I have no intention of ever getting into music this way and yet I enjoy these videos. I enjoy the history and the very evident passion in the way they're presented. Very genuine.
@anadialog ...only young generation idiot's who do not want to try the analog world audio gear. I'm 62 and have lived through the 70s and 80s and reel to reel was king before this digital crap came out. Digital formats render me mute. At this point in my 62 yrs I have live on this earth I will continue to listen to tape over digital any damn day of the week. I own a 10.5 Teac 2 track full track. I have 2 speeds 7-1/2 & 15 ips.
The Otari 5050 B2-2 has always been my go to for professional mastering due to its many features. This is the machine that I used to take six or so local bands out of the garage and to regional fame. I I Used Ampex 457 grandmaster gold on my deck and got excellent results. I still keep my Otari in top working order as well as maintaining my two Akai. Two pioneer. TEAC and finally my late sixty's Revox A77.
Great video. A couple of notes: 1) most important read read read. Be knowledgeable before you start spending $$. 2nd Find a tech BEFORE you find a machine. Have the tech evaluate the machine BEFORE you buy it. (The best is to buy a serviced machine directly from a tech that you can have a future relationship with). 3rd buy a first class alignment tape and learn how to use it. As you know there is no “set it and forget it” with tape machines. And if you’re not checking / verifying your alignment periodically. Huge changes can occur that you might not notice (the technics 15XX series are the worst for drifting alignments). Again great overview, but it’s most important that a potential user educates themselves. I did a similar video about “audiophile reel to reel” about a year ago. I think there’s good info there as well. I can’t post a link, but you can find it by clicking my picture and searching my channel. Thanks!
My goodness. The universe is bizzare....I have been putting it out there for days "man, I really want to get into reel to reel tape - just for adding some color during mixing, but dont know where to start. There are SO. MANY. MACHINES" and lo and behold, you post this. Thanks so much
I sometimes use a reel to reel tape machine to process audio in my digital recording studio. I have used an Ampex ATR-102 in the past (which is excellent). However, I also have used a Tascam 32 at 15ips, using RTM (Recording The Masters) SM900 tape with excellent results. Sometimes its nice to use tape (SM900 +9 tape) to smooth out the transients in a nice way.
Thanks Guido! I DID buy a Revox A77 MK III.. 2 track, but it is limited to 19 cm/sec (7.5 inch). It was calibrated and fixed (LPR90) for 350 euros. I do think it does look good, but i agree with your points. No EQ switch and no 38 cm/sec speed... Expensive hobby this is...
I agree about most of what you said. About Revox: The best choice in my opinion to get into reel to reel for "small" money is a Revox A77 High Speed. Ironically it can handle more magnetic flux than the B77. You can get those serviced in Germany for well under $1000. You can't switch the equilisation but you'll have CCIR for 15 ips in which you can get most tapes. And if you record only for yourself it doesn't really matter what EQ you use. No PR99 in stock condition can switch the EQ. This includes the MK3. My recommendation for a newbie with a little more money would be a Revox A700 - BUT it has to be serviced by someone who really knows that model, otherwise you'll have lots of problems. The tape guides are more or less identical to the Studer A67 and B67. The audio section of course is done more simple compared to the Studer devices. You can't switch the EQ but the audio bords can be modified easily to have NAB at 7.5 ips and CCIR at 15 ips. That's all you really need. You can even put in an additional 4-Track head. Price is around $1500 (Germany) if you have a little patience. My device of choice is the Studer A807. It's the "cheapest" of the big Studers and can do anything you need. EQ can be switched of course. I got mine for $2200 - it's the version without VU so you need something external to set the levels. It also has the advantage (same as other A8xx devices) that the alignment is stored digitally. You basically just have to make the alignment for each type of tape you want to use once and write down the calibration numbers. Then every time you want to record on a different tape formulation you just have to enter six numbers and the device is aligned, Makes you far more flexibel when buying tapes.
@@theshowcase23 Hi I also have a Revox a77 high speed. Do you know up to what level it can handle the magnetic flux? I was interested in buying tapes with a magnetic flux of 320 nwb and was wondering if Revox was sufficient or should I aim for something higher. What is your experience with this machine ? I thank you.
any revox (n.b. not studer) from the G36 through PR99 is like buying a mini or a beetle (car). all the schematics are out there, & loads of parts. they're easy to work on, simple machines that do the job pretty well. the later PR99s & the C series are a bit more sophisticated, but the A77 is ideal for a beginner. no transport logic, so it's not for the unwary. you absolutely can mod the replay characteristics to suit; I rebuilt an A77HS so that the client had the choice of IEC/CCIR & NAB eq on replay & record. you can mod them to use with external pre-amps. the one criticism I have of them is the constant torque transport, which can be a bit rough on thinner tapes, especially on small spools. I use open-reel (ALL tape is 'reel-to-reel'; let's call it what it is, please) in all formats from quarter-track stereo at 1.875ips on a B77, right through to half-track at 15ips on a studer 807 & 810, & four channel on a revox C274. two of my A77s have dolby. avoid the revox A700. they're nice machines, but getting very hard to maintain.
@@lucabattanta9246 320 nWb/m shouldn't be a problem. But you often can't really trust those numbers. I bought the Horch House tape sampler. It says 514 nWb/m but it goes up to +5 dB so that's almost 1000 nWb/m. The output amp of the A77 has two parts and between them is the volume potentiometer. So if it distorts it's often enough to lower the volume. If it still distorts you can do a small mod by replacing two resistors. I would say just buy a tape and try it out. If the A77 is ok there will be absolutely no damage to the tape by playing it. It should already sound pretty great and if you get a better device later you already have the tapes.
Man this video saved me. I have always drooled over the Pioneer RT-909 and there is one for sale just down the road. But I checked the specs. It only has NAB eq, and only plays up to 7-1/2 ips. 2 no go's apparently. Great video. I appreciate it.
Great video！ After watching your introduction to the M15, I bought one three years ago, and it was awesome! I recently bought a MARA JH-110 (MCI SONY) to use for exchange copy. Lots of fun and adventure! haha!
I had to look it up, but I bought a recapped RT-909 on e-bay on Dec 31st 2017 for $1478.00 shipped. On January 7th 2018 I paired it up with a dbx 224 I got for $99.99 again off of e-bay. The best investment I have ever made to my home system. Full Compass still sells RTM and ATR pancakes for around $57 - $62. This price seems to be inflation proof. If your spending more than this you might have a problem.
Servicing and parts can become a real money pit, but it is a fun thing. I am in my 60’s and had a few decks in the 70’s and 80’s, I was hoping you were going to mention the Oteri’s also, the old Ampex machines had a really sweet sound. All that said personally, I have no interest in having a tape machine except for my cassette deck because I have. hundreds of mixtapes that are fun to listen to but don’t sound that great. owning a real to reel, is like owning an old jaguar, you better be a really good mechanic or have one.😂
Great video, I'm glad I bought an AKAI GX-400D in 2016, it suits me I record my own tapes from Vinyl have found some interesting Recordings at 7 1/2 inches per second too, and some old radio programmes too, I bought a copy of a Pre-recorded LP " Take Five" sounds fab.. And this machine only cost me 250 pounds ( ok i cannot play any higher than 7 1/2 inches per second ) but looks & sounds loverly, just recently have noticed speed variation on last few mins at the end of the tape ! might need a bit of service, but happy for money I spent
I can not imagine owning a open reel machine without having an editing block China graph pencil splicing tape and a single sided razor. Open reel gave access to editing audio before it could be done at a fraction of the cost on computer. The insane prices relate to Broadcast machines used in broadcast radio. It was fun for a lot of good reasons.
I have Technics RS-1500 with both RP-2224 and RP-2422 (brand new) head-blocks. The player was completely recapped. I do wish it had IEC eq but some master tapes are offered in both NAB and IEC. There is a way to by pass the internal preamp and use an external pre amp that supports IEC but haven’t needed to worry about that yet. Calibrated to ATR MDS-36 (great tape). It is a money pit though, so anyone thinking about it …. proceed with caution. A thing of beauty however and sounds great !
You're right on obscure model i wanted to replace my four tracks Akai GX630D for the Philips NS you have cause i want by speed calibration, however there is no spare part! Furthermore it's not totally clear from the schematics about the speeds calibration which seems to be linked by two! So again the Revox 4 track b77 Mkii is a more obvious choice! I'm so disappointed about my Sony TC377 which is a quite common model, but where i can't even find a new motor for the moment!
I have both Otari MX-5050 BII-2 (released 1983) and MX-55 in outstanding conditions. IF you can find the more expensive and extremely rare MX-55 (released 1987), get this one as it is superior to its older brother BII-2 in sound quality, transport system AND sports modern electronics such as a much higher-quality pre-amp (having true balanced XLR outputs - the BII only does this if you are willing to re-wire its XLR outputs). I have pitted the MX-55 against 2 famous professional machines (Studer A820 and Ampex ATR-102) and found (in blind tests) no statistically significant differences in perceived sound quality. The BII sounds very good but is a notch below the Studer, Ampex and Otari MX-55.
@@anadialog I have also had a chance to play with the (last pro machine) Otari MTR-15 (which shares about 75%of the parts with the MX-55, from the manuals). I like the 15 (4-10K USD) better than ALL the machines I have auditioned (25-30 pro-grade machines from Scully, 3M, NAGRA, Ampex, Studer, Crown, MCI, Tascam, Otari, Sony, Akai - never seen a Telefunken around here yet). You can easily and precisely calibrate tapes with the 15 REC AUTO CAL function and its transport is buttery smooth (calibration for Playback is also needed - my 55 sounded worse than my cassette deck before this calibration but, after having it calibrated with MRL and ATR-Masters tapes, the 55 sounds better than the best-sounding DSD songs that take forever to download!). And, the pre-amp (same as my 55 which is priced around $3-7.5K, serviced) is as good as ANY separate pre-amp at the time (OK, the Ampex can destroy the 15 in terms of modularity and pre-amp performance but the Ampex costs 10-20K). With the 5050 BII, many Tape Projects guys had to wire its heads to an external amp to get the best possible sound (ain't no need with the 55 or its cousin 15). And the Otaris don't cost 10,000-20000 USD (like many of the big boys mentioned above). I agree with you (100%) the 5050 BII-2 is the best machine in the 1.5-3K range. But, the MX-55 is definitely worth the extra cash.
Certainly in that club…but not for a starter, extremely expensive! The best of the best would be a high-end transport Studer like the A812 or the A820 or a Nagra T with an external preamps like the Ampex MR70 or the modern Doshi.
