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A Reel to Reel for £250: can it be done?

I've had several Sony TC-377 and 378 machine over the years and found them to be very reliable. I'd say they are a great first R2R.
 

£250 is pretty small beer for a decent R2R. £300 is all that is asked for this refurbished 2 tr Revox A77 (I have no connection with the seller)

https://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum...a77-mk-iv-2-track-standard-speed-unit.225402/

Before buying a R2R, you have to make a big decision about whether you are planning to:
a) use it to record from other sources eg LP (Lord knows why?), BBC R3 live FM broadcast etc
b) play commercial pre-recorded tapes (lots on ebay, some of which go for silly money - ie more than I pay for a 15IPS original production master for a classic album)
c) get serious and play studio masters (but this will get very addictive and cost £000s to get a decent collection of music)

A lot of this boils down to a) your budget, b) your goal with R2R and c) what software you are going to play.

If you are going to get serious about R2R, then the machine has to be 2 track with 15 IPS capability. If you want something fun to play, then a consumer 4 tr 3.75/7.5 IPS machine will fit the bill - plenty of 4 tr 3.75 and 7,5 IPS commercial tapes available on the internet. BUT, if you buy a machine, be prepared to spend some money to get it serviced and calibrated for a standard tape stock.
 
Just to illustrate the point about the ridiculous money asked by some sellers

USD 594 (£475) for a "sealed NOS" copy of Sgt Pepper's 7.5 Its 4tr tape (on Ampex tape stock - I would steer clear of this!!!)

I2xuo6.png


OR

This - a 15 IPS 2 track copy of a production master for less money

hi5pR6.jpg
 
Strangely one rarely on audio forums hears of what I consider the main use of a R2R.... recording live music! I see little other use for them beyond nice objet d'art...
 
I really can't remember when I bought my first R2R but I do remember the make...it was a Grundig Cub:D.
Then a Phillips portable....can't remember the model number..EL something or other.
Went through the Grundig range then purchased a Truvox,Brenel,Tandberg,Akai,Sony,Teac finally ending up with a Revox B77 H/S and a B77 MK 1 of which I still own.
The reason I purchased the R2R machines was mainly to record off the radio, mainly John Peel.
I have a couple of friends that play acoustic guitar who often come around to make a few recordings,they love the analogue sound.
I'm not a recording engineer by far but getting a couple of mikes set up isn't that much of a deal.
I've also have a few recordings of my children when they were young ' I have daughters so quite a choir!!:confused:

Ray
P.S forget the spelling mistakes i.e. Brenel? It was quite a long time ago!
 
Strangely one rarely on audio forums hears of what I consider the main use of a R2R.... recording live music! I see little other use for them beyond nice objet d'art...
Some of the better pre-recorded stuff is way, way better than the vinyl equivalent, I assume because it's closer to the original masters, without the middle men of cutting engineer and various degrading mothers.

Hearing a 7.5ips version of LA Woman at Lopwell on a sorted Sony TC-765 led to me spunking the most I've ever spent on a single source component (unless you count turntable, arm and cartridge as a single item) and I don't regret it. The search for appropriate software, however, is frightening...
 
Strangely one rarely on audio forums hears of what I consider the main use of a R2R.... recording live music! I see little other use for them beyond nice objet d'art...

Jez,

You are quite correct in some ways. Some studios have started to go back to analogue tape for recording sessions, as some artists have asked for this. Recording sessions to tape is a much more demanding test of the musicians than using DAW (digital audio workstation) such as ProTools or Logic Pro.

I think, however, one has to separate the professional studio machines (2 tr 15 IPS or 15/30 IPS or multitrack 30 IPS) from the consumer machines, such as the Akais, Sonys, Technics & TEACs mentioned within this budget. The consumer machines were designed primarily for replay of pre-recorded tapes, although some people used them for recording, in the same way as compact cassettes were used.

In the Big 3 record companies, remastering of new releases involves using a professional 2 tr or multitrack studio machine to replay or reproduce the master tape, which is then transferred to a DAW for the process of remastering. Getting this bit right is crucial to a decent remastering, but the Big 3 companies don't always do the tape transfer in the optimum manner.

