About the Company
Bope was a small, obscure British name rather than one of the major historical manufacturers:
Bope — British Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder Brand
Brand: Bope
Country: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: British Optical & Precision Engineers Ltd.
Era: Likely 1950s–1960s (vintage vacuum-tube era)
Market: Consumer / portable reel-to-reel recorders
Electronics: Tube (valve)-based designs
Documentation Source: Reel-to-reel collector and vintage tape recorder registries.
Bope is listed in vintage tape recorder directories as a brand of reel-to-reel machines made in the UK by British Optical & Precision Engineers Ltd. The brand’s presence in the historical record is limited, with few models documented and very sparse corporate history available.
Recorded Models
• Bope 732
Brand: Bope
Model: 732
Class: Vintage portable reel-to-reel tape recorder
Electronics: Tube-based (valve)
Format: ½-track (record/playback)
Tape Speed: 3 3/4 ips
Reel Size: Up to 7″
Head: Permalloy, full-track mono
Motors: 1
Voltage: 220–240 V (European standard)
Rating: Mid-range in sound and reliability by collector measures.
According to available registry data, the Bope 732 is one of the few documented models under this brand — indicating that the company’s output was modest and likely focused on consumer-oriented, portable valve tape recorders.
Brand & Production Characteristics
Manufacturer Context:
Bope recorders were made by British Optical & Precision Engineers Ltd., a company whose main business was precision optical and engineering work rather than mass consumer electronics — suggesting that tape recorders were a side product or niche line rather than a core business.
Product Positioning:
The machines were tube-based (typical of consumer tape recorders before transistorization), indicating a production era around the late 1950s through the 1960s.
They were aimed at home audio listeners and possibly field or educational recording — portable valve decks with simple controls, modest performance, and standard reel sizes.
Market Niche:
Unlike major British tape brands like BSR or TRE, Bope did not develop a broad model lineup, professional machines, or international presence. Its recorders are rarely seen today except in vintage collector listings.
Because documentation for Bope is limited to collector registers, the production era and breadth of models are not as well defined as for mainstream manufacturers. What is clear, though, is that it was a UK label producing portable tube reel-to-reel decks for the consumer market.