@@anadialog The ATR-102 (basically the same as 100) was born in the early 1970s - about ten years before the A820 entered the scene. However, it is the preferred machine at many major studios in the USA. Steve Guttenberg interviewed (check out this video) a major R2R producer and asked him to pick the best R2R (2-track) machine for the job and the guy showed Steve the ATR-102. Many pros (with decades of experience in the field) I have spoken to say there is no difference in audio quality between the ATT-102 and A820 (I cannot, either) BUT the A820 has more modern electronics (can do auto-calibration, for example) and slightly better transport mechanism than the much older yet highly capable, more modular, tried and true recorder/player (ATR-102) in the recording business.
I experienced a lot of audio drop-outs in audio playback on my 1969 CRAIG 2402 reel to reel tape recorder deck with sound on sound accommodations. I think I wish to restore it myself since I have recorder on it several times and I still have my tapes.
hi like to say i am so pleased you did not run down otari decks they are very good note i have been buying alot of juck betacam digi decks to do them up like the guy you got the tape deck form there are time some gear the prices are now very silly the price of ADAT may go crazy yes digi is bad words i have alot of TDK top end vhs tapes so i had to get one i do have alot of used pro gear note there only one man in the uk has a lot of tape decks i had to work on my brenell mini 8 my self i am a tec tune a big 24 track say a otari mx80 can take alot of time yes i have one in the uk a mx 90 is a big deck would not get in my house just to big i push it with the mx70 had to take front door of to get it in
My almost day to day RtR is a B77 mk2 "hi-speed version" (15ips, 2 track, IEC). Quite good. Reliable and it wasn't so expensive. You can calibrate it as you wish but unfortynatley you have to open it, have the equipment to do it and know what you're doing. But I use it as a musician not an audiophile, I record and playback sounds with it (tape loops, effect send & return for, mainly, taming strings, archiving my "masterpieces" on tape) . It's not something to listen others' music. Actualy I don't have any prerecorded reels. I also have, for fun, a Sony TC630 (regular speeds, 4 tracks, "sound on sound" capability) for even more creative/destructiv/lo-fi/"vintagy"usage. (Actualy I've 2 of these Clockwork Orange Sonys (sonies?), the 2n one is in my bassment, for parts) A PR99, mk2 or 3, can be also a good option but more expensive. I agree with you, if you can find and afford a 2 tracks 15ips, go for it. After, it you want, you will find 4 tracks-low speed. Regarding the inner guts of the machines, yes the preamps are important, but more important for me, the mecanic itself. Direct drive or rollers, levers, gears & belts. Obvioulsy the direct drives, in my opinion, are betters, more reliable. Having a machine capable of 2 tracks AND 4 tracks. It means this machine will need two 2 tracks heads and two 4 tracks heads. If not you have a machine which can play/record 2 tracks, full tape width obviously, using 4 tracks heads with some kind of trick. Is it ideal? I guess I would prefere dedicated machines with specialized heads. But as stated before I'm not an audiophile, just a musician, so I'm not in the arcanes of electronic, I can be wrong.
Yep clearly the B77 MK2 HS IEC is the way to go for musician, very solid, excellent quality, make great master today, plus much much part as revox even selling them! Regarding the flux, again you can find a chart at RTR which explain clearly and easily everything! Actual pro calibration kit are 250 nWb/m which handle easily everything below as everything upside. I can push mine at +6 db without any distortion in the playback which is actually 520nWb/m from a 250nWb/m cal! i do not recommend using +9db cause its the limit of RTR blank studio tape, best using 0/+3db to leave room, a drum kick can easily go way beyond! Also most of new master are 0/+3db which is equal to 250/350nWb/m at a pro calibration of 250nWb/m! Even the low speed nab cal from RTR is 250nWb/m! The only thing it miss is a nab eq switch! Revox released new reproduce card, whose handle IEC and NAB Eq, by setting a jumper! It's still not in front panel, but much easier! The speed card require capstan setting! Anyway everyone is staying at HS for 2 track and low Speed for 4 tracks! So if you really want to play the most requiring audiophile, with this machine, you can! It's not as easier as a true 2 eq one, but more cheaper! Plus despite he don't like revox many composer of the time used them!
Hi Guido, once more a real great episode! If one is not able to get a Studer A810, what do you think of an A807? Yes, it looses the second control tape on the right side… Keep up the great work!
The A807 is a great choice for the price. Don't worry about the missing tape guide on the right. The regulation of the tape tension is so good that it doesn't need it. It can even play backwards without issues.
If you want to go in the heavyweight club, the A807 is excellent but as for all Studers one day you just need to pass to a better preamp bypassing the internal ones. If you don’t want to do that or spend that much, IMHO a one of the best solutions is a refurbished Telefunken M15 (not M15A). A workhorse huge heavy German motor, great transport and reliability with a stellar sound!
Great! I have had reel to reel since the 70s Some thoughts, I have 3 European reel to reel and they all use a beam of light auto end of tape. If the bulb burns out good luck finding a new one. I remember Revox had an ad touting speed of light cutoff in the 70s. One thing to look for when buying, are the adapters included? I do not know why but you see many do not include them. And some machines have brand specific (Otari) $$$ Also I have what is a do all machine Pioneer lt-1 transport with2 track set up, If buying a transport and associated electronica be SURE interconnects cables included! And one more thought the higher end ones rarely use rca interconnects. A gem that is out there if you only plan to use 7' reel playback, Sony made one called the 777 A tremendous machine, based on its price when new it is Pro.
Very good episode, thanks .. What about an episode about R-DAT machines ?! I know you are focusing on analogue, but such an episode will be highly appreciated...
about the Telefunken m15 (a real beauty) it's always possible to add real time pro spectrometers / meters easy to setup cause they're fully adjustable in sensitivity, no other controls are required, they used to mount it in a bridge rack but can be added with no assle in many places
Indeed! A lot of people add the Italian te rectec by meters but your adding stuff along the signal. I prefer to keep it pure, plus I use my Studer for recording and hence use its vu meters.
I am surprised you did not mention the Tascam BR-20 or BR-20T. This model, along with the aforementioned Otari MX-5050 are my top TWO recommendations in that that semi-pro category. Of course the Otari would still have an additional feature that the Tascam doesn't have, and that would be the 4-track capability. But everything else, it does as well (15ips, IEC & NAB) - and some might say it is even better than the MX-5050 because it sports a kinder/smoother transport than the Otari which is more a brute when it comes to tape handling. Whereas the Tascam is buttery smooth. Other than that, and the fact that fluxivity isn't IMO as much a problem on playback on a consumer deck as you make it out to be. That's more of an issue when recording on +6dB or +9dB tape such as Recording The Masters SM-911 (+6dB) or SM-900 (+9dB). Other than this small detail, great primer video overall.
A 2 track revox high speed is a good machine if you wanto to play 7 1/2 and 15 ips stereo tapes, they're not cheap but there's no need to go higher in most cases.
Also regarding the Head, you tell people to look for the use, but as i 'm on research for new one, they are rated 8000H, so average 40 Years for devices, they are 90% dead or just at the end of their life specially in pro gears! This fact also confirm how good is tape sound!
A lot of machines weren’t used in pro environments or were stored as backup or simply not use plus when dead they. Hanged them so there are various situations where you can find very low wear.
Devices in professionell use often had their heads replaced several times. It's just a question of when they were last replaced when it wasn't used anymore.
@starlightgrecording559 Hi Guido*** I am Pro Grade on Reel to Reel Machines and Here What I Have!!! I Have Pro Machines From Ampex AG440 1/2 inch 4 Track Reel to Reel & I also Have OTARI MX5050 Machine and I have 2 of the Teac A3440 4 track Multi-track Open Real Deck and A Pioneer 1020L Open Real Deck and Tascam 80-8 Deck and Tascam 8516B 16 track Reel to Reel Deck and I also Have Some Roberts & Akai Machines Too**** I Use Recording The Masters Tape and I Also Use Vintage Maxell & TDK Tape!!! I Don't Use Tape That Has the ( EE ) Sign Because Most Tapes Can't Erase The Recording on That Tape and I use Normal Bias Only*** Good Video Guido****
Great information, but I'd completely disagree that any vintage audio equipment is an 'investment'. The exception would be if you're a competent tech that can do servicing yourself. That, however requires a significant investment in test tapes and 'scopes, and tone generators, plus the knowledge to know how to repair these. The same goes for cassette decks, receivers, etc. A serviced reel to reel deck won't be inexpensive, but to expect to use a deck for a year to 5 years, and then sell it for more than you purchased it from a reputable shop from is a bit of mis-information.
I did not say vintage audio, I said a quality reel to reel of the pro or semi-pro kind. In five or ten years the value will be much higher, 100% more that what you paid it. Just look at the trends of the last years. I got my Nagra IV-S for €2800, I got my Philips for €300, I got. Y Telefunken for €1300, I got my fully refurbished Studer A810 by one of the top techs in Italy if not in Europe for €5000, all around 10/15 years ago (the Philips around 20) and look at the value of these machines now! It is absolutely an investment. Just 20 years ago you could get a Studer C37 for 7-8.000€ not you have to pay more that double for that and more we go ahead and less machines there are available.
😊Hi can u buy 2 pair of same NeoTech cable & Skin off one of your Neotech cable head & change to Pure copper head! & compare them Original vs yr modified Neotech cable side by side. Video demo have !!😊
Hi Guido, waiting for your next video about your new tape stage. Hope it Is not Doshi. I think your recommendations will change because 90% of sound quality gives tape stage. It doesn’t matter M15 or M15a if they run direct out connections. My recommendations put 90% of your budget into tape stage and for the rest let’s say 100$ buy a r2r machine ALL sound the same. The difference is how the machine handles tapes. This is about playback. For duplication and recording it is different story. We run internal electronics.
I must say that I disagree on a few points. My recommendations will stay pretty firm because we are talking about your FIRST r2r in this video so external preamps are already out of the game due to their very high prices. Transport is not always the same, actually is the most important part after the preamp and heads. The US machines notoriously don’t have good transports, that is where the EU and Japan machines shine. The way a Studer A812 or a Nagra T handles the tape will change the sound it is so smooth and perfect. You have to try it/listen to it to believe it. Coming to the M15, if you tried a refurbished one there is no coming back. The sound is so good it is addictive and I am a tube guy. I will get back to this in the future.
@@anadialog Your idea is skip commercial machine and jump to semipro. My recommendation is jump right to tape stage. Let say you budget is 2500$ buy tube tape stage for 2000$ and something working for 500$. This setup will kill any studer with its standard sound carts.
Please tell me if I have got this right or wrong To play prerecorded master tapes such as those from chasing the dragon I need a 4 track 71/2-15ips machine?