Charlie
 
The consumer machines were designed primarily for replay of pre-recorded tapes, although some people used them for recording.

That surprised me, Charlie, as everybody I knew in the sixties and seventies, including me, used them for recording off air or transposing from records, often taking selected tracks to create composite tapes of music. Surely their main purpose was equally for recording and playback. I don't think I came across anyone who went out and bought expensive pre-recorded tapes even if they could find what they wanted. This media was always a retail sideline, to the best of my knowledge, along with 8 track and indeed pre-recorded cassette tapes, which were more prolific (but crap)
 
That surprised me, Charlie, as everybody I knew in the sixties and seventies, including me, used them for recording off air or transposing from records, often taking selected tracks to create composite tapes of music. Surely their main purpose was equally for recording and playback. I don't think I came across anyone who went out and bought expensive pre-recorded tapes even if they could find what they wanted. This media was always a retail sideline, to the best of my knowledge, along with 8 track and indeed pre-recorded cassette tapes, which were more prolific (but crap)

Mike, you are indeed correct :)
 
Jez,

You are quite correct in some ways. Some studios have started to go back to analogue tape for recording sessions, as some artists have asked for this. Recording sessions to tape is a much more demanding test of the musicians than using DAW (digital audio workstation) such as ProTools or Logic Pro.

I think, however, one has to separate the professional studio machines (2 tr 15 IPS or 15/30 IPS or multitrack 30 IPS) from the consumer machines, such as the Akais, Sonys, Technics & TEACs mentioned within this budget. The consumer machines were designed primarily for replay of pre-recorded tapes, although some people used them for recording, in the same way as compact cassettes were used.

In the Big 3 record companies, remastering of new releases involves using a professional 2 tr or multitrack studio machine to replay or reproduce the master tape, which is then transferred to a DAW for the process of remastering. Getting this bit right is crucial to a decent remastering, but the Big 3 companies don't always do the tape transfer in the optimum manner.

Charlie

Where good quality pre recorded tapes are available (at huge cost often) then that is obviously a fine use for a R2R but I fail to see the point of buying one to make recordings of vinyl and CD's etc that one already owns...
 
Just to illustrate the point about the ridiculous money asked by some sellers

USD 594 (£475) for a "sealed NOS" copy of Sgt Pepper's 7.5 Its 4tr tape (on Ampex tape stock - I would steer clear of this!!!)

I2xuo6.png


OR

This - a 15 IPS 2 track copy of a production master for less money

hi5pR6.jpg

The Ampex used for Pre-recorded tapes was a different formulation than the backcoated studio tapes ( 70's/80's Grand Master etc) Charlie. It's absolutely free of SSS, but like any tape can suffer from oxide shedding due to poor storage, or just being played to death
 
Where good quality pre recorded tapes are available (at huge cost often) then that is obviously a fine use for a R2R but I fail to see the point of buying one to make recordings of vinyl and CD's etc that one already owns...
I agree with you up to a point jez. I would never record a CD but I have recorded some of my vinyl onto R2R , simply because some of the vinyl I have is unobtainable now. And no matter how much you look after your records they do wear out depending how much you play them. Nice to alternate between both sources.

Regards
Ray
 
A ReVox A77 here is often cheap. I got mine for 80 euros, absolutely mint with reel Perspex cover.

For 250 euros I got a nice mint G36.

ReVox machines are nice because they were produced in vast quantities and parts are readily available, NOS, used, or new fabrications.

Be (tell your mate to be) patient, and go local.
EBay prices are just silly.
 
A ReVox A77 here is often cheap. I got mine for 80 euros, absolutely mint with reel Perspex cover.

For 250 euros I got a nice mint G36.

ReVox machines are nice because they were produced in vast quantities and parts are readily available, NOS, used, or new fabrications.

Be (tell your mate to be) patient, and go local.
EBay prices are just silly.
Cracking bargain!
Ray
 
Well, yes, it's about as faff as analogue sources get, but get a good one, and some decent tapes, then it's about as good as it gets in analogue reproduction.
 
Yes, there are even two A77s for sale near me as I speak, for that kind of money.
Just be patient. £ 300 seems like a lot of money for such a machine.
Friends and family are always surprised about the sound of these babies.
 


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