Hey guys...I'd like to add a reel to reel tape machine to my setup....they just seem like a really neat thing to have....my question is this, can I buy anything that was pre-recorded in this format? Can I still buy blank tape for them?

thanks,

earl

Yes you will find many prerecorded tapes on the bay.
Tape world carries new blanks.

on a real shoppin' binge arncha, earl?

on a real shoppin' binge arncha, earl?

If I could acquire a little more knowlege about this ever-so-cool formeat, then yeah :thmbsp: I will be :D

Theres an Akai R2R on the Denver CL. No affiliation.

there are actually companies that still make blank reel to reel tapes, Quantegy is one, and i've been told there is a company out of Holland, i think, as well. :thmbsp:

Be carefull with older pre-recorded tapes, i have purchased a few with horiible results, the tapes are brittle and snap easily. :tears:

find an AKAI like this GX-646,
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/gregbolly/IMG_0542copy.jpg

or this GX-747dbx,
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/gregbolly/gxdbx.jpg

Earl: For price you want a Teac 2300 SR ( Under 300 , probably $ 200)

For 10.5 " Reels you want a Teac 3300SR ( Probably $ 300 to 375)

For the latest in technology RTR wise a Teac X-1000R ( $ 500 t0 750)

The prices I am giving you are on ebay for a working , good condition unit.
Blank Tape is Maxell UD-35-90 or UD 35-90B Used on ebay. It was so good it's even better the second time around. Anything else you get will cost a lot more and not be anywhere as good- Joe :banana: :banana: :banana:

There are many good choices out there in Open reel tape machines. Personally, my favorites are the 10.5" Sonys, Revoxes, and Tandbergs.

Earl, it sounds to me like you might want to start hitting the thrift stores if you're looking for decent vintage equipment. I mean, there's a lot of crap out there too but I've built my whole system this way (and thru garage sales). I bought a Sony RTR at a thrift for $20 and it's perfect. I also found a slightly less than perfect Akai RTR for a buck at a garage sale! Marantz cassette deck, perfect, $10. Since cassette decks are the dying breed, they're all over the thrifts (along with VCRs!). I see more of 'em than I can rescue around here-I just bought an old silver Scott built like a tank last night for $4. Harmless fun, they say. My wife always gasps when I come home with some expensive looking piece of audio gear but the price tag is almost always under $15. Just a suggestion-it gets to be like a treasure hunt
and I'm always upgrading stuff but it's fun and you can look for tapes and vinyl while you do it....
Dan

Yeah....thanx for the suggestions guys....I'll probably stick with EBAY...I have hit up some thrift stores around here and goodwill, pawnshops, etc. and I NEVER have found anything decent...it's amost always pure garbage :thumbsdn: did find a Marrantz tuner....just don't have any need or desire for a tuner (I'm tempted to sell my new Pioneer receiver and just buy a Sansui amp as I never listen to broadcast radio in the house...just seems weird) anway I'm rambling...blah blah blah....thanks guys you're the best!

I'm also looking to add a reel to reel to my system, never heard one before. Will be interesting to hear the difference of a reel tape, cassette and lp of the same artist and album.

Anyone have an opinion on the Tascom 32? Is $450 a good price for the 32 and worth buying?

I see a lot of Tascom on epay fewer Revoxes, and Tandbergs, way to many Sony for me to figure out which is a good model.

I'm also looking to add a reel to reel to my system, never heard one before. Will be interesting to hear the difference of a reel tape, cassette and lp of the same artist and album.

Anyone have an opinion on the Tascom 32? Is $450 a good price for the 32 and worth buying?

I see a lot of Tascom on epay fewer Revoxes, and Tandbergs, way to many Sony for me to figure out which is a good model.
There are a lot of Revoxes on Epay. 10.5" Tanbergs are less common, but are still available. The really hot 10.5" Sonys (TC-765, 766, 880) are a bit on the rare side, although the 755, 756 are esentially just as good sounding (but a bit more primative), and are much more common.

The Tacsam 32 is a very good machine. But it is a somewhat "clinical" sounding machine IMHO. If you are looking to discover that rich, almost tube-like tone that many people love out of analog, this machine may not give you what you are looking for.

The 32 is also a half-track, fully professional machine, and runs only runs at very high speeds. So these are extremely expensive to record on (a 3600' reel will only play for 45 minutes at 15 ips! :eek: ).

By contrast, on my quarter-track TC-765, A77, or TD-20A, this same real will paly for 6 hours at 3.75 ips, or for 3 hours ar 7.5 ips.