Personally I got a grundig tk41 (still in repair lol) then got a M2405S which served for a good while until that died. Then I got a tesla ANP 210 which also needs work. See the pattern? 😂
Very interesting video! Thank you Guido. Despite I've always liked R2Rs, I think that one important thing to consider is also what kind of amplifier + speakers you have or you want to reach in the future. I mean, is your system capable of getting out 100% of the sound of a master tape copy, assuming you have really good R2R deck? Sure, you will have very good sound, better than the other sources that you may have of that specific music, but is it worth the while considering costs (and in some cases also the space you may have)? Also, if your amplifier accepts RCA input and the recorder has XLR plugs as Otari, will you not loose quality when matching balanced and unbalanced plugs (Doubt I've always had)? For sake of completion, I have an Akai gx-630d and had the chance in the past to upgrade to B77 2T HS and to PR99 Mk1 but then, looking at the material you may find in the net or from some reliable sources (as a copy must be done from people who know how to do it), I decided to keep things as they were as this would have meant also to upgrade my HiFi, in a room where you need to get to compromise due to the lack of space. BTW, I've listened in the past to real Master Tapes (not copies) in hi-end system, so I am definitely aware of the difference
Thanks! Well, I don’t think who is going to get a pro high-quality r2r will have crappy amplifiers and speakers. It’s the normal evolution and progression of things plus that is valid for any component, of the amp and speakers are mediocre all the rest before it will never sound good as cd player, a turntable, a dac, a preamp etc etc. XLR has a stronger and more stable signal but with a good cable (I make my own xlr to rca or even tuchel to rca) and connectors the sound quality is the same (if you don’t go over 3 meters).
Hi Guido! I am very interested in reel to reel. I a have a huge collection of cassettes recorded by myself back in the 90's from cd and they still sound incredible in my Nakamichi 680 ZX. I want to do that again but with reels. No interest in purchase prerecorded editions (I have a lot cd's and vinyls to do my own selections) , so, what you recommend? I watched your others videos but I still have certain doubts...2 or 4 tracks? I really appreciate your advice. My grandma was born in Ossimo. Best regards from Argentina!!!
Well, if you want to record, keep expense and room consumption down, a quality 4 track can be the solution, possible cable of accepting 10” reels and doing 15ips. You should have top quality with minor expense. The Philips I have is now a little expensive but very good, also the Teac I showed in this episode. But in general 4 track that can do 15ips is already going to be of high quality.
Hi. I watched your podcast about which reel to reel tape recorder to buy.... My problem is ... Ok, I buy a good reel to reel machine and I'd like to buy some master records copies .... How can I distinguish between a real analog master copy and a copy from a good DSD, or even good PCM file.? ... Thanks...
I have a question for you, apparently even if the speed is an important factor, some says that the gap in playback heads, is even more: If you can get the SLS heads for the revoxes in the studer head catalog they are specified as 1.75um gap heads, now those would give you stellar high frequency response at 9.53cm/s and basically 50kHz response on 19.53cm/s, assuming you change the parallel resonant cap and adjust head load impedance accordingly and basically as stated in the manual, leave out Cx C807 R812 and replace R811 for 3k9. Can you confirm? If it is that the case beside the flexibility, i should be more important to find head with smallest gap compatible with deck to get a huge improvement on these! However the price is as stellar as the improvement if the head exist!
My Telefunken M15 have butterfly heads with similar gap and they are amazing! But yes, you can also get the later advance Studer heads for older models but you have change some parts inside. Not worth it IMHO.
@@anadialog I currently asking revox apparently a lot of PR99/B77 MKII user request butterfly head, so they did new prod! The web site don't mention any mod! The mod specified by the sentence i post may not be accurate, i doubt that you get 50khz of linear bandwidth at 7.5ips!!! Again, i'm not audiophile but musician, don't need NAB, but only IEC! in 2024, only revox/studer one are full of part, i need devices which i can give them hard time (professional use) without being afraid of breaking something without any chance of getting a part! Yes revox refurbished, and new butterfly head cost for them , at least as an incomplete to refurbish studer a810 (specially when done by revox)! Again there is always a breakpoints in analog device! i do think that butterfly head of revox PR99/B77 MKII is definitively worthing it! The price entry is about 4000€ (with butterfly new head) if you have electronics experience to recap all the cards! The same for a studer is more about twice the price or more, just for a eq switch a low speed that you won't use for master, and a top transport, but that not night and day between the PR99/B77 MKII, and if you can get one, which is the most difficult and no more easy part! Some today artist are using fostex 8 track 1/4 ones, or even low top end 2/4 tracks! The sound of tape is really good starting 7.5ips, the need of top end device whose only found in lacquer cut studio is only pure audiophile point of view!
@@anadialog Studer/revox online arent clear at all they gave a range (3-6ùm) but JRF magnetic are more serious, and they re making head for every brand with gap as small as 50ùinch, however between 50ù/100ù inch, the differences aren't very noticeable! The butterfly head are covering +25% area adding +3db of recording/track level! What is unclear is if those 25% are proportional to the magnetix flux or not! So basically a 250nw cal with butterfly head should equal 510nw, taking into account non proportional gain! And for unknown reason they reduce it to 320nb at 7.5IPS! (Studer a 800 butterfly heads european cal at the studio) However as +3db from the butterfly head, you still get +3/+6db of room with these cal! The knowledge is widely spread with not consortium today unfortunately, so we re guessing more than acknowledging technical sheets, when available! However +3db dynamic and +3db in high response are something worth at all! This said the cal of this studer is insane, with average peak at 0db from 250nw on the revox i lite the peak (+6db) sometimes, that means that i reach the limit of the sm900 (=>1%THD) and overhead the sm911(>1% THD)! Us seems more wise using more 250nw with max at 320nw! Much less distorsion and compression! I decided to keep it below 1% of THD peaks with a 250nwb cal for RMS below 0.2%THD! It's an error to think that those new formulas works as good when > +0db range from 185nw, there is an increase of distortion compression each more db even if minimized! Just good for handling peaks not an RMS signal!
Idealy, if I buy one one day, once I have the money, i'll put an arm and a leg, i'll buy a Mara. They're still building them, and they're renowned in the pro community.
From what I know they did the electronics and the transport was made from Teac. Don’t have direct experience but they seem good, nothing amazing. Speed is low unfortunately.
This video is turning me off on reel to reel. It sounds like a huge headache and money pit. I know nothing about electronics and as soon as something goes wrong im screwed.
I’ve never had so much fun with audio, but I got a very inexpensive, simple and common Akai and got 3 tubs of tapes with it for free. We’ve found so much great music on those dozens of tapes it’s just been a lot of fun, but if you are doing it for maximum sound quality I could be a headache for sure
Why would one want to listen to a master tape over a vinyl record? How are master tapes even available, do they not stay at record companies? I just saw Diamond Life by Sade available as a reel to reel tape on ebay for $500. What is the point? Why pay for that over just getting a record, which is of course much more affordable?
So I am 19 and I want to invest in my first multitrack reel to reel tape recorder and I was wondering if any of you guys can recommend me a good choice like not Tascam Portastudio Tape Recorder but a Multitrack Reel to Reel.
I imagine that the pro stuff is out of reach so just get a functional machine Tascam or Akai are ok and start recording. When able, you can start upgrading to better Tascam models, Fostex, or even Ampex and Studer. In any case don’t look for a 4 or 8 track machine but 4 or 8 CHANNEL, you can recognize them from the number of VU meters.
Can I ask you to go back on the subject of the flux. I own a Revox B77 and as per the user manual its max flux level is 514 nWb/m. It should have had little problem in playing your Master tape recorded at 520. Are you shure that was the problem when playing back those high quality tapes? Great video. Made most of your mistakes myself.
Yes, that is the peak. You must look at the operating level or reference level which on the B77 is 257nWn/m. Pretty high in the end just not the really high as the pro machines which peak at double or even more than that.
You dont have to drone on repeating yourself over and over like you are talking to a group of slow people. It is a video people can rewatch any or all as it is a video with simple controls to do just that.
That is your experience, not necessarily that of everyone else. I have several viewers from all over the world and English is not their first language. Maybe I repeated the first types of tapes a few times more than necessary but that is only a small part of the video. I think the rest was flowing better.
@anadialog Your English is superb and that guy complaining is just a crank. I think its great the way you explain things. Besides I'm an Italian-American and we paesanos have to stick together!
I recently bought a Ampex ax300 I immediately took it to a reputable technician who specializes in reel to reel! You seem to think that it was in pretty good shape and restorative to the best of his ability. I bought some pre-recorded tapes! The Allman Brothers eat a peach album. Rolling Stones Hot rocks 1964 to 1971. All I can say is it sounds as good as or better than my vinyl albums! I would like to start recording from some of my albums to reel to reel! Any recommendations out there I would love to hear from you!
The problem with the Otari is that it’s a two speed machine. I know there’s an internal switch to change it from 7.5/15 to 3.75/7.5, but it would need to be recalibrated when you make that switch. For me the ideal solution is the Technics RS-1520. It’s got 3.75/7.5/15, 2 and 4 track, NAB/IEC eq, balanced in and out. And a great transport. I have owned mine for 30 years, and it has been rock solid. I also have an external Dolby B unit for Dolby encoded pre recorded tapes.
I think the problem with the 15xx series is that they’re difficult and expensive to work on. They’re also notoriously for not maintaining the calibration, and most new users aren’t capable of doing their own alignments. That Isoloop tape path sure is sexy though!
I bought a Pioneer RT 909 with a lot of work done to it (rollers, recapped, etc) and have been very happy although at 2800 I realize I probably overpaid when looking at more Pro oriented machines available. My reasons for choosing it were more pedestrian; takes large and small reels, plays both sides with auto reverse, tape path known to be easy on tapes. The looks definitly swayed me as well with the blue meters. It sounds fantastic and I was able to tape my precious RL Zep 2 side 1 only (German RL) before it developed a skip and was amazed how good recorded albums sound on tape! Also, I have good luck with 7.5 ips tapes having compared Zeppelin 3,4 to well regarded album masters and the prerecorded tapes sound better! I can only imagine what 15ips sound like but thats irrelevant as I'm not interested in the obscure music available and certainly wouldn't pay astronomical tape prices so I'm more than satisfied with what the Pioneer has to offer. 7.5 ips can be album quality or better imo which is very impressive
Fantastic Deck, one of the best 4 track reel to reel. You don't need more if you aren't interested in master repro/record! Unfortunately to high priced actually.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on getting as high end as one can get for high fidelity sound within a car? Thank you for your excellent and passionate channel, a real gift to us all, beautiful
Thanks! Great question. Well, back in the 90’s Clarion was the way to go, but now you need to find a good amp on your own, even something that isn’t car audio oriented but it has to fit under the seat or where the amp is located. Then a great set of speakers another rare component. Audiophiles don’t think of cars because the environment isn’t audiophile at all. If instead we are talking stock sets, Harman Kardon seems the leading name now but I wouldn’t go down that lane. For instance, just this morning I saw two ads selling Luxman amps for automobile audio…now that is high-end sound in your car!
