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bird72 · 08-02-2013, 10:36 AM

So, any Reel To Reel freaks here? I am getting back into that arena full force now..... always been an analog advocate and vinyl freak. Had a Sony reel to reel in the 70's and loved it. A couple years ago I bought two Pioneer 909's. Both have minor issues and am getting top to bottom rebuilt now. The good report on the first from the master tech I am using is that it has almost zero hours, he mic'd the parts that tell and no wear at all, yippee. Sending the second off to him today, hope it is as good. The 909's are the cream of the crop home deck, from the end of the era, 10 inch reel, rack mount (if you want). They are 800-1000 on ebay now, like cars very up and down, have hit as high as 2700. Trouble is, most can use the 5-600 buck rebuild. Grease was never meant to last 40 years, and the factory belts and pinch rollers were the weak link, he rebuilds with modern high tech lube, better rollers and belts.

Like I needed one more, I got 50 seven inch tapes and an AKAI 210 two weeks ago for 85 bucks! Hooked it up last week and works flawlessly and it looks brand new.... it is an early seventies deck, far more basic than a 909, lever controls, not solenoid, etc. It sounds great though.

One reminder of how high grade the sound is on these decks is the equalization. I am a huge fan of graphic equalizers and adjusting sound output to the source recording. When I hooked up the 210 last week, I had to use far less equalization than normal. These things flat put out some high end sound.

So, over the next couple of months I plan on doing some favorite song / artist tapes from vinyl. (like the old daze). So if anyone else reel to reels, with my dual deck caapability, I would be glad to copy and share what I put togethor.

Like someone said watching mine play the other day "wow they look cool running".... and also "wow, that sounds great"....

I will happily live in my analog past

PonchoV8 · 08-02-2013, 10:55 AM

My entry level Akai is long gone. So is my Fostex reel to reel recording gear.

uforacing · 08-02-2013, 02:53 PM

Never got into the R T R but I still have all my albums, my magneplainers and a few set ups.
Darby likes the vintage stuff as well.

carcrazy · 08-02-2013, 03:01 PM

I have a Revox A77 that I purchased new in Europe a long time ago. Haven't used it in 10 years of so. Needs some minor repairs now. It is on my list of projects.

Dick Boneske · 08-02-2013, 03:15 PM

I've had four different Sony home decks from the basic one to the best 7" reel deck they made in the late '60's--before Dolby.

Then, I found a professional Berlant Concertone 10 1/2" reel deck--7 1/2 & 15 ips speeds. We did live recordings of some rock bands in the late '60's, early '70's. A friend had a Revox A77, which did a great job. We borrowed professional mikes from the place we worked and made some decent recordings. I still have the tapes, but no way to play them. Only have a Sony TC-350 deck that takes 7" reels, 7 1/2 ips.

Yes, these old RTR decks worked great, but nowhere near as good as equipment available today--and now for a fraction of the prices of these old beasts!! Today, most young people have never heard a full-range (non MP3) recording on a good system or with good headphones. So, when they hear a vinyl LP on a good system, they think it sounds great---and it does compared to MP3 crap we are all exposed to today. However, as I said, the recordings on CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc. far surpass what we had back in the day.

Ben M. · 08-02-2013, 06:27 PM

I inherited my dad's. He said he paid $550 for it in 1977, so it definitely wasn't cheap. I remember him using it all throughout the 80's until mom made him put it away. I've always wondered what I'm going to do with it, I have a high end stereo setup I can hook it into, just have a lot of old blank tape.

Rocky Racoon · 08-02-2013, 07:47 PM

Back in the day I had a Teac A-3340S.

MikeNoun · 08-02-2013, 09:55 PM

I'm a vintage vinyl record collector myself, but over the years I've had many RTR tapes (never had a deck) that I passed on to friends that had decks. My brother-in-law has a large collection of tapes, I think he had a huge Akai deck. He was really into tapes back in the early 1990's, but moved on to CD's, and then mp3's. He knows RTR and vinyl sounds better than CD's, and much better than mp3's, but he just doesn't have time to sit and listen anymore, so he goes for the convenience.

I'm trying to get him to unlock his huge collection of RTR's and put them up for sale. He has at least 100, all classic rock albums, many obscure titles.

lockec · 08-03-2013, 07:21 AM

I have a Pioneer 909 I acquired back in the 80's from a friend. Had to replace the pinch rollers a few years back but it still sounds great! It gets fired up from time to time during the Saturday night beer sessions along with the 8 tracks. I also have a nice collection of vinyl for the more critical listening times.

Qball · 08-03-2013, 04:29 PM

My mom had a R-T-R in the 70's but, alas, it was stolen when our apt was burglarized. I think it was an Ampex. Not sure though.

Alvin · 08-03-2013, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bird72

So, any Reel To Reel freaks here? I am getting back into that arena full force now..... always been an analog advocate and vinyl freak. Had a Sony reel to reel in the 70's and loved it. A couple years ago I bought two Pioneer 909's. Both have minor issues and am getting top to bottom rebuilt now. The good report on the first from the master tech I am using is that it has almost zero hours, he mic'd the parts that tell and no wear at all, yippee. Sending the second off to him today, hope it is as good. The 909's are the cream of the crop home deck, from the end of the era, 10 inch reel, rack mount (if you want). They are 800-1000 on ebay now, like cars very up and down, have hit as high as 2700. Trouble is, most can use the 5-600 buck rebuild. Grease was never meant to last 40 years, and the factory belts and pinch rollers were the weak link, he rebuilds with modern high tech lube, better rollers and belts.

Like I needed one more, I got 50 seven inch tapes and an AKAI 210 two weeks ago for 85 bucks! Hooked it up last week and works flawlessly and it looks brand new.... it is an early seventies deck, far more basic than a 909, lever controls, not solenoid, etc. It sounds great though.

One reminder of how high grade the sound is on these decks is the equalization. I am a huge fan of graphic equalizers and adjusting sound output to the source recording. When I hooked up the 210 last week, I had to use far less equalization than normal. These things flat put out some high end sound.

So, over the next couple of months I plan on doing some favorite song / artist tapes from vinyl. (like the old daze). So if anyone else reel to reels, with my dual deck caapability, I would be glad to copy and share what I put togethor.

Like someone said watching mine play the other day "wow they look cool running".... and also "wow, that sounds great"....

I will happily live in my analog past

Reel To Reel Recorders

Check out this Texas Reel to Reel Museum, with IIRC some things for sale and networking with other enthusiasts. Awesome eye candy here too! http://reel2reeltexas.com/PPIMuseum.html