Two-tape machines had the outgoing message on one tape, and the incoming messages recorded to a longer tape, that did not rewind until playback. In some instan

Two-tape machines had the outgoing message on one tape, and the incoming messages recorded to a longer tape, that did not rewind until playback. In some instances, the outgoing message was recorded on a microcassette tape, as would have been used in compact personal audio recorders, and the incoming messages went to either another microcassette or to a full-sized cassette tape. Single-tape machines were basically extinct by the late 80s. By the 90s, they returned when the outgoing message was recorded to solid-state memory, and the incoming went to tape.