Thank You very Much on this Topic. I am very experienced in the subject and would like to add some comments and correction. 1) I have (Now Broken) 2 Tandberg tD20A machines. one is low speed 4 tracks and other is High Speed 2 Tracks. These are the best Home/Semi professional sounding machines and recording ability, however, they are not and option any more. 2) The Tandberg is an European IEC Only Machine. I have discovered that 2 Track IEC Tracks on the machine recording and playback head are physically wider than NAB Tracks. This means higher magnetic strength in recording and Playback. However, When playback an NAB recorded tape there is and added noise due to a non recorded area at the NAB recorded Tape tracks. It is there for better to have a NAB playback head (using the correct eq) 3) A 4 track machine can perfectly play back a 2 Track recorded tape. The opposite does not work. Your 4 track Phillips machine can play 3 speeds and all type of recorded tapes. (I ignore 1.75 speed recorded tapes) 4) A lot of old tapes suffer from a Sticky tape syndrome. This is why a good mechanism is critical for old tapes playback. I recommend to choose a machine where the tape passes as less as possible fixed parts which causes friction, tends to catch dirt from the tape thus wear the tape. A machine with roller wheels in the tape path is much preferable. The Studer and Tascam BR20 has such mechanism. The Otari you show and Tandberg I have used in the past does not. 5) I use now a Tascam BR 20 as my main deck. It is a professional grade machine was produced till mid 90s. Mechanically it has a similarity to Studer design. Both recording head and Playback head are the same and both can be used for playback. This means that they are capable of very high magnetic level. The BR20 Has an IEC/NAB selector on the front Panel. It has an EDIT Capability mechanism. It has both RCA and XLR inputs/outputs. Great SNR (very quiet pre amp noise level on Playback) 6) In the 80s and 90s I have preferred to invest on RTR best (home type) machines for the purpose of recording my music collection rather than do it on a cassette machines, I have used an external DBX NR gear for both my RTR and cassettes, Always calibrate each recording for best results meaning minimal difference between Tape and Monitor position on the 3 head recording system. I can fully say that today's digital recording capability surpasses any 2 channel best analogue recording means available in the past and today. I am using my analogue gear (Turntable, Cassatt and RTR) for the purpose of digitizing my analogue music collection. The Gear That I am using for recording has "zero" difference between Before ("Monitor") and After ("Tape") position. No Azimuth Issues. No Dropouts in the recording. No Hiss. No Grainy sound. No Head Cleaning after each playback. All is now much better. If I would like (and I don't) to have an analogue sounding recording I will add the RTR in the recording loop. To make long Story Short: I do not see any Benefit for using analogue recording today and I am a one who deeply appreciate analogue recording capability. 7) I am using an RME ADI 2/4 a professional USB DAC/DA 9together with a dedicated PC as my main recorder and playback machine. rme-audio.de/adi-2-4-pro-se.html. It surpasses the best recording capability of any of the RTR machines I have ever Owned. 8) with the approach of a "Playback only" RTR in mind, The selection of machines is greater, The calibration service is simpler. 9) Another point not mentioned is the use of Noise reduction. Even for just playback, a noise reduction is needed if the master tape was recorded with such gear. Dolby A or Dolby S were commonly used in the 80s. DBX type II as well. DOLBY B was some time being used for home recording and for some of the pre recorded tapes. 10) Pre recorded Tapes: Many pre recorded tapes were dubbed at 1:8 high speed for 3.3/4 Speed and 7.5 Speed. 11) Cost of true master tape (or a copy of a such) is very high. Many Counterfeit version of CD to Tape exists in the free market. Beware. 12) Calibration tapes and cleaning accessories: Very Recommended to have. 13) Before buying a specific machine it is important to check the 50hz/60Hz compatibility. Some machines motor speed is established using AC frequency a US machine will play slower in EU and Vice Versa. Thanks Again for bringing the topping up, and generally for you videos.
Thanks for your comments! I don’t see corrections. 1) Can’t say the best. Too many out there. Maybe for you but it isn’t an objective point. 2) Good point but as many things I did not mention, this is a video for your FIRST r2r, menaing for people at the beginning. Can’t go too much in depth, for that I have done dedicated videos. 3) I wouldn’t recommend that. The fact that it can doesn’t mean it sounds good. You will be missing part of the dynamics and “information” that way. 4) Sticky shed syndrome aside, at that point any transport is useless, gum will built-up everywhere, I agree that a good transport is paramount. The elements you highlighted can be solved for the Otari with the $225 mod kit sold by Bottlehead (tape project) but that is a further step, in this video we are focusing on newbies. 5) Nice! 6) Digital?! That’s a different story… 7) As you maybe know I had the RME ADI 2 pro FS. Worse standalone converter (both AD and DA) I ever had. Loved the fact that it could record in DSD! RME is big among pros but to me it seems that it simply cannot match high-end audiophile DACS. I have a Lyra 2 by Prism, great stuff but the DA part is not even close to the Holo Audio May or even less to the T+A D200. 8) Indeed! 9) Love dbx and indeed it can higher the overall S/N and dynamic range. Advance stuff though. Once again this is not the correct video. 10) Yup, Ampex and the later guys companies like Barkley crocker. A few also did 1:1, like early EMI, but very rare. 11) I agree. 12) Essential for recording. 13) I explained that in the video: 39:41 . There is a work around reducing/enlarging the capstan.
Thank You for your Detailed Reply. I'll try to keep the dialoged short... 1) I bought the 4trk Tandberg new on 1981. at that time the popular RTR to buy was Akai and Tandberg cost almost twice. It was considered to be one of the best because of it's ability to record with high frequency response (24000), Hi magnetic level and very low noise. Tandberg invented the ""ACTELINEAR" which later on became what we know as DOLBY HX Pro. a method of dynamically controlling the Bias of the recording head such that it allows strong signal to pass without saturation of the magnet. they had a special edition machine (Called TD20A SE) where they had made their own recording curve to extend the dynamic range which achieved an SNR level of 80dB(!). The Paly back head was a "No Wear" Ferro magnetic head but the recording head was not that type, It get Wear quit soon. this is in order to achieve the above performance. Any Way, in today's perspective of course there are better machines. but it was one of the best I knew as a consumer at that time. 3) The only draw back is that the signal obtained is weaker, BTW also the tape noise is slightly lower too because less particles are passing through the airgap of the head. An excellent noise free Tape preamp can get the job done very nicely.. BTW, as per item 2), when you play an IEC recorded Tape on a NAB playback head you also play only partial part of the recorded material. you don't get the maximal signal Level as with proper IEC Playback Head. Hope I don't spoil the party.... 6) I put aside the technology involved. I I have always judged the audio performance of a recorder by the ability to bring the difference between the "Before" and "After" to a minimum possible (Tape vs Monitor or A vs B). I emphasize that the "machine" I am using today for recording (for archiving my music) surpass any machine I owned and own today. Yes, It happens to be a Digital machine but who cares? I judge the product by it's end results. 7) for archiving purpose you would need an "as linear as possible ADC". for audiophile purposes there may be some excitement when the machine adds some color or life to the playback. I do not know. I purchased the RME for the purpose of it's ADC. the DAC is a bonus. The RME ADI 2/4 has an improved SNR of a total 130dB on it's predecessor which allows a feature I was trying to get with my previous sound card (Tascam 2x2 UHR) but was missing few dBs of SNR. The Feature I am talking about is ability to directly convert the phono cartridge output without using any Phono Preamp. The RIAA curve is done digitally after the conversion!. It is the only ADC I know that can do that. Direct conversion of the cartridge signal output without passing through any phono stage is actually a direct "Grove to Digital" conversion which provide a next level of details capturing, I have never seen or heard this capability on other product so far. 8) I use my equipment also for professional sound restoration and remastering for vinyl and for Digital domain, from original master tapes, LP's Cassettes and other media recordings. It is a different topic to discuss and share, we'll talk about this some time any time you whish to. You may find some samples of my work on my You tube channel. Here is an example ruclips.net/video/raGPiQq_SGo/видео.html Thanks Again for the Ana(dia)loge.
Hi Guido! Your video is very helpful for those would dive into R2R. But I would like to point out some subjects: - The models and brands you suggest is almost impossible to find in Brazil (except Revox which is offered worldwide). The most common R2R, reliable and the technicians acquaint about is Akai. The plethora of models make the hobby for a newbie a bit easier. - A complete refurbish kit from Nagravox fo B77 costs the same of kidney transplant... - And finally...whereas we live in a tropical country, every tape shall have an extra care to last longer than in Europe. Searching for used tapes looks like a lottery...there´s just one winner. BTW: I´m about to record one video about my setup and forward it to you. I hope to be the choosen!
I hear ya! It’s difficult and in the end in most cases you just got to import. Sure, send it! I actually try to publish everything because I do not watch them until I start filming. They are true reaction videos, no BS.
Thank you for your video Guido. i have a question to ask you just about magnetization levels: i went to see the magnetization levels of our two modern tracks. i noticed that the most frequent value of magnetization is 320 nwb for example hemiola but also other small manufacturers use this level . I have no idea for audionautes or Sony or Zavalinka or other Italians. I was wondering if you had also noticed that the most common value of magnetization was 320 nwb at what value in modern prerecorded tapes you had found most frequently. I also note that some times it is written in others it seems a mystery what the level of magnetization is. My curiosity specifically was whether your Revox B 77 could read these tapes without distorting the tapes at 320 nwb or did the distortion come by reading tapes magnetized at higher levels like 510 nwb? Unfortunately I found conflicting information: some say it can read them without problems others say that the Revox b77 or a77 is meant for 257 nwb but that it can go up to 320nwb but that is not its ideal value of magnetization of tapes to operate at its best, do you confirm this from your experience ? Thank you, you have a very interesting channel.
Hi there! Yes, 250/320nWb/m are the most common today, that is true. As for the Revox B77, or any other machine, you must look at the reference or operating level. That is where the machine works comfortably. In some cases manuals also report the peak of fluxivity and in fact the B77 has 520nWb/m as peak but its operating level is 257nWb/m.
