Track Configuration
Track Configuration describes how a reel-to-reel machine’s heads record or reproduce tracks across the tape width.
Examples include full-track mono, half-track stereo and quarter-track stereo. The layout is different from the number of physical heads. A machine can use separate erase, record and playback heads while retaining the same audio-track format.
Track Configuration — Reel-to-Reel
Match the recorded tape’s layout to the machine’s playback capability. A stereo channel count alone does not identify the track format, and a tape of the correct width can still use an incompatible layout. Some machines offer an additional playback format without recording in that format.
Check recording and playback capabilities separately and retain any switchable-mode restrictions. Track configuration also does not establish tape speed or equalization. Use the complete format information rather than assuming that any two-channel reel-to-reel machine will reproduce every stereo tape correctly.