However, unless you buy a machine that has recently been restored (and the ebay cliche' "checked-out by my tech" doesn't count here), you are likely to have problems. These machine are all so old now, that even when in mint condition, they are still likely to have failing capacitors. And the condition of the heads is very important to.

Thanks goldear for the information. This will certainly help narrow my focus :)

Is the playback speed constant versus recording using different speeds?

I've read on AK and else where that 15 ips recording eats tape making it costly to record at this speed, so wondering if you can really tell the difference in the sound quality of recordings using slower speeds for home recordings?

Something else I have to try to see if my ears can hear the difference :)

Ok I should start by saying that I am 59 years old and have always loved reel to reel. Recently I was lucky to again get a Sony 777 machine. I had one in the 1960's and can't remember why I ever got rid of it but as luck would have it I found a pristine 777 that I purchased from an engineer that treated it like a baby. He replaced capacitors as needed and replaced the heads etc. But I also baby it and needed a work horse machine. At this stage of life a new machine will most likely last me the rest of my life. There are new excellant condition B-stock Tascam br-20 machines for sale at Full Compass for just under $1800.00 and I got one. It is a real beauty and a steal at that price. I would of liked it to have adjustable eq and bias adjustments but alas it dosen't have them. I also got the remote through a Japanese service shop in Kyoto in three days when Tascam USA or Tascam Europe would not help. The guy in Kyoto called the factory and bingo I had one. Now the tape is a different story: Old tape prerecorded on flakes off and cloggs tape heads so buying old tape on e-bay is not a great idea. New tape is the only way to go. There is Quantegy good for lay applications. There is a new pro tape from europe and a new plant in New Jersey USA that will be ready any time now. Just record new stuff or from your cds. Now if you don't buy the Tascam from Full Compass then there is a guy in Vintage Texas that repairs Tascam reel to reel machines. His name is Rolf and buying from him is I think alot safer that a pig in a poke from ebay. I have bought some machines from ebay that were cited as pristine and excellant condition that did not work when they were delivered. Some of these machines have broken parts that are no longer made and impossible to repair. Good luck my friend.. If you email me I can send a list of urls to you that might help. :yes:

Thanks goldear for the information. This will certainly help narrow my focus :)

Is the playback speed constant versus recording using different speeds?

I've read on AK and else where that 15 ips recording eats tape making it costly to record at this speed, so wondering if you can really tell the difference in the sound quality of recordings using slower speeds for home recordings?

Something else I have to try to see if my ears can hear the difference :)
Higher speed does equate to higher quality. But for the purposes of home recording, you are very unlikely to hear much of an improvement when going from 7.5 ips to 15 ips. My Sony TC-765 will easily go well past 25 kHz at 7.5 ips at -20dB, and will be flat up to 20Khz at 0dB, At +10dB the frequency response will probably not extend much beyond 10kHz, but recorded music does not have enough HF energy for this to be audible.

By contrast at 3.75, there is a definite loss of highs above about 20kHz at 3.75 ips at -20dB, and the response at 0dB will proabaly only go to about 10kHz or so. So there is an audible difference between 3.75 and 7.5 ips if your music has lots of HF content, and if you record ar higher levels (not to mention, if you still even have hearing up that high).

At the profesional speed of 15 ips, your will be flat to 20kHz at + 10dB, as well as having a respons that can extend past 40kHz at -20dB! Your dog will certainly appreciate the difference, if you record wide bandwidth SACDs or DVD-A, but you probably will not. And on CDs, there is nothing above 20kHz anyway (if you can even hear above 20KHz, and very, very, very few people can!).

FYI - Almost all of the really good machines will only run at two speeds, although there are a select few that will run at 3 speeds. So you usually have to chose between a professional speed machine, or a cosumer speed machine. Personally, unless you are recording live, I recommend a consumer speed machine. If you are doing live recording, that is an entirely different story though, as the extra headroom will really benefit you.

The advice about buying from someone who restores these machines above is good. Rolf (vintage TX) is an AK member, and is a great guy, and would certainly be highly recommended. Others around here such as Pusk... (sorry can remember the whole name, but his avatar is riding a horse) do this too, as do I on occasion. People like this are the best way to obtain a machine in good shape, although your going to pay a substantial premium over Epay, because of all of the restoration work.

pustelniakr, goldear. :)

Thanks guru388 for pointing out old tapes from epay might not be the greatest purchase I could make first time out. Timing couldn't be better, the other night I was looking at the tape listing on that auction site and old cheap tapes to boot!

goldear, thanks. I didn't know tapes had the bandwidth to handle SACDs even 15 ips! Funny how certain technology dies for no real reason other than something new came along. I really like the idea of recording FM source material late at night and playing back during my work day to get a feel if I really like a new artist I haven't heard before purchasing an LP or CD.

