Reel to reel tape recorder (1 Viewer)

[Mel]

I have accumulated quite a few 7 & 10" reel tapes over the last 40 years. I remember to have used a four speed tape recorder (7",3-3/4",1-7/8" and 15/16" speed).In order to paly those tapes and convert them to casette tapes and/or CDS, are there any tape-recorders new or old available on the market? I am not sure that the original tape recorder was manufactured by B&O. Any advice?

 

[Saurav]

Check eBay - if it's available anywhere on this planet, you'll find it on eBay Seriously, I've seen many R2R decks on eBay. I don't know anything about them, so I wouldn't be able to advise you on what's good and what's not.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I still have my Reel to Reel deck, a Teac 4-channel Quad unit, and it gets used semi-regularly (it has the well-known solenoid problem, but, with coaxing, works fine). Now, I'm mostly transferring stuff to CD from it and the recordings sound very nice.

Saurav is right about Ebay - though you should also check out any shops near you that deal in used equipment - you might find a bargain locally. Best brands, IMO, to check on are Teac, Akai, Tascam and Pioneer; most of the major audio manufacturers also made models. Try to get the latest possible model you can - the electronics are likely better and the transport will still probably be in good shape. You might have a problem finding a high-quality deck that does the two slowest speeds - 1 7/8" and 15/16".

Good luck!

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I still have an Akai 10” model that I enjoyed for many years. Unfortunately, it’s tired and doesn’t work well any more.

If you’re looking for new, Tascam and Otari are probably is the only ones you’ll be able to find anymore. As others noted, there is no shortage of reel to reels from the consumer brands on e-bay – Teac, Akai, Pioneer, Sony, Ampex, Tandberg, etc.

It will probably be a problem finding a machine to do all four speeds. Two speeds is typical, although some do three. The 15ips speed will probably only be found on professional models.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Lou Grasek]

I remember walking along Canal St in NYC and seeing Roberts Reel to Reels, I believe they were for commercial use. check this one out at ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ViewItem&item=1357429981
Lou

 

[Scott Strang]

I love open reel decks. Recording at 15ips at 1/2 track makes for some very nice recording especially when using Agfa/BASF/Emtec 468 tape. You can pound the tape with signal and it has a very soft overload characteristic. Ampex (now Quantegy) has some good tape too.

When you're buying an open reel deck remember that the only brands you will likely still be able to get parts for are (Japanese) are Otari and late model TEACs/TASCAMs.
Then there's Revox/STuder which I think still have parts available for all of their models including A77's and B77's.

One of my all time favs was the Technics Isoloop series. They sure were nice. Had 3 switchable speeds from the front panel, direct drive quartz locked. It even had a strobe on the bottom of the head stack. They were gorgeous machines with one real drawback; Panasonic. They are one of the world's worst at dropping production of replacement parts.

 

[Ken Garrison]

May I recommend the Sony TC 377 deck? I see quite a few of them on eBay. I own one and just recorded a concert at the school last night with it. Reel to Reels have the best sound of all other analog formats. I love my old 30 year old TC 377. Very reliable and has great sound. I was given to me a few years ago from a guy who saw me recording one of the band concerts with the old Bell and Howell R2R deck. I needed a better deck, so, I called him a few months later and he dropped it off at our house. Just saw him last night after the concert and he said "She still working, eh?" "YEUP, still running strong" He works as one of the substitute teachers BTW. If somebody offered me a DAT for my R2R deck, I wouldn't accept it. I prefer analog for recording, even though I put it on CD anyway. Anyway, good luck finding a R2R deck. I highly recommend the TC 377 by Sony.