About the Company
Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Company Ltd. was a British engineering firm founded in 1915 in Swindon, UK. It established a worldwide reputation primarily as a high-quality gramophone turntable and motor manufacturer, with products like the iconic Garrard 301 and 401 transcription turntables dominating professional and consumer hi-fi markets in the 1950s-70s.
The company’s broader electronics manufacturing included arms, pickups, radios and record changers, but reel-to-reel tape decks were a relatively short-lived sideline rather than a core product line.
Reel-to-Reel Production History
Entry into Tape Recorders (1959)
1959: Garrard ventured into the consumer reel-to-reel tape recorder market with a unique “Magazine” tape deck format. This design used cartridge-style tape magazines holding two conventional 4-inch spools for easy loading — predating cassette convenience. The machine also accepted standard open reels up to about 4″.
These decks were tube-based consumer machines built in the United Kingdom and targeted at home use rather than studio or professional broadcast.
The magazine format was aimed at simplifying tape handling, but it never sold well enough to challenge cassette innovations.
Expanded Portable Version (c.1962–1965)
Early 1960s: Garrard introduced a battery-operated portable reel-to-reel deck derived from the magazine design, with both 1 7/8 and 3¾ ips speeds and a conventional open-reel mode alongside the magazine system.
Like the earlier model, it relied on tube electronics and was aimed at the mainstream consumer/home market rather than high-end hi-fi or professional studios.
End of Reel-to-Reel Line
By the mid-1960s, around 1965, Garrard’s reel-to-reel efforts petered out. The company did not develop a broader range of tape decks, and there’s no evidence of later solid-state or stereo-focused machines under the Garrard name from this era.
Market context: Philips’ compact cassette (launched in 1963) and later Japanese reel-to-reel innovations quickly outpaced Garrard’s modest consumer machines, making it difficult for a turntable manufacturer to compete.
Models Known from the Era
Garrard reel-to-reel recorders included:
Magazine Tape Deck (1959–early 1960s): A novel cartridge-based recorder with a simple, easy-load design.
Battery Portable Deck (c.1962–1965): A variant with portable operation and normal open-reel compatibility.
Both machines used tube electronics, standard consumer speeds, and mono recording formats typical of budget home tape recorders of the era.
Why the Line Was Short-Lived
Several factors contributed to Garrard’s brief stint in the reel-to-reel market:
Limited focus: Garrard’s engineering and brand strength was overwhelmingly in turntables and motors, not tape transport mechanisms.
Competitive environment: By the early 1960s, Japanese manufacturers and specialist recorder makers offered more advanced, reliable, and feature-rich machines.
Format disruption: The emergence of compact cassette tape (1963) quickly shifted the home recording market, making awkward or proprietary formats like Garrard’s magazine system unattractive to consumers.
Legacy
Today, Garrard reel-to-reel machines are rare collector curiosities rather than celebrated classics. They represent an interesting historical footnote — an innovative but commercially limited attempt by a predominantly turntable-focused company to enter the magnetic recording era.