About the Company
Brand Overview
Name: Answer
Country: Japan (based in Tokyo)
Product Type: Consumer reel-to-reel tape recorders
Era of Production: About 1960 – 1963
Electronics: Vacuum tube (tube)-based designs typical of early consumer recorders of that period
Market Focus: Home users, not professional studios
According to collector registries and vintage tape deck directories, Answer produced a very small number of reel-to-reel recorders before disappearing from the market.
Known Model
Answer ATR-102
Years Produced: circa 1960 – 1963
Format: Full-track mono (tube electronics)
Tape Speed: 1 7/8 ips
Reel Size: Up to 7″
Head Configuration: 2 heads (erase and record/playback)
Market: Consumer/home tape recording and playback machine
Notes: Often described as a novelty or low-volume product rather than a mainstream hi-fi deck
The ATR-102 is the only model reliably attributed to the Answer brand in vintage reel-to-reel listings. It was marketed as a general-purpose home recorder and commonly combined basic tape functions with other audio features (such as radio or phonograph on some units), reflecting the multi-function consumer gear of that time.
Production History & Context
Early 1960s Launch: Answer began producing its tape decks around 1960, entering a crowded consumer market where Japanese firms were increasingly exporting audio gear.
Short Production Run: The brand seems to have ceased reel-to-reel production by about 1963, with no further models widely recorded in collector references.
Obscure Footprint: Unlike larger Japanese companies such as TEAC, Akai, or Denon, Answer did not develop a broad model lineup, professional products, or international reputation. Its products are now rare curiosities in vintage audio collections.
Why It Matters
Although Answer didn’t become a major name in analog audio, its existence illustrates how vibrant and experimental the early 1960s reel-to-reel market was in Japan — with many small firms trying to capitalize on the format’s consumer boom. Most such brands vanished quickly as competition intensified and as cassette formats later took over the market.