My first RTR unit!

[dewdude]

OOh, I'm all excited.

I've been wanting a RTR unit for quite sometime...but I knew the ones I'd probably want were expensive; so it sat as that thing I always wanted but would probably never get, a sad sad way to be unable to round out my vintage system (although I can excuse not having an 8-track player).

Today, I got one. I was given a Sony TC-353D and a couple reels. It seems like a nice unit..although it lacks the 15ips speed i'd like, I guess i'll live with 7 1/2.

I cleaned and demagnetized the heads (which I'm sure had never been done) after i got it working (i didn't know the reels didn't move when tape wasn't in it). I'm starting to love it. The tape isn't the best i'm sure, but the sound is impressive, I love that it's a 3-head machine. I'm just overally really excited about finally owning one.

I know a few things about the unit...it was purchased in 1975 (as the warrenty page has a 1976 expiration written on it), and it was before Superscope lost thier Sony distribution, becuase it's got Superscope logo on it.

Anyone know more about these machines? Any tips for a RTR newbie?

[mhardy6647]

My first R2R was a TC-353D bought used ca. 1977. Probably 22 or so years later, I bought another one from eBAY. Not a bad deck at all. Very plain-jane; one motor, pressure pads, lots of rubber bits inside that may need attention. They sound pretty decent, though, and you can have some fun with the three head configuration :-)

Info on the 353D...?
1) Well, dig around through the catalog archives at Phantom Productions:
http://reel2reeltexas.com/catIndex.html

2) Check here:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sony-main.html
(if nothing else, you'll find the TC-377, which is really fairly similar...)

my current TC-353D in a bad photo in situ:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/mhardy6647/basementhifi1a.jpg

[mhardy6647]

From the 1973 Lafayette catalog at Phantom Productions :-)

http://reel2reeltexas.com/cat73Lafay2.jpg

[can-man]

Very cool...I just bought the TEAC 1230 on epay and now here is an add from 1973, the year I graduated from High School.

Thanks AK again for great stuff!

[mhardy6647]

Thank Phantom Productions!

[meggy]

At's Nice. Congrats.

[Grainger49]

Someone is going to say it. May as well be me.

:worthless

[Doug Olitsky]

yeah ! Lets see !!!

I just got my 1st R2R, an Otari, looks like we'll both be learning a lot

[vinyldavid]

http://www.obsoletemedia.com/tapedecks/sonytc353.htm

There you go!

That looks like a fun unit!

[dewdude]

it has been. the fidelity is amazing for tape. since i've never owned a RTR before I've never known exactly thier fidelity...this unit even on the old tape is making really good sounding recordings.

BTW, where the heck can I buy new reel tape for it, i know they've gotta be making it, but, who and where?

[mhardy6647]

www.usrecordingmedia.com