About the Company
Tandberg was a Norwegian electronics company founded in 1933 by Vebjørn Tandberg as Tandbergs Radiofabrikk (Tandberg’s Radio Factory) in Oslo, Norway. The company originally produced radios, loudspeakers and microphones, but in the early 1950s it expanded into reel‑to‑reel tape recorders as magnetic recording technology spread globally.
Tandberg began manufacturing open‑reel tape recorders in 1952, producing the TB 1 shortly after opening a dedicated plant in the Kjelsås district of Oslo. Over the next three decades, Tandberg became one of the leading reel‑to‑reel makers in Europe, with a reputation for solid engineering, innovative features and competitive pricing. Its tape recorders sold well domestically and were exported internationally, notably gaining a foothold in the United States and other markets. By the mid‑1950s, Tandberg had sold tens of thousands of units in Norway alone, showing strong local dominance.
In the 1950s, early Tandberg models such as the Model 1 and Model 2 Hi‑Fi were tube‑based designs providing mono playback and recording at standard consumer tape speeds (for example 1 7/8 and 3 3/4 inches per second), with internal speaker options on some versions. Tandberg’s Model 3 Stereo introduced stereo playback in the late 1950s, and by 1958 the Model 5 allowed connection to external recording amplifiers for true stereo recording. As transistor technology emerged, Tandberg introduced solid‑state models that replaced tubes with transistor circuits for greater reliability and reduced size/weight.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, Tandberg’s reel‑to‑reel lineup expanded significantly. The company produced over thirty different models covering consumer, high‑fidelity, semi‑professional and instrumentation recorders. Technological developments during this period included three‑speed transports (for improved frequency response), cross‑field recording techniques (which enhanced high‑frequency performance and were later licensed to other manufacturers), and progressive refinements in head design and tape handling. Examples from this era include the Series 12 and Series 13 solid‑state consumer decks, which offered multiple speeds, stereo playback and quarter‑track formats. Tandberg also produced larger, more advanced models such as the 9000X series in the early 1970s to target the international hi‑fi market.
Tandberg tape recorders were widely regarded for good sound quality at reasonable prices and for robust build quality. Their machines were used not only in home audio systems but also for instrumentation and semi‑professional applications. There are documented cases of Tandberg recorders being used in significant historical contexts, such as recordings in the White House during President John F. Kennedy’s administration.
Despite strong performance and innovation, Tandberg as a company faced broader economic challenges in the mid‑1970s. Expansion into television manufacturing, acquisitions such as that of Radionette, and downturns in business finances led to instability. In 1978 the original Tandbergs Radiofabrikk declared bankruptcy, and the reel‑to‑reel tape recorder business was eventually spun off or discontinued. The consumer audio division briefly lived on as Tandberg Audio A.S., but by 2000 it had closed, ending the commercial life of the brand in its original product areas.
In summary, Tandberg was a major Norwegian reel‑to‑reel tape recorder manufacturer from about 1952 until 1978, known for producing more than thirty tape recorder models ranging from tube‑based early decks to solid‑state consumer and hi‑fi machines. The company introduced several technological advances, sold millions of units worldwide, and helped define the open‑reel era of magnetic audio recording before changing market conditions and corporate restructuring brought that production to an end.