About the Company
Brush Development Company — Reel-to-Reel & Magnetic Recording Production History
Company: Brush Development Company
Country: United States
Founded: 1930 (as Brush Laboratories)
Founder: Dr. Charles F. Brush Jr.
Headquarters: Cleveland, Ohio
Magnetic recording production: 1939 – mid-1950s
Primary market: Industrial, military, broadcast, research, early consumer
Formats: Steel wire recording, later magnetic tape
Brush Development was one of the foundational companies in magnetic recording, particularly in the United States. While it is often remembered for wire recorders, Brush also played a critical transitional role in the development of reel-to-reel tape recording technology.
Origins: Brush Laboratories (1930s)
Brush Laboratories was founded to commercialize inventions related to:
Acoustics
Magnetics
InstrumentationBy the late 1930s, the company began serious research into magnetic sound recording, initially focusing on steel wire rather than tape.
World War II and Wire Recording (1939–1945)
Brush Soundmirror
Introduced in 1939
Used steel wire instead of tape
Became the dominant U.S. wire recorder
Widely used by:
Military (WWII intelligence and field recording)
Government agencies
Broadcast monitoring
Industry and research labs
Brush wire recorders were:
Extremely rugged
Portable
Reliable under field conditions
During WWII, Brush was a major military contractor, producing thousands of recorders.
Post-War Consumer and Broadcast Products (Late 1940s)
After WWII:
Brush marketed wire recorders for home and office use
The Soundmirror BK series became common in:
Radio stations
News gathering
Education
However, by 1947–1948, wire recording was rapidly being eclipsed by magnetic tape, especially after Allied engineers studied German Magnetophon machines.
Transition to Reel-to-Reel Tape (Late 1940s – Early 1950s)
Brush Magnetic Tape Recorders
Brush introduced open-reel magnetic tape machines in the early 1950s
These were among the earliest American tape recorders
Designs were:
Mono
Full-track
Valve-based
Reel-to-reel transports inspired by German tape machines
Brush tape machines were used primarily for:
Industrial recording
Broadcast delay and logging
Scientific instrumentation
They were not hi-fi consumer products in the later sense.
Key Models and Systems
Brush Soundmirror Tape Units
Followed the Soundmirror branding
Emphasized reliability and accuracy
Often rack-mounted or console-based
Speeds typically 7½ and 15 ips
Brush machines prioritized:
Constant speed accuracy
Signal stability
Durability
Rather than:
Compact size
Stereo fidelity
Home audio aesthetics
Market Position
Brush Development occupied a unique position:
Above consumer manufacturers
Below emerging high-fidelity brands
Strongly aligned with:
Government
Military
Scientific users
They were engineering instruments, not hi-fi components.
Exit from the Consumer Tape Market (Mid-1950s)
By the mid-1950s:
Companies like Ampex, Magnecord, and Berlant dominated tape recording
Brush chose to focus on:
Magnetics
Sensors
Transducers
Aerospace and defense technology
Brush Development gradually exited the tape recorder business, though it continued to influence magnetic engineering.
Later History
Brush Development evolved into Brush Wellman (later Materion)
Focus shifted entirely to:
Advanced materials
Aerospace components
Defense systemsMagnetic recording hardware production ended, but research influence remained significant.
Historical Importance
Brush Development is significant because it:
Introduced magnetic recording to the U.S. market
Dominated wire recording during WWII
Bridged the gap between wire recording and tape
Influenced early American tape recorder engineering
Without Brush:
U.S. adoption of magnetic recording would have been delayed
Early tape research infrastructure would have been weaker
Brush Development Company was a pioneer of magnetic recording in the United States, dominating wire recording and playing a crucial transitional role in early reel-to-reel tape technology from the late 1940s into the early 1950s. Though not a hi-fi brand, Brush’s engineering legacy underpins much of modern audio recording history.