About the Company
There was a brand called Metronome associated with **vintage reel-to-reel tape recorders made in the Netherlands in the mid-20th century. These units are obscure, rare, and little documented, but they are recognized in tape-recorder archives as a tube-based portable recorder series produced for the domestic market rather than as a major global brand.
Production & Market Era
1950s–1960s — Tube Portable Machines
Metronome tape recorders appeared around the late 1950s into the early 1960s.
They were typical tube-electronics reel-to-reel machines produced in the Netherlands for home and light field recording — not pro studios.
Units usually targeted single or half-track formats, with roughly 7½ ips tape speed and 220-240 V mains operation suited to European households.
Notable Model
Metronome Zelfbouw
This model is listed in vintage tape-recorder directories as a tube-based machine with the following characteristics:
• Made in Netherlands — confirmed by historical listings.
• Tube electronics — typical of consumer/enthusiast reel-to-reel designs before solid-state dominance.
• Tape speed: ~7½ inches per second (19 cm/s).
• Track format: full-track mono tape.
• Reels: up to about 7″.
• Head type: Permalloy, typical of recorders from that era.
Because of scant surviving documentation, Zelfbouw (literally “self-build” or “DIY” in Dutch) may have been offered as a kit or built-to-order unit rather than a mass produced factory model — a not uncommon situation in small-scale Dutch electronics of the era.
Technology & Positioning
Electronics & Features
Used vacuum-tube circuitry, which was common before transistors took over consumer tape designs in the mid-1960s.
Likely had basic transport mechanics and single motor operation capable of consumer-level fidelity.
Designed mainly for home recording/playback, not professional broadcast studios.
Market Role
Metronome decks were obscure to the larger audio-equipment ecosystem, lacking the international presence of names like Akai, Grundig, or Philips.
They competed in the European domestic reel-to-reel niche, much like other regional brands — often bought locally rather than exported widely.
Decline
As transistor solid-state designs became the norm in the mid- to late-1960s, many small tube-based brands faded or were absorbed into larger companies.
By the 1970s, European and Japanese brands dominated the consumer reel-to-reel market, and Metronome’s presence as a tape recorder brand waned.
Important Clarification
There is a modern French company called Métronome Technologie that produces high-end digital and audiophile equipment (CD players, DACs, streamers, etc.), but this brand is unrelated to the vintage tape-recorder Metronome. Its production is digital and hi-fi oriented and started long after reel-to-reel decks had mostly disappeared from the market.