NOT SO LONG AGO, recorded sound in a theatre meant playing music from a reel-to-reel tape recorder, which was still popular as late as the 1990s. Starting the tape machine created a loud clunking noise, so it was best for the sound man to be in a booth somewhere. Playback was accomplished by turning the tape transport lever to the right for play or fast-forward and to the left for rewind. Modern transport controls have the same icons as back then, although they are of course now computer generated and completely silent. Back then, light-colored splicing tape helped you locate your cue in the right spot on the tape. Editing magnetic tape was done by rotating the reels back and forth by hand to move the tape over ...
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