For all formats on this page, also please look at the Noise Reduction page.
8-track has been produced as a “boutique” format in very limited quantities.
16-track was the first 2-inch audio tape. It was soon followed by 24-track which was a long-lived standard. Resources for transfer: Sonicraft, New Jersey – Dreamhire, New York – Joav Shdema, Israel
16-track was soon followed by 24-track which was a long-lived standard. Resources for transfer: Sonicraft, New Jersey – Dreamhire, New York – Joav Shdema, Israel – Sound Laboratory, National Library of Norway – Ted Kendall, England
Yes, they even made a 32-track 2-inch audio tape. Resources for transfer: Sonicraft, New Jersey
See also: equalization, noise reduction, reels & hubs, speeds, synchronization, tape timing, tape winding, and track configurations.
Some users claim to have had great success with playing 16-track 2-inch tapes on 24-track heads. While it will work, it is interesting to note the relative misalignment of the two sets of tracks as the following drawing I made shows. Click [or save target as] for larger view. 4-track 1/2-inch tape and 8-track 1-inch tape use the same 0.070″ track width as 16-track 2-inch tape. The center-to-center spacing 0.130″ as opposed to 0.127″ for 16 track.
