strongly considering taking the reel to reel plunge, but I don't recall ever being much closer than 2 feet to a machine. so..assuming the inevitable will occur, maybe i need some advice slash schooling on the generalities involved.
fleamarket guy has an older sony machine, not huge, portable, but yet full size i guess, missing the cover for 35...he doesnt know if it works (i believe him, hes a nice guy} that carries a, if it doesnt work bring it back guarantee. cant recall the model(never can) but one thing for sure, no om. I would assume the basics of threading the tape etc would be basically the same (not even quite sure how to do that}. So technically, Im a blank slate. If anyone would be kind enough to nudge me in one direction or another, links, holler at me, bootcamp etc..would def be appreciated. Im sure i could google all of this, but AK is far more trustworthy isnt it?:music:

I was like you last year. Didnt know a thing about them...I bought a model that was in nice shape so i wouldnt have to deal with any maintenance issues. Plenty of threads on the tape forum about R2R. Bought a few R2R tapes and off I went..Now I am hooked...threading the tape is same for most part..there are differences but its not hard and a manual will show you how. Folks on the forum like all brands but the TEACs seems to be popular due to their dependabilty and maintenance..but Revox, Pioneer, Akai, Sony, Otari..plenty of brands out there to choose from...If you are an Ak member you can check out the sale area, hidden if you arent, someone's always selling a nice R2R for a great price.

i think im gonna swing with the sony..if it truly is more of a pain just take it back and put that towards other coolness this guys got stacked up, im sure i could find something there(got my dual 1219 from this guy for 20 a lil clean a lil lube giddyup) anyway.. just looking for a little basics before i took the nestea plunge..

Once you get the deck report back here with the model number, and some one will be able to help you out, and then go from there. R2R is fun but can be a challenge for some one without experience. Getting the basics down first will keep you less stressed when doing repairs. Depending on the model Sony's can either be hard to work on, or very easy to work on. Decks like the TC-355 are easy to work on. A model like the TC-377 on the other hand can be a challenge.