I called a local guy last night that sold me a really nice Series 20 PLC-590 TT and he has a Pioneer RT-1011L for $200.00 so I'll take a look at it this weekend. It supports 3.75 and 7.5 and the price isn't bad for the condition and it has wood sides to match my other Pioneer gear :)

If it looks good but has problems I'll contact one of the guy's on AK to see about checking it over if I decide to buy.

I really like the idea of recording FM source material late at night and playing back during my work day to get a feel if I really like a new artist I haven't heard before purchasing an LP or CD.
That is my biggest use of my open reel machines. We have a local Jazz station that plays mostly new music on Sunday nights. I like to listen to my tape of the show durring the week at my leisure, and decide if there is anything new that catches my interest. Anything good that I hear then gets placed onto my need-to-buy CD list. :thmbsp:

Sipster: You can not get better tape than Maxell UD-35-90 or 90B ( Backcoated) The binder is absolutely stable and does not shed..... The tape does not pick up "Ghosts" from being used and not erased properly..... and you can find it on ebay around $5.00 to $7.00 a reel. Maybe $ 20 for a 3600' reel of UD-35-180

Stay away from 1.5 Mil tape..... too stiff and it gets stiffer with age and will not give good head to tape contact. It can also aggravate a misalignment problem with the unit and cause scraping and violining noises on record & Playback.

Earlsays,

Well, a year junior to Guru 388 (58), I too have been listening to Reel to Reels since the 60s. While not as sonically high end as a lot of the other decks mentioned in this thread, my lot has been cast with TEAC for the past 40 years. They’re inexpensive, built like tanks; with parts and tech support readily available. On average, of four Teac 4010/6010s that I purchase for $40 to $75 each, one will be cannibalized to restore the remaining three to “King of Analog” royalty.
As for tapes on “the’bay”, with the exception of an occasional bad apple, I’ve had only good luck with the pre-records offered. I tend to be patient and bargain hunt – sometimes even snag 2-track gems for $5 to $10. Once you get over the “coolness” of a capable tape deck, you’ll have its glorious lush presence of playback in the bank.
Have fun on this wonderful venture.

Mario

I suggest you search for Reel to Reel on Ebay, then change the listing to 'nearest first'. This will save a lot of shipping money, and you will get to see it's condition ,that it works, and the environment it came from before forking over the dough. If you can, get a 30 day guarrantee that it will keep working, then use it a lot to test everything repeatedly.

Be patient, but, prices for machines on ebay seem lower now because people are outdoors more than in the colder climates. Christmas, Tax Return Times seem to boost the prices.

Start simple, but decent. Like renting an apartment in a new location until you know the area, then buy the house.

3 motor machines are much more dependable and quieter than ones that use a single motor and lots of mechanically moving parts

Reversing units cost more, but, quite convenient and more enjoyable.

Some units, late in the game, can play and record type EE tapes. You and I and most all of us will probably never will use this. The tapes are rare, fought over by professionals whose recordings are very important, and if you make a recording on an EE setting, it can only be played back on an EE deck, pretty limiting for the common man.

Various speeds come into play. 3-3/4 and 7-1/2 are the most standard speeds of prerecorded tapes and playback decks. Some machines can also play 1-7/8 which was for dictation. 3-3/4 music sounds great, 7-1/2 music sounds absolutely awesome. Best sounding source in my mighty fine system (I'm 57 and music has been a big priority since I was a telinquint.

Most tapes and machines are 4 track, but older or pro 2 track machines and tapes exist. Often the pro 2 track speeds are 7-1/2 and 15 IPS

Dual capstan machines isolate the tape when contacting the heads, so nothing that happens outside of the 'closed loop' gets to the tape when it is either playing or recording. (lots does happen, edge rubbing, slipping of loose tape, etc.)

Number counters are standard, time counters on later models are much nicer.

Take padding, they are heavy, you don't want to mess up your car upholstery or the wood case of the tape deck (they are easily scratched or dinged, some are just paper thin veneer, much thinner that veneer furniture)

My comments are generic, to give you a wider field to consider. Research, get back with specific questions before you spend money and regret it.

I personally really like the Teac's, have worked on many of them, and know the quality of 3 generations of machines, all great in my opinion.(stainless face plates, grey plastic face plates, thick aluminum face plates (black or silver)

Regards, Elliott