HI LOOKED AT THE PRICES MOW why big letters because it's now big price's i am seeing £2000 - £14.000 easy in the uk i used to see FOSTEX b16 at £250 note this was 19 years ago i had 2 they needed little light work i pulled a fostex E16 apart for parts to fix alot of things that were not right on the rest and sold all parts i did not need you think i am nut's on my otari mtr 12 the head block comes of there's a bolt each side of the head block i had a head block made to hold a tascam 38 head and a fostex E16 heads play back you see them up right decks are a right pain to use for editing with a jazzed up otari i can do alot of editing tricks and not leave cutting marks all over the nice decks
You are the proud owner of the Philips N4520, this machine is the 4 track version, the N4522 is the 2 track and both have on front the switch for NAB/IEC eq. Also can they do 3 speed and they are a lot cheaper than other machines with this features.
Although it is strictly true that the two tracks format is better than four track, you can get excellent results doing your transfers from vynil to tape using 4 track stereo. Is different if your goal is to reproduce master/production tapes, but if you want to do transfers from digital or analog to tape, I'd go for a top quality 4 track stereo.
hi have been down the same road but i did not spend the money one good thing you all need to talk to alot out the i had home 4 tracki later i got a otari mtr 12 i was after the 12 1/2 spool i could play on my deck my mtr 12 will take 1/2 tape and it has all the eq setting i am not 100% with it there still alot on the deck i love the var speed settings and i can change the head blocks and rollers now i am save up for a 14 inch i have one i am fixing up
Hello. Three machines were worth to mention here Otari mx50, 55 and ofcourse Tandberg TD20A SE. Otaris both eq but tandberg iec only however it can be modified inside. Actually Guido Tandberg worth to mention because of it sonics. So you can by two macines one for iec another for Nab. You will spend 4000€ on both.
Assuming price isn't a factor. Otari MX-5050 II or later. /thread. EDIT: Made this recommendation before watching the full video, I see it was redundant. :)
I have a double speed deck (among several others) and love it. But R2R is just a different experience. I have a few true master tape and several copies which are almost as good as the original and in general terms very high quality.
In italiano vado meglio (:D) effettivamente dopo il tuo video ho cercato infos a proposito delle equalizzazioni e ne risulta che l'equalizzazione IEC nasce per ottimizzare il risultato possibile con nastri registrati a 15ips, vado a cercare un pò di registratori e trovo che vi sono dei Revox con velocità max di 7 1/2 (A77) con equalizzazioneNAB e IEC e per esempio l'A700 che vola a 15ips che equalizza solo NAB... ma cosa fumavano ai tempi? ahahaha!! certo capisco che un registratore nato prima del 71 non potesse avere l'eq IEC ma l'A700 é del 74 e non mi pare proprio che Revox fosse un azienda di inconsapevoli, prendiamoci queste stranezze per quel che sono ma lasciano delle zone d'ombra nel pensiero logico... attenzione! revisione post approfondimento: i B77 e A77 si potevano prendere in versione HS (High Speed) potendo quindi giustamente usufruire della eq. IEC e si potevano chiedere in versione 2 o 4 tracce. (mai più scriverò commenti durante le ricerche :D
Ciao Alessandro io ho un a77 alta velocità. Questo tipo di registratori ad alta velocità girano in due “origini” : le versioni nate ad alta velocità e quelle trasformate dall’importatore o da tecnici più o meno capaci da bassa ad alta velocità da 4 a 2 tracce . Se possibile io mi orienterei su un alta velocità nativo anche se costa un po’ di più (ovviamente se cerchi un a77) . Spero ti possa essere utile . Traduco per i lettori internazionali : I have an a77 high speed. This kind of high speed recorders run in two “origins” : the native high speed versions and those transformed by the importer or more or less capable technicians from low to high speed from 4 to 2 tracks . If possible I would go for a native high speed even if it costs a little more (obviously if you are looking for a77) . I hope it can be useful to you .
The A700 was available with NAB or CCIR EQ. NAB was and still is the most common EQ for 7.5 ips recordings. Most people were recording at that speed so they sold far more NAB devices. Today it doesn't really matter. You can easily mod the record and playback amps in an A700 to change them to CCIR. You can even do 15 ips CCIR and 7.5 ips NAB and have the most common EQ for both speeds.
I went for the Technics RS1506 - very happy with it 🙂 Also bought 10.5 reels, a splicing block, splicing tape, leader tape, a demagnetiser, RTM LPR 90 1100m NAB Pancakes. The quality is as good as I can hear, I mean I'm 66, my hearing is fading after 8 khz, these are the breaks of getting older. Having said that I love the sheer theatre of the machine. I have an electronics background and just love playing with this stuff I also bought a Sony Noise Reduction Adapter (Dolby B), don't yell at me the machine totally does not require this, I just wanted to play and see if I could hear the difference when it was set up properly. I have been making some of my own recording downloading Albums from HDtracks at 96kHz.24bit, recording 4T 7.5 ips. I also have a 2T tape recorded at 7.5 ips (produced by someone else), and be damned if I can tell the difference in quality.
@@anadialog I will keep that in mind. Silly I know but the unit has got to look right. It could be the dog's bollocks, but if it doesn't look the part I wouldn't buy it.
great overview of the various options. The only thing I would add is if a person wants to play 4 track tapes, the other option is to buy a dedicated 2 track machine and send the headblock off to JRF and ask them to add a 4 track playback head so the user will have the option to play either format. Recording will still be all 2 track.
That is something that is extremely difficult to do. First of all there has to be space for it, then you must be able to set the correct azimuth for it and the connection to the preamp meaning that that also has to be modified, finally the speed and calibration …a nightmare that I don’t recommend unless there is a precise model and a precise tech that knows how to proceed.
@@giir3211 In the US you are mainly going to find, if not only, the NAB version and the manual reports for that (standard) version in HIGH position 320nWb/m. They made the 520nWb/m for Europe because we had different standards and they are quite rare. In any way, thanks for pointing out info about the DIN version.
When I was first buying my stereo equipment and reading the trades in the 70s I lusted after rtr. It looked so cool and still does. But now, it's just a waste of money. Forget it and buy more music. You'll be glad you did.
You are dead wrong. Any starter deck needs to be 4 track otherwise the dam thing will just become a dust collector on the shelf. I have been an audiphiles user and collector for 50 years as well as a career in radio broadcasting. Start with a good 4 track deck then add a 2 track if interested like an Otari or technics that will play both.. This guy had no clue.
So after investing a lot of money into the device itself and into servicing it you want to "cheap out" with 4 track to safe on tape? With 4 track you'll here every small defect in the tape and you'll often hear parts of the music on the other "side" - especially if it has a lot of bass. If you want 4 track buy a good cassette deck.
@@theshowcase23you are exactly right. I have 7 decks (2 four-track units) but NEVER use them 4 track machines due to noise (unacceptable to me). 2-track tapes @15 IPS are an entirely different story (hint: SHOCKINGLY pleasing to the ears)!
Let's proceed; the mannerisms and 'oracle-like' self-importance of this presenter's style is too irritating to bear for long. However, I watch when reel tape matters show up via the algorithm because tape is quite simply THE best means by which sounds are preserved realistically. There are many technical and physics related reasons for this which need to be examined by those bitten by the bug. I own one of the biggest private archives in the British Isles and most music is on reel tape. This happened by accident when I assisted BBC engineers and at UK classical festivals in contrast to my entirely non musical profession. Now in old age and with none of my grown up children having no music-meets-preservation interests, the bulk of the archive will be sold but not in my native land or continent nor in the USA. I want it to be a living resource and higher education musical and tech asset and very few countries/cultures now bother with analogue and show no signs of exploring its veracity, using modern materials and expertise for culture rather than wars or luxuries or both. Some, however, do. The "vinyl" trend is often a sham because recordings are seldom live, from microphones to storage, put together in front of screens. Ears are barely used. They are seldom analogue in truth. I disagree with the presenter's dismissal of cassettes because some types of magnetic tape cassettes were (and are) made to strict biases, saturation and featherweight contact with heads and without high flux ratings, which this presenter does not understand. Nakamichi and few other Japanese companies set strict standards and cassette precision tapes were used extensively, mainly in Europe, by broadcasting companies for a lot more than ghastly cartridges with jingles on them in radio studios. The low speed caused many people to argue that cassettes could never be consistent or detailed but the enclosed and well protected cassettes of top quality in very expensive machines sometimes performed better than professional wide reel tape moving at high speed. As a matter of interest on speed, many noted commercial LPs/CDs from the late 1970s have a "heartbeat" low frequency artifact due to 15 ips + causing machine resonance and it can be heard through subwoofers to this day. I agree with the presenter's implied disapproval of some in the "master tape" field of endeavour and know well that no actual master tapes would be sold but copies and patched "takes" often are to fools who buy them. It is human nature to justify an extravagance with nonsense when such as a "master" is actually a pastiche. The vlog is slightly confusing about NAB and IEC because a tape machine set to one can be adjusted and, in practice, 50 or 60Hz should not affect playback on "prosumer" machines, plus respectable makes are really very flexible up the 'pro' scale when adjusted by engineers. Studer/Revox, Pioneer, Technics, Uher and Fostex machines were always engineer friendly but I never heard a good Ampex and TEAC monsters were overrated. Otari could be good in sound and track type swapping but, in my experience, suffered from bad chassis and case construction. This possibly explains why so many industrial and services users paid for special casings and a few of these can still be found. Phillips, Sony, Toshiba, Akai, Grundig and Telefunken made a few good tape decks but a very few. Pre-echo and weak chassis construction were big problems and at the end of Tandberg's dismal development the machines tried a physics-defying 'principle' which no professional users would touch. A pity because their rugged education tape machines were rather good. For newbies, the presenter is correct in advising that one has access to people with the requisite expertise and they are getting rarer in the rich west. Beware also some newer manufacturers in the USA and France which make tape machines costing obscene amounts but which are loosely built from filched Pioneer and Austrian designs of lapsed copyright. Such companies might offer 7 year warranties but are unlikely to still exist then. Tape quality is as important as the decks and doubtless our vlog host will publish something on the FACTS of tape without detaining us for too long.
Stephen, you keep trolling my videos saying they’re full of mistakes and that you hate my style…but you keep coming back! As I said in my last comment to you for the Quad, come down from your pedestal and discuss in a polite manner. You come out as very rude and snobby. Here you understood to give me some credit on a few things because you wouldn’t be credible in the first place. Se, once again your bias led you to a prejudice approach. If you took a few minutes to explore my channel and understand what I do, you would have discovered that I am a huge fan of cassettes. I have several decks, a few among the best out there, and did several videos on the topic. If your machine is old and does not switch to 50/60hz it will be a problem because the speed of the machine will change in fact several people do a mod to their capstan to adjust that. Once again, get informed, watch all the video and drop the prejudice.
![ANA[DIA]LOG](http://yt3.ggpht.com/50CpmGNilS8aoMlarZVhI_GxRDoZdbj4ZgwCMZXg-Rq2PrEvCytlE6RVyLUrNY-rwE_sAlZ1Zw=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
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I have no intention of ever getting into music this way and yet I enjoy these videos. I enjoy the history and the very evident passion in the way they're presented. Very genuine.
