Otari BTR-2
A broadcast tape machine so tough that one survived a tumble down a flight of stone stairs - with the session still going ahead.
Overview
The BTR-2 sits in an odd corner of tape-machine history. It is an EMI design, built in Britain, but collectors and classified-ad sellers of the 1970s and '80s routinely filed it under Otari alongside the Japanese company's own decks. The same "for sale" columns that listed "Three EMI BTR 2 tape recorders (half track mono)" in Studio Sound (December 1978, p.96) also ran "Latest Otari 8-track tape machine" a few lines away, and the two names got tangled in the trade press. According to the period documentation, the BTR-2 was a valved, transportable, professional mono recorder. It was a workhorse of British broadcasting, not a studio multitrack.
The machine's reputation rests on two things. It ran at 38 and 76 cm/s (15 and 30 ips), and it was built like industrial machinery. The PPM was smashed. They set it up anyway, rigged a temporary external meter, and the session went ahead without a hitch.
In its standard form the BTR-2 was not a stereo machine. The classifieds are consistent on this. Studio Sound (December 1978) lists "Three EMI BTR 2 tape recorders (half track mono)," and the December 1975 listings describe "E.M.I. BTR2 mono in first class order £120" and a spares unit at £80. A trade advert offered "EMI BTR2 Tape Recorders, fully refurbished, solid state electronics, new motors, stereo and mono" - so at least some units were converted or rebuilt as stereo, and solid-state conversion was clearly a recognized aftermarket practice. Treat "stereo" BTR-2s as modified machines, not factory specification.
That is the flaw in an otherwise bulletproof design. This is a machine for continuous recording, not for catching a cue at a moment's notice. The same account notes that the broadcaster later installed EMI TR90 recorders to get better tape acceleration, though those had their own tape-snatch issues on take-up. Anyone buying a BTR-2 today should understand the run-up time before planning a session around it.
The period record on sound quality is strong. A previous chief engineer at the Luxembourg operation modified the BTR-2 recorders so that frequency response was flat within 2 dB to 20 kHz. The same source notes that during the 1970s the BBC frequently asked that facility to produce recordings for its own programmes. All of this was done on valved electronics.
The BTR-2 also turns up as part of a copying bank. A December 1975 Studio Sound advert offered "7 BTR 2 m/c coupled as fast copying bank £850 o.n.o." So the deck was used for high-speed duplication as well as location recording. The same issue listed a "T.R.D. 700 stereo £375" and "Ampex 440 stereo £750" alongside the BTR-2 at £120. That puts the EMI in the secondhand market of the mid-1970s as cheap, plentiful, and regarded as a broadcast utility machine rather than a prestige item.
Maintenance is the practical concern. The BTR-2 is valved equipment, and the period account is explicit about it - "this was valved equipment, remember" - so expect valve replacement, capacitor work, and the general fragility of half-century-old electronics. The trade advert for "fully refurbished, solid state electronics, new motors" units confirms that solid-state conversion was available, and it is probably the more usable route for a working machine today. Headblocks are the other wear item. A June 1975 Studio Sound classified for an "EMI BTR2 Recorder" notes "Recent new headblock," and a trade listing separately offered "EMI BTR2 Decks only, with head-blocks £55." Spares machines turn up in the classifieds too. The December 1975 list includes "E.M.I. BTR2 mono, no console (for spares) £80."
A note on the name. The period press consistently describes the BTR-2 as an EMI machine. The "Otari" association appears to be a cataloguing artifact of the secondhand trade, not a manufacturer relationship documented in these sources. Verify the actual badge and serial on any unit offered as an "Otari BTR-2" before assuming it is a Japanese-built Otari product.
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