A tape recorder of the present invention comprises a pair of feed and take-up spools for winding a tape as recording media, a rotatable drum rotated to wind and run the tape between the pair of spools over the drum surface helically, a head for recording, reproducing or erasing signals on the tape wound over said drum surface, and control means for controlling the relative positional relationship between the head and the tape wound over the drum surface based on an error signal such that said signals are stably recorded, reproduced or erased along a desired track, the control means having means for holding the error signal during the period in which the tape is discontinued over a drum surface. The value of the error signal at the time immediately before the tape disappears from the drum surface, or the value of the error signal at the time immediately after the tape reappears over the drum surface during the preceding rotation of the drum is used as the error signal to be held, thereby allowing to stably restart the positioning control when the tape reappears over the drum surface.