Anyone using reel-to-reels for Hi-Fi?

[robertbartsch]

Are these old things obsolete or do people still use them for high-fi?

I have a Teac 10" 2 track machine that does not move tape and I wonder if it is worth fixing?

[midlife]

I have a 10" Teac four track, I keep it mostly for its looks in a vintage sort of way. If its heads are clean and low hours it can, at 15 ips, produce pretty good sound.

[louped garouv]

I know a few guys that use R2R for mastering their digital EDM productions...

[SEAWOLF97]

I have a Teac 10" 2 track machine that does not move tape and I wonder if it is worth fixing?

the internal grease solidifies with age...you can open, scrape the solid grease out, regrease and it shud be fine.

I have a drop dead gorgeous TEAC X-1000R , but dont use it...MD is just too convenient and great sounding for me to go back to R2R ..there is a market for good clean running pro decks.

'cides I have a couple of MD players for bedtime listening.

[4343]

the internal grease solidifies with age...you can open, scrape the solid grease out, re grease and it should be fine.
...

Grease for sliding contact, oil for rotating is what I heard.

Capstan shafts usually want really thin oil, like what they sell at a sewing machine shop. Get the dispenser with the long thin tube, it makes reaching the front of a motor from the back much easier.

I recently pulled my Otari MX-5050 out of storage and found it would not pull tape, spent a little while oiling it (and grease in a few spots), it works like new now. Finding tape nowadays is difficult, but I have a closet full, some of which is still playable. Sticky shed syndrome is not your friend...

Some decks used belts to drive the reels and capstan, most are readily available on that auction site if you need one or a set.

Also, pre-recorded tapes were available for decades, most are still playable (pre sticky formula tape) and sound as good as they did new. Unlike vinyl, which sounds great until you play it...

[4343]

I have a 10" Teac four track, I keep it mostly for its looks in a vintage sort of way. If its heads are clean and low hours it can, at 15 ips, produce pretty good sound.

I agree, 15 sounds really good!

I was at a friends studio the other day, he has a 1/2" 2-track (3 with timecode really) that runs 30 ips setup with Dolby SR, he says 15 ips has too much bass! True, the head bump IS at a lower frequency at the lower speed, but before digital, who noticed? Oh, and he said he had not used it in a year...

My 4-track 4-channel gets used now and then, not as much as the 2-track or the stereo 4-track deck. I'd love to have some of the discrete quad tapes they used to make... I'd have to setup the L-112's and L-110's as a quad system to play 'em, that'd be fun!

[Mr. Widget]

My 2 cents worth on reel to reel decks is that the professional models like the Otaris, MCIs, some Ampexes and some Studers can be real bargains. The common Teacs, Tascams, Sonys, and Pioneers are way over priced. Nothing made by these consumer or semi-pro brands were ever built to the quality standards of the fully pro brands. Today the popular Pioneers and better Teac/Tascam models sell for about the same prices as the less well know pro models... basically it is similar to the way the well known JBL Consumer 375 often sells for far more than the essentially identical JBL Pro Series 2440.

Many of the pro models designed for radio stations like the Otari MX5050 had half track record playback heads and an additional 1/4 track playback head. This allows you to make recordings of the highest quality and still play back the vintage tapes you may have made on one of those Teacs or Pioneers... or the pre-recorded tapes for that matter.


Widget

[stephane RAME]

http://reel2reeltexas.com/index.html

Stéphane

[LowPhreak]

"Anyone using reel-to-reels for Hi-Fi?"

Sometimes I wish I still was!

[jcrobso]

At home I have a Tascam 8080 1/2" 8 channel with 8 channel DBX Pro, Teac 3340 & 2340 1/4" 4 channel and Pioneer 10" reel model. I haven't used them in years, but I still want to get them going again. I have a lot of music on tape that I haven't heard in a long time.
I loved to watch the reels turn, you just don't get the same effect from a CD.

[jaynemo]

Machines are only good if you can buy the tape. Sure a lot of NOS laying around but the industry came close to having no new tape supply. My Pioneer RT-701 just serviced and aligned about 4 years ago with minimal use was aligned using Quantegy tape who folded. I use the machine once in a blue moon I guess I'm getting a little too lazy.

http://www.atrtape.com/

[jaynemo]

Geeze, I guess its been awhile. Looks like Quantegy is back! The 456/457 Grand Master readily available!



http://www.quantegy-online.com/456457.html

[takenodisk]

There's still enough demand in europe for pro brands like REVOX,TASCAM OTARI.
I own a REVOX B77,a REVOX PR99 and a TASCAM BR20T and from time to time i enjoy playing some analogue recordings through each of them,the warmth and dynamic sound of tape recorders has always been pleasant to my ears,although relatives try to convince me of getting rid of them,i'll keep them as long as i can.

[IsakAlexander]

[midlife]

Recently eeebay has had no less than 5 Crown rtrs for sale, a couple are still for bid.