About the Company
Delcor — Very Obscure U.S. Reel-to-Reel Brand (c. 1963–1964)
Brand: Delcor
Country: United States
Active in Tape Decks: Very briefly, c. 1963–1964
Market: Consumer open-reel decks (rare and obscure)
Technology: Tube amplifier, basic capstan/belt tape transport
What the Records Show
Historical directories list Delcor as a reel-to-reel tape deck manufacturer active only around 1963–1964, with very limited evidence that the company produced any more than a handful of units.
Only one model — the Delcor 770 — is documented, described as a standard reel-to-reel recorder with a stereo tube amplifier and drive mechanism typical of mid-20th-century consumer decks.
According to hobbyist discussions and directories, the amplifier design of the Delcor 770 resembles contemporaneous Japanese consumer decks (e.g., Aiwa/Roberts 1630 and similar models), suggesting Delcor may have sourced mechanisms or designs from OEM partners rather than fully engineering its own transports.
Context from Industry Insiders
In a DIY audio forum thread, an enthusiast traced Delcor’s origins to an individual (a former president of small electronics firms such as Sonocraft, Tetrad, Telectrosonics, and General Magnetics) who attempted several ventures in audio equipment before founding or operating Delcor. That thread notes that Delcor never gained traction in the market and left almost no trace in industry listings or ads, and that only one reference to Delcor appeared in a 1963 trade publication.
The same discussion suggests that after the Delcor project ended, its principal moved into unrelated electronics sales work by the mid-1960s.
What We Don’t Know
Because Delcor is so poorly documented, many basic details remain unknown or unverified:
No company history or corporate records are readily available online or in industry reference sources.
Only a single confirmed reel-to-reel model is known (Delcor 770).
There’s no evidence of a broad product lineup, long-term production, or export distribution beyond a few units — if that.
There’s no clear information on whether Delcor manufactured its own tape transport mechanism or simply bought/imported movements and electronics from OEM sources.
How Delcor Fits Into Reel-to-Reel History
Delcor appears to be one of several very obscure U.S. micro-brands that attempted to enter the growing consumer tape recorder market of the early 1960s. Many of these attempts were short-lived and left minimal records.
The consumer open-reel market at that time was increasingly dominated by Japanese brands (e.g., Sony, Teac, Aiwa) that had economies of scale and advanced solid-state designs — making it extremely difficult for small U.S. labels to compete.
Because Delcor’s presence is only confirmed in one industry directory and on enthusiast lists, it is often cited as an example of a brand that “never seemed to find a market or get any notice.”