Thanks! Hope you will try some day but I do understand that it isn’t get everyone for many reasons.
@anadialog ...only young generation idiot's who do not want to try the analog world audio gear. I'm 62 and have lived through the 70s and 80s and reel to reel was king before this digital crap came out. Digital formats render me mute. At this point in my 62 yrs I have live on this earth I will continue to listen to tape over digital any damn day of the week.
I own a 10.5 Teac 2 track full track. I have 2 speeds
7-1/2 & 15 ips.
The best audio format in the world, fast running open reel!😊
🤔
The Otari 5050 B2-2 has always been my go to for professional mastering due to its many features. This is the machine that I used to take six or so local bands out of the garage and to regional fame. I I Used Ampex 457 grandmaster gold on my deck and got excellent results. I still keep my Otari in top working order as well as maintaining my two Akai. Two pioneer. TEAC and finally my late sixty's Revox A77.
Great video. A couple of notes:
1) most important read read read. Be knowledgeable before you start spending $$.
2nd Find a tech BEFORE you find a machine. Have the tech evaluate the machine BEFORE you buy it. (The best is to buy a serviced machine directly from a tech that you can have a future relationship with).
3rd buy a first class alignment tape and learn how to use it. As you know there is no “set it and forget it” with tape machines. And if you’re not checking / verifying your alignment periodically. Huge changes can occur that you might not notice (the technics 15XX series are the worst for drifting alignments).
Again great overview, but it’s most important that a potential user educates themselves.
I did a similar video about “audiophile reel to reel” about a year ago. I think there’s good info there as well. I can’t post a link, but you can find it by clicking my picture and searching my channel. Thanks!
My goodness. The universe is bizzare....I have been putting it out there for days "man, I really want to get into reel to reel tape - just for adding some color during mixing, but dont know where to start. There are SO. MANY. MACHINES" and lo and behold, you post this. Thanks so much
I sometimes use a reel to reel tape machine to process audio in my digital recording studio. I have used an Ampex ATR-102 in the past (which is excellent). However, I also have used a Tascam 32 at 15ips, using RTM (Recording The Masters) SM900 tape with excellent results. Sometimes its nice to use tape (SM900 +9 tape) to smooth out the transients in a nice way.
Very interesting video, Guido! Thank you for all the important tips and trips!
Thanks Guido! I DID buy a Revox A77 MK III.. 2 track, but it is limited to 19 cm/sec (7.5 inch). It was calibrated and fixed (LPR90) for 350 euros. I do think it does look good, but i agree with your points. No EQ switch and no 38 cm/sec speed... Expensive hobby this is...
Yes, it goes against any logic 😅
Great video Guido I enjoyed this one a lot.
I agree about most of what you said. About Revox:
The best choice in my opinion to get into reel to reel for "small" money is a Revox A77 High Speed. Ironically it can handle more magnetic flux than the B77. You can get those serviced in Germany for well under $1000. You can't switch the equilisation but you'll have CCIR for 15 ips in which you can get most tapes. And if you record only for yourself it doesn't really matter what EQ you use.
No PR99 in stock condition can switch the EQ. This includes the MK3.
My recommendation for a newbie with a little more money would be a Revox A700 - BUT it has to be serviced by someone who really knows that model, otherwise you'll have lots of problems. The tape guides are more or less identical to the Studer A67 and B67. The audio section of course is done more simple compared to the Studer devices. You can't switch the EQ but the audio bords can be modified easily to have NAB at 7.5 ips and CCIR at 15 ips. That's all you really need. You can even put in an additional 4-Track head. Price is around $1500 (Germany) if you have a little patience.
My device of choice is the Studer A807. It's the "cheapest" of the big Studers and can do anything you need. EQ can be switched of course. I got mine for $2200 - it's the version without VU so you need something external to set the levels. It also has the advantage (same as other A8xx devices) that the alignment is stored digitally. You basically just have to make the alignment for each type of tape you want to use once and write down the calibration numbers. Then every time you want to record on a different tape formulation you just have to enter six numbers and the device is aligned, Makes you far more flexibel when buying tapes.
Thanks for your detailed recommendation.
@@theshowcase23 Hi I also have a Revox a77 high speed. Do you know up to what level it can handle the magnetic flux? I was interested in buying tapes with a magnetic flux of 320 nwb and was wondering if Revox was sufficient or should I aim for something higher. What is your experience with this machine ? I thank you.
any revox (n.b. not studer) from the G36 through PR99 is like buying a mini or a beetle (car).
all the schematics are out there, & loads of parts. they're easy to work on, simple machines that do the job pretty well. the later PR99s & the C series are a bit more sophisticated, but the A77 is ideal for a beginner. no transport logic, so it's not for the unwary.
you absolutely can mod the replay characteristics to suit; I rebuilt an A77HS so that the client had the choice of IEC/CCIR & NAB eq on replay & record. you can mod them to use with external pre-amps.
the one criticism I have of them is the constant torque transport, which can be a bit rough on thinner tapes, especially on small spools.
I use open-reel (ALL tape is 'reel-to-reel'; let's call it what it is, please) in all formats from quarter-track stereo at 1.875ips on a B77, right through to half-track at 15ips on a studer 807 & 810, & four channel on a revox C274. two of my A77s have dolby.
avoid the revox A700. they're nice machines, but getting very hard to maintain.
@@lucabattanta9246 320 nWb/m shouldn't be a problem. But you often can't really trust those numbers. I bought the Horch House tape sampler. It says 514 nWb/m but it goes up to +5 dB so that's almost 1000 nWb/m. The output amp of the A77 has two parts and between them is the volume potentiometer. So if it distorts it's often enough to lower the volume. If it still distorts you can do a small mod by replacing two resistors. I would say just buy a tape and try it out. If the A77 is ok there will be absolutely no damage to the tape by playing it. It should already sound pretty great and if you get a better device later you already have the tapes.
Man this video saved me. I have always drooled over the Pioneer RT-909 and there is one for sale just down the road. But I checked the specs. It only has NAB eq, and only plays up to 7-1/2 ips. 2 no go's apparently. Great video. I appreciate it.
I used tape heads forum, but would have appreciated this back then.
For the beginner:Akai GX 3 motor models 200d,210d using Maxell tapes.
Great video！ After watching your introduction to the M15, I bought one three years ago, and it was awesome! I recently bought a MARA JH-110 (MCI SONY) to use for exchange copy. Lots of fun and adventure! haha!
Bravo!👏🏻
I had to look it up, but I bought a recapped RT-909 on e-bay on Dec 31st 2017 for $1478.00 shipped. On January 7th 2018 I paired it up with a dbx 224 I got for $99.99 again off of e-bay. The best investment I have ever made to my home system. Full Compass still sells RTM and ATR pancakes for around $57 - $62. This price seems to be inflation proof. If your spending more than this you might have a problem.
Love your channel , even though I’m not into R2R at all 😊
Thanks for this video, Guido. I’ve been considering a r2r for a long time, now I can get organized. Felipe
Servicing and parts can become a real money pit, but it is a fun thing. I am in my 60’s and had a few decks in the 70’s and 80’s, I was hoping you were going to mention the Oteri’s also, the old Ampex machines had a really sweet sound. All that said personally, I have no interest in having a tape machine except for my cassette deck because I have. hundreds of mixtapes that are fun to listen to but don’t sound that great. owning a real to reel, is like owning an old jaguar, you better be a really good mechanic or have one.😂
Great video, I'm glad I bought an AKAI GX-400D in 2016, it suits me I record my own tapes from Vinyl have found some interesting Recordings at 7 1/2 inches per second too, and some old radio programmes too, I bought a copy of a Pre-recorded LP " Take Five" sounds fab.. And this machine only cost me 250 pounds ( ok i cannot play any higher than 7 1/2 inches per second ) but looks & sounds loverly, just recently have noticed speed variation on last few mins at the end of the tape ! might need a bit of service, but happy for money I spent
It's a great deck..
yes you are saying the right info in this at last
I can not imagine owning a open reel machine without having an editing block China graph pencil splicing tape and a single sided razor. Open reel gave access to editing audio before it could be done at a fraction of the cost on computer. The insane prices relate to Broadcast machines used in broadcast radio. It was fun for a lot of good reasons.
This information is very useful. We thank you.
I have Technics RS-1500 with both RP-2224 and RP-2422 (brand new) head-blocks. The player was completely recapped. I do wish it had IEC eq but some master tapes are offered in both NAB and IEC. There is a way to by pass the internal preamp and use an external pre amp that supports IEC but haven’t needed to worry about that yet. Calibrated to ATR MDS-36 (great tape). It is a money pit though, so anyone thinking about it …. proceed with caution. A thing of beauty however and sounds great !
Thanks for your feedback!
You're right on obscure model i wanted to replace my four tracks Akai GX630D for the Philips NS you have cause i want by speed calibration, however there is no spare part!
Furthermore it's not totally clear from the schematics about the speeds calibration which seems to be linked by two! So again the Revox 4 track b77 Mkii is a more obvious choice! I'm so disappointed about my Sony TC377 which is a quite common model, but where i can't even find a new motor for the moment!
I have both Otari MX-5050 BII-2 (released 1983) and MX-55 in outstanding conditions. IF you can find the more expensive and extremely rare MX-55 (released 1987), get this one as it is superior to its older brother BII-2 in sound quality, transport system AND sports modern electronics such as a much higher-quality pre-amp (having true balanced XLR outputs - the BII only does this if you are willing to re-wire its XLR outputs). I have pitted the MX-55 against 2 famous professional machines (Studer A820 and Ampex ATR-102) and found (in blind tests) no statistically significant differences in perceived sound quality. The BII sounds very good but is a notch below the Studer, Ampex and Otari MX-55.
Indeed but the MX-55 is much more expensive (usually) that the budget explored in this video!
@@anadialog I have also had a chance to play with the (last pro machine) Otari MTR-15 (which shares about 75%of the parts with the MX-55, from the manuals). I like the 15 (4-10K USD) better than ALL the machines I have auditioned (25-30 pro-grade machines from Scully, 3M, NAGRA, Ampex, Studer, Crown, MCI, Tascam, Otari, Sony, Akai - never seen a Telefunken around here yet). You can easily and precisely calibrate tapes with the 15 REC AUTO CAL function and its transport is buttery smooth (calibration for Playback is also needed - my 55 sounded worse than my cassette deck before this calibration but, after having it calibrated with MRL and ATR-Masters tapes, the 55 sounds better than the best-sounding DSD songs that take forever to download!). And, the pre-amp (same as my 55 which is priced around $3-7.5K, serviced) is as good as ANY separate pre-amp at the time (OK, the Ampex can destroy the 15 in terms of modularity and pre-amp performance but the Ampex costs 10-20K). With the 5050 BII, many Tape Projects guys had to wire its heads to an external amp to get the best possible sound (ain't no need with the 55 or its cousin 15). And the Otaris don't cost 10,000-20000 USD (like many of the big boys mentioned above). I agree with you (100%) the 5050 BII-2 is the best machine in the 1.5-3K range. But, the MX-55 is definitely worth the extra cash.
