Fostex
FOSTEX COMPANY, 3-2-35 Musashino, Akishima, Tokyo, Japan 196-0021
Foster Electric 1949 and Fostex 1973 - present
The Fostex Company was founded in July 1973 by Foster Electric Co.,Ltd. (founded 1949), one of the world's largest developers of OEM speaker and transducer products, employing over 20,000 people in nine countries/territories.
Fostex is the sole manufacturer of the iconic iPod earbuds marketed by Apple Inc. for their iPod and iPhone models
In 1981, joined by a new band of engineers, Fostex decided to enter the professional recording industry which was then on the verge of spurning the 'home recording' category.
The company started with three reel-to-reel recorders, the A-2, A-4 and by far the most innovative and popular, the A-8 which was the first machine to offer eight tracks on just 1/4" tape.
Along with the Model 350 mixer and Model 250 four-track cassette multitracker, Fostex were truly a home recording pioneer.
In 1983 the B-16 was born, this time being the first machine to provide for 16 tracks on just 1/2" tape and the first of its kind to offer Dolby C noise reduction.
The B-16 was so successful that Ampex complained that they couldn't produce tape fast enough in order to meet demand!
The B-16 was followed in later years by the E-16 (1986) and G-16S (1990) – the first reel-to-reel to have Dolby S noise reduction, a simplified version of the professional SR type standard.
The final model in this prestigious reign of analogue multitrack machines was the G-24S. Once again the format was squeezed to new levels of tolerance as Fostex succeeded in putting 24 tracks onto 1" tape.
This machine represented the pinnacle of what could be achieved including a removable front panel remote control and meter bridge; built-in SMTPE/Midi synchronization; and amazing levels of recording quality.
Often the machine would find its way from a producer's home studio to the commercial facility where they were mixing as it was felt the quality was high enough not to require a format transfer.
- FostexInternational.com
Fostex reel to reel tape recorders in our colection
The items below are no longer in our collection
Fostex B-16 1983 $4,000
Produced by Fostex in 1983 and selling for $4,000.00, the B-16 was the first machine to provide for 16 tracks on just 1/2" tape and the first of its kind to offer Dolby C noise reduction. The B-16 was so successful that Ampex complained that they couldn't produce 1/2" tape fast enough in order to meet demand! The Fostex B-16 has 3 motors, runs at 15 ips with plus or minus 15 percent varispeed. It sold new in 1983 for a suggested list of $4,000.00.
Fostex Ads
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Fostex photos
We appreciate all photos sent to our museum. We hope to successfully preserve the sound recording history. If we have not credited a photo, we do not know its origin if it was not taken by the contributor. Please let us know if a photo on our site belongs to you and is not credited. We will be happy to give you credit, or remove it if you so choose.
The fpllowing photos of the Fostex B-16 were provided by Donald Lisdon
We appreciate all photos sent to our museum. We hope to successfully preserve the sound recording history. If we have not credited a photo, we do not know its origin if it was not taken by the contributor. Please let us know if a photo on our site belongs to you and is not credited. We will be happy to give you credit, or remove it if you so choose.
