About the Company
Uher was a German electronics manufacturer best known for producing portable and consumer reel‑to‑reel tape recorders from the mid‑1950s into the 1980s. The company originated in Munich, Germany, where it was founded in the early 1950s by Edmond Uher, a Hungary‑born inventor and entrepreneur. Initially the firm produced a variety of precision electronics, and by the 1950s it had expanded into magnetic tape recorder manufacturing, establishing a reputation for reliable, rugged open‑reel machines that were widely used by reporters, broadcasters, hobbyists and general consumers. The company’s tape recorder business grew significantly over the next two decades before eventually being sold and evolving into other corporate forms.
Uher began designing and selling open‑reel tape recorders in the early 1950s. The Uher 95 was introduced around 1955, followed by the Uher 295 in 1957, one of the company’s first portable reel‑to‑reel decks, which used vacuum‑tube electronics and was aimed at the consumer market. Early models like the 295 were compact, tape‑only recorders intended for general home or field use rather than studio‑grade performance.
In the 1960s, Uher expanded both its model range and its technology. A notable series was the Uher Universal (late 1950s–1960s) available in tube and later transistorized versions, and the Uher 4000 Report portable series introduced in 1961. The Report machines were solid‑state and offered multiple speeds (up to 15 inches per second), portability (including battery operation) and a robust transport, making them popular with journalists, documentary makers and field recordists. Variants such as the 4000 S Report and later 4200 and 4400 Report models continued through the 1960s and into the 1980s in various forms. These portable decks were among Uher’s most successful products.
Uher also marketed home hi‑fi and larger consumer tape decks through the Royal and Variocord lines. The Royal De Luxe and related models introduced in 1968 and early 1970s offered full‑featured stereo operation with standard consumer reel sizes (usually 7 inches) and solid‑state circuits geared toward high‑fidelity home playback and recording rather than professional use.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Uher continued to develop its portable and consumer ranges with improved electronics and features. The Uher 1200 Report Synchro (1972–1976) was designed for professional reporting with motion‑picture sync capability, combining portable convenience with more advanced mechanical and electronic stability. Models such as the SG 630 R‑R and SG 631 R‑R appeared later in the decade with transistorized drives and semi‑professional features.
The Uher Report series endured particularly long in the market, with machines built and sold into the late 1990s, though cassette‑ and digital‑format recorders had by then overtaken open‑reel machines in most applications. Uher’s continued legacy in reel tape was tied to its reputation for reliability and portability, which made its machines especially popular with mobile recording situations rather than studio‑centric use.
A notable moment in cultural history involved an Uher tape recorder in the United States during the Watergate era, when the Uher 5000 was part of the equipment associated with the recordings that became central to the scandal, illustrating how Uher decks were trusted in real‑world reporting and archival contexts.
In 1974 UHER Werke München KG was sold to Assmann Electronics, and through subsequent corporate restructuring the Uher brand continued under various corporate entities into the late 20th century. As digital recording became mainstream and cassette formats dominated, production of open‑reel machines declined, and Uher’s classic tape recorder business gradually ceased.
In summary, Uher was a German reel‑to‑reel tape recorder manufacturer active from the mid‑1950s to the 1980s, known especially for its portable Report series and consumer hi‑fi decks. Its products evolved from tube‑based early models to solid‑state designs, serving a wide range of users from home listeners to field reporters and becoming one of the most recognizable reel‑to‑reel names in Europe and abroad.