Ampex ATR-102 the best of the best
Certainly in that club…but not for a starter, extremely expensive!
The best of the best would be a high-end transport Studer like the A812 or the A820 or a Nagra T with an external preamps like the Ampex MR70 or the modern Doshi.
@@anadialog The ATR-102 (basically the same as 100) was born in the early 1970s - about ten years before the A820 entered the scene. However, it is the preferred machine at many major studios in the USA. Steve Guttenberg interviewed (check out this video) a major R2R producer and asked him to pick the best R2R (2-track) machine for the job and the guy showed Steve the ATR-102. Many pros (with decades of experience in the field) I have spoken to say there is no difference in audio quality between the ATT-102 and A820 (I cannot, either) BUT the A820 has more modern electronics (can do auto-calibration, for example) and slightly better transport mechanism than the much older yet highly capable, more modular, tried and true recorder/player (ATR-102) in the recording business.
Nice watch.
I experienced a lot of audio drop-outs in audio playback on my 1969 CRAIG 2402 reel to reel tape recorder deck with sound on sound accommodations. I think I wish to restore it myself since I have recorder on it several times and I still have my tapes.
hi like to say i am so pleased you did not run down otari decks they are very good
note i have been buying alot of juck betacam digi decks to do them up like the guy you got the tape deck form
there are time some gear the prices are now very silly the price of ADAT may go crazy yes digi is bad words i have alot of TDK top end vhs tapes
so i had to get one
i do have alot of used pro gear
note there only one man in the uk has a lot of tape decks i had to work on my brenell mini 8 my self i am a tec tune a big 24 track say a otari mx80
can take alot of time yes i have one in the uk a mx 90 is a big deck would not get in my house just to big
i push it with the mx70 had to take front door of to get it in
My almost day to day RtR is a B77 mk2 "hi-speed version" (15ips, 2 track, IEC). Quite good. Reliable and it wasn't so expensive. You can calibrate it as you wish but unfortynatley you have to open it, have the equipment to do it and know what you're doing.
But I use it as a musician not an audiophile, I record and playback sounds with it (tape loops, effect send & return for, mainly, taming strings, archiving my "masterpieces" on tape) . It's not something to listen others' music. Actualy I don't have any prerecorded reels.
I also have, for fun, a Sony TC630 (regular speeds, 4 tracks, "sound on sound" capability) for even more creative/destructiv/lo-fi/"vintagy"usage. (Actualy I've 2 of these Clockwork Orange Sonys (sonies?), the 2n one is in my bassment, for parts)
A PR99, mk2 or 3, can be also a good option but more expensive.
I agree with you, if you can find and afford a 2 tracks 15ips, go for it. After, it you want, you will find 4 tracks-low speed.
Regarding the inner guts of the machines, yes the preamps are important, but more important for me, the mecanic itself. Direct drive or rollers, levers, gears & belts. Obvioulsy the direct drives, in my opinion, are betters, more reliable.
Having a machine capable of 2 tracks AND 4 tracks. It means this machine will need two 2 tracks heads and two 4 tracks heads. If not you have a machine which can play/record 2 tracks, full tape width obviously, using 4 tracks heads with some kind of trick. Is it ideal? I guess I would prefere dedicated machines with specialized heads. But as stated before I'm not an audiophile, just a musician, so I'm not in the arcanes of electronic, I can be wrong.
Nice! Good to have a different perspective which in reality matches several “audiophiles”
Yep clearly the B77 MK2 HS IEC is the way to go for musician, very solid, excellent quality, make great master today, plus much much part as revox even selling them!
Regarding the flux, again you can find a chart at RTR which explain clearly and easily everything!
Actual pro calibration kit are 250 nWb/m which handle easily everything below as everything upside. I can push mine at +6 db without any distortion in the playback which is actually 520nWb/m from a 250nWb/m cal!
i do not recommend using +9db cause its the limit of RTR blank studio tape, best using 0/+3db to leave room, a drum kick can easily go way beyond!
Also most of new master are 0/+3db which is equal to 250/350nWb/m at a pro calibration of 250nWb/m!
Even the low speed nab cal from RTR is 250nWb/m!
The only thing it miss is a nab eq switch!
Revox released new reproduce card, whose handle IEC
and NAB Eq, by setting a jumper! It's still not in front panel, but much easier!
The speed card require capstan setting! Anyway everyone is staying at HS for 2 track and low Speed for 4 tracks!
So if you really want to play the most requiring audiophile, with this machine, you can! It's not as easier as a true 2 eq one, but more cheaper!
Plus despite he don't like revox many composer of the time used them!
@@anonymex22 The difficult thing about the B77 is to find an hi-speed one, the vast majority of what you can find is the regular 7 1/2.
Hi Guido, once more a real great episode!
If one is not able to get a Studer A810, what do you think of an A807? Yes, it looses the second control tape on the right side…
Keep up the great work!
The A807 is a great choice for the price. Don't worry about the missing tape guide on the right. The regulation of the tape tension is so good that it doesn't need it. It can even play backwards without issues.
@@theshowcase23thank you very much for your attention and reply! 🤙🏻
If you want to go in the heavyweight club, the A807 is excellent but as for all Studers one day you just need to pass to a better preamp bypassing the internal ones. If you don’t want to do that or spend that much, IMHO a one of the best solutions is a refurbished Telefunken M15 (not M15A). A workhorse huge heavy German motor, great transport and reliability with a stellar sound!
@@anadialogI see your point, Guido. Thanks a lot for your assistance. Keep bringing us great episodes! 🤙🏻
Great! I have had reel to reel since the 70s Some thoughts, I have 3 European reel to reel and they all use a beam of light auto end of tape. If the bulb burns out good luck finding a new one. I remember Revox had an ad touting speed of light cutoff in the 70s. One thing to look for when buying, are the adapters included? I do not know why but you see many do not include them. And some machines have brand specific (Otari) $$$ Also I have what is a do all machine Pioneer lt-1 transport with2 track set up, If buying a transport and associated electronica be SURE interconnects cables included! And one more thought the higher end ones rarely use rca interconnects. A gem that is out there if you only plan to use 7' reel playback, Sony made one called the 777 A tremendous machine, based on its price when new it is Pro.
Very good episode, thanks ..
What about an episode about R-DAT machines ?!
I know you are focusing on analogue, but such an episode will be highly appreciated...
Thanks! Actually I do have a deck and various DAT tapes…maybe one day
about the Telefunken m15 (a real beauty) it's always possible to add real time pro spectrometers / meters easy to setup cause they're fully adjustable in sensitivity, no other controls are required, they used to mount it in a bridge rack but can be added with no assle in many places
Indeed! A lot of people add the Italian te rectec by meters but your adding stuff along the signal. I prefer to keep it pure, plus I use my Studer for recording and hence use its vu meters.
I am surprised you did not mention the Tascam BR-20 or BR-20T. This model, along with the aforementioned Otari MX-5050 are my top TWO recommendations in that that semi-pro category. Of course the Otari would still have an additional feature that the Tascam doesn't have, and that would be the 4-track capability. But everything else, it does as well (15ips, IEC & NAB) - and some might say it is even better than the MX-5050 because it sports a kinder/smoother transport than the Otari which is more a brute when it comes to tape handling. Whereas the Tascam is buttery smooth.
Other than that, and the fact that fluxivity isn't IMO as much a problem on playback on a consumer deck as you make it out to be. That's more of an issue when recording on +6dB or +9dB tape such as Recording The Masters SM-911 (+6dB) or SM-900 (+9dB). Other than this small detail, great primer video overall.
There so many machines! Thanks for mentioning that.
A 2 track revox high speed is a good machine if you wanto to play 7 1/2 and 15 ips stereo tapes, they're not cheap but there's no need to go higher in most cases.
Also regarding the Head, you tell people to look for the use, but as i 'm on research for new one, they are rated 8000H, so average 40 Years for devices, they are 90% dead or just at the end of their life specially in pro gears! This fact also confirm how good is tape sound!
A lot of machines weren’t used in pro environments or were stored as backup or simply not use plus when dead they. Hanged them so there are various situations where you can find very low wear.
Devices in professionell use often had their heads replaced several times. It's just a question of when they were last replaced when it wasn't used anymore.
@@theshowcase23 i agree, but it is very rare to see new head in those ads , or head wear info! Sooner or later you will need to change them!
@@anadialog Wear is difficult to evaluate as you can recal for high loss, and noise floor!
@starlightgrecording559
Hi Guido***
I am Pro Grade on Reel to Reel Machines and Here What I Have!!!
I Have Pro Machines From Ampex AG440 1/2 inch 4 Track Reel to Reel & I also Have OTARI MX5050 Machine and I have 2 of the Teac A3440 4 track Multi-track Open Real Deck and A Pioneer 1020L Open Real Deck and Tascam 80-8 Deck and Tascam 8516B 16 track Reel to Reel Deck and I also Have Some Roberts & Akai Machines Too****
I Use Recording The Masters Tape and I Also Use Vintage Maxell & TDK Tape!!!
I Don't Use Tape That Has the ( EE ) Sign Because Most Tapes Can't Erase The Recording on That Tape and I use Normal Bias Only***
Good Video Guido****
Nice collection!!
Great information, but I'd completely disagree that any vintage audio equipment is an 'investment'. The exception would be if you're a competent tech that can do servicing yourself. That, however requires a significant investment in test tapes and 'scopes, and tone generators, plus the knowledge to know how to repair these. The same goes for cassette decks, receivers, etc.
A serviced reel to reel deck won't be inexpensive, but to expect to use a deck for a year to 5 years, and then sell it for more than you purchased it from a reputable shop from is a bit of mis-information.
I did not say vintage audio, I said a quality reel to reel of the pro or semi-pro kind. In five or ten years the value will be much higher, 100% more that what you paid it. Just look at the trends of the last years. I got my Nagra IV-S for €2800, I got my Philips for €300, I got. Y Telefunken for €1300, I got my fully refurbished Studer A810 by one of the top techs in Italy if not in Europe for €5000, all around 10/15 years ago (the Philips around 20) and look at the value of these machines now! It is absolutely an investment. Just 20 years ago you could get a Studer C37 for 7-8.000€ not you have to pay more that double for that and more we go ahead and less machines there are available.
