and then got abandoned by the market anyway.
Overview
The pitch was almost heretical: twenty-four tracks on one-inch tape, with Dolby S noise reduction doing the heavy lifting, in a machine that sold for £7,330. For years the two-inch 24-track had been the dividing line between a real studio and a hopeful one. The one-inch format had been treated as a compromise at best. Studio Sound (February 1991, p.14) framed the G24S as the machine that challenged that assumption, describing a 24-track 1-inch recorder with an integral synchroniser, VTR control and Dolby S noise reduction.
The removable panel is what separates the G24S from a lot of its contemporaries in daily use. The front control surface lifts off and works as a remote, so the person running the session isn't chained to the rack. Add MIDI function control and an on-board chase synchroniser option and you have a machine built around systems integration, not just a tape transport. Studio Sound (February 1991, p.14) noted the emphasis Fostex placed on integration with the G-24S: provision for MIDI transport control, an integral synchroniser, VTR control, jog shuttle and spot erase, programmable meters, and a SMPTE timecode generator. Dolby S here is the pro-oriented noise reduction derived from Dolby's SR and domestic formats, not a repurposed consumer system.
Construction drew praise that has aged well. The review described the internals as well put together and relatively easy to service, with a mechanism that has stood the test of time. Power was handled entirely within a single housing. That detail surfaced later when Studio Sound (November 1992, p.65) contrasted the G24S's self-contained supply with a competitor's outboard unit, noting the Fostex used various power-saving techniques to make that possible.
The commercial story is messier. The G24S launched into a market that was already beginning to look past analogue multitrack, and the used listings show it. By late 1994 a Studio Sound classified (November 1994) carried a G24S with the 8330 SMPTE/MIDI card, serviced by Fostex and described as spotless, at £3,250. That is less than half the new price in roughly three years. A March 1992 listing in the same magazine had one at £7,500 when new stock was still moving. Machines with the SMPTE card command more than bare units. The synchroniser and remote accessories (the 4030 synchroniser and 4035 remote turn up in the same classifieds) are worth chasing down if a buyer finds a deck sold without them.
For anyone running tape today, the G24S sits in an odd but useful spot. It delivers genuine 24-track capability on tape that costs a fraction of two-inch stock, with built-in synchronisation that makes it a natural companion to video or a larger SMPTE-slaved rig. Dolby S is the machine's whole reason for existing. Without it the format doesn't hold up, so buyers should confirm the noise reduction is fully functional across all 24 channels before committing. The removable control panel is a convenience, but it is also a wear point and easy to lose track of in a studio move.
It is not a plug-and-play machine. It suits someone who wants the sound of analogue multitrack without the tape budget of a two-inch Studer, and who is willing to learn its synchronisation and keep after the heads. The reviewers who put it head-to-head against the big format came away impressed. The market that bought it new moved on regardless.
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