😊Hi can u buy 2 pair of same NeoTech cable & Skin off one of your Neotech cable head & change to Pure copper head! & compare them Original vs yr modified Neotech cable side by side. Video demo have !!😊
Hi Guido, waiting for your next video about your new tape stage. Hope it Is not Doshi. I think your recommendations will change because 90% of sound quality gives tape stage. It doesn’t matter M15 or M15a if they run direct out connections. My recommendations put 90% of your budget into tape stage and for the rest let’s say 100$ buy a r2r machine ALL sound the same. The difference is how the machine handles tapes. This is about playback. For duplication and recording it is different story. We run internal electronics.
I must say that I disagree on a few points. My recommendations will stay pretty firm because we are talking about your FIRST r2r in this video so external preamps are already out of the game due to their very high prices. Transport is not always the same, actually is the most important part after the preamp and heads. The US machines notoriously don’t have good transports, that is where the EU and Japan machines shine. The way a Studer A812 or a Nagra T handles the tape will change the sound it is so smooth and perfect. You have to try it/listen to it to believe it. Coming to the M15, if you tried a refurbished one there is no coming back. The sound is so good it is addictive and I am a tube guy. I will get back to this in the future.
@@anadialog Your idea is skip commercial machine and jump to semipro. My recommendation is jump right to tape stage. Let say you budget is 2500$ buy tube tape stage for 2000$ and something working for 500$. This setup will kill any studer with its standard sound carts.
Please tell me if I have got this right or wrong
To play prerecorded master tapes such as those from chasing the dragon
I need a 4 track 71/2-15ips machine?
Nope, 2 track (15ips)! Maybe you got mixed up because it says 1/4 but that is the width of the tape (one quarter of an inch).
Revox/studer
Actually Studer/Revox ;-)
Personally I got a grundig tk41 (still in repair lol) then got a M2405S which served for a good while until that died. Then I got a tesla ANP 210 which also needs work. See the pattern? 😂
Very interesting video! Thank you Guido.
Despite I've always liked R2Rs, I think that one important thing to consider is also what kind of amplifier + speakers you have or you want to reach in the future. I mean, is your system capable of getting out 100% of the sound of a master tape copy, assuming you have really good R2R deck? Sure, you will have very good sound, better than the other sources that you may have of that specific music, but is it worth the while considering costs (and in some cases also the space you may have)? Also, if your amplifier accepts RCA input and the recorder has XLR plugs as Otari, will you not loose quality when matching balanced and unbalanced plugs (Doubt I've always had)?
For sake of completion, I have an Akai gx-630d and had the chance in the past to upgrade to B77 2T HS and to PR99 Mk1 but then, looking at the material you may find in the net or from some reliable sources (as a copy must be done from people who know how to do it), I decided to keep things as they were as this would have meant also to upgrade my HiFi, in a room where you need to get to compromise due to the lack of space. BTW, I've listened in the past to real Master Tapes (not copies) in hi-end system, so I am definitely aware of the difference
Thanks! Well, I don’t think who is going to get a pro high-quality r2r will have crappy amplifiers and speakers. It’s the normal evolution and progression of things plus that is valid for any component, of the amp and speakers are mediocre all the rest before it will never sound good as cd player, a turntable, a dac, a preamp etc etc. XLR has a stronger and more stable signal but with a good cable (I make my own xlr to rca or even tuchel to rca) and connectors the sound quality is the same (if you don’t go over 3 meters).
Hi Guido! I am very interested in reel to reel. I a have a huge collection of cassettes recorded by myself back in the 90's from cd and they still sound incredible in my Nakamichi 680 ZX. I want to do that again but with reels. No interest in purchase prerecorded editions (I have a lot cd's and vinyls to do my own selections) , so, what you recommend? I watched your others videos but I still have certain doubts...2 or 4 tracks? I really appreciate your advice. My grandma was born in Ossimo. Best regards from Argentina!!!
And don't waste your time answering to trollers or haters.
Well, if you want to record, keep expense and room consumption down, a quality 4 track can be the solution, possible cable of accepting 10” reels and doing 15ips. You should have top quality with minor expense. The Philips I have is now a little expensive but very good, also the Teac I showed in this episode. But in general 4 track that can do 15ips is already going to be of high quality.
Thank you. Any thoughts regarding modern 2-track master recorders provided by Ballfinger (et al ) for commercial productions?
I actually did a video on this topic a few years ago, including the Ballfinger: ruclips.net/video/38_SVIa8BDQ/видео.htmlsi=3SiWfMVMB-u-pVyF
Hi. I watched your podcast about which reel to reel tape recorder to buy.... My problem is ... Ok, I buy a good reel to reel machine and I'd like to buy some master records copies .... How can I distinguish between a real analog master copy and a copy from a good DSD, or even good PCM file.? ... Thanks...
Great question…stay tuned for a dedicated video!
I have a question for you, apparently even if the speed is an important factor, some says that the gap in playback heads, is even more:
If you can get the SLS heads for the revoxes in the studer head catalog they are specified as 1.75um gap heads, now those would give you stellar high frequency response at 9.53cm/s and basically 50kHz response on 19.53cm/s, assuming you change the parallel resonant cap and adjust head load impedance accordingly and basically as stated in the manual, leave out Cx C807 R812 and replace R811 for 3k9.
Can you confirm?
If it is that the case beside the flexibility, i should be more important to find head with smallest gap compatible with deck to get a huge improvement on these!
However the price is as stellar as the improvement if the head exist!
Ok i got my responce, apparently it seems that SLS and butterfly Head have the same gap, however it cost 2400€ at revox spare part for a new set 😭
My Telefunken M15 have butterfly heads with similar gap and they are amazing! But yes, you can also get the later advance Studer heads for older models but you have change some parts inside. Not worth it IMHO.
@@anadialog I currently asking revox apparently a lot of PR99/B77 MKII user request butterfly head, so they did new prod!
The web site don't mention any mod!
The mod specified by the sentence i post may not be accurate, i doubt that you get 50khz of linear bandwidth at 7.5ips!!!
Again, i'm not audiophile but musician, don't need NAB, but only IEC!
in 2024, only revox/studer one are full of part, i need devices which i can give them hard time (professional use) without being afraid of breaking something without any chance of getting a part!
Yes revox refurbished, and new butterfly head cost for them , at least as an incomplete to refurbish studer a810 (specially when done by revox)!
Again there is always a breakpoints in analog device!
i do think that butterfly head of revox PR99/B77 MKII is definitively worthing it!
The price entry is about 4000€ (with butterfly new head) if you have electronics experience to recap all the cards!
The same for a studer is more about twice the price or more, just for a eq switch a low speed that you won't use for master, and a top transport, but that not night and day between the PR99/B77 MKII, and if you can get one, which is the most difficult and no more easy part!
Some today artist are using fostex 8 track 1/4 ones, or even low top end 2/4 tracks!
The sound of tape is really good starting 7.5ips, the need of top end device whose only found in lacquer cut studio is only pure audiophile point of view!
@@anadialog Studer/revox online arent clear at all they gave a range (3-6ùm) but JRF magnetic are more serious, and they re making head for every brand with gap as small as 50ùinch, however between 50ù/100ù inch, the differences aren't very noticeable! The butterfly head are covering +25% area adding +3db of recording/track level! What is unclear is if those 25% are proportional to the magnetix flux or not! So basically a 250nw cal with butterfly head should equal 510nw, taking into account non proportional gain! And for unknown reason they reduce it to 320nb at 7.5IPS! (Studer a 800 butterfly heads european cal at the studio) However as +3db from the butterfly head, you still get +3/+6db of room with these cal!
The knowledge is widely spread with not consortium today unfortunately, so we re guessing more than acknowledging technical sheets, when available!
However +3db dynamic and +3db in high response are something worth at all!
This said the cal of this studer is insane, with average peak at 0db from 250nw on the revox i lite the peak (+6db) sometimes, that means that i reach the limit of the sm900 (=>1%THD) and overhead the sm911(>1% THD)!
Us seems more wise using more 250nw with max at 320nw! Much less distorsion and compression!
I decided to keep it below 1% of THD peaks with a 250nwb cal for RMS below 0.2%THD!
It's an error to think that those new formulas works as good when > +0db range from 185nw, there is an increase of distortion compression each more db even if minimized! Just good for handling peaks not an RMS signal!
Idealy, if I buy one one day, once I have the money, i'll put an arm and a leg, i'll buy a Mara. They're still building them, and they're renowned in the pro community.
Don’t have direct experience but several people claimed they are not that reliable and sound is nothing special.
@@anadialog oh, interesting, didn't knew that !
What about Sansui models?
From what I know they did the electronics and the transport was made from Teac. Don’t have direct experience but they seem good, nothing amazing. Speed is low unfortunately.
Can I have you as my neighbor could’ve used all this information two years ago.
This video is turning me off on reel to reel. It sounds like a huge headache and money pit. I know nothing about electronics and as soon as something goes wrong im screwed.
I’ve never had so much fun with audio, but I got a very inexpensive, simple and common Akai and got 3 tubs of tapes with it for free. We’ve found so much great music on those dozens of tapes it’s just been a lot of fun, but if you are doing it for maximum sound quality I could be a headache for sure
Tandberg
This was excellent, thank you. Do you have an opinion or experience with the TANDBERG TD 20A SE ? I heard these are great machines?
I don’t but I did hear good things too…
Why would one want to listen to a master tape over a vinyl record? How are master tapes even available, do they not stay at record companies?
I just saw Diamond Life by Sade available as a reel to reel tape on ebay for $500. What is the point? Why pay for that over just getting a record, which is of course much more affordable?
Copies are available. Next video I am releasing tomorrow explains that. Why? Very simple, the best sound you ever heard
So I am 19 and I want to invest in my first multitrack reel to reel tape recorder and I was wondering if any of you guys can recommend me a good choice like not Tascam Portastudio Tape Recorder but a Multitrack Reel to Reel.
I imagine that the pro stuff is out of reach so just get a functional machine Tascam or Akai are ok and start recording. When able, you can start upgrading to better Tascam models, Fostex, or even Ampex and Studer. In any case don’t look for a 4 or 8 track machine but 4 or 8 CHANNEL, you can recognize them from the number of VU meters.
Can I ask you to go back on the subject of the flux. I own a Revox B77 and as per the user manual its max flux level is 514 nWb/m. It should have had little problem in playing your Master tape recorded at 520. Are you shure that was the problem when playing back those high quality tapes?
Great video. Made most of your mistakes myself.
Master tapes often go up to 1000 nWb/m (even though it says 514 on the cover). The B77 has problems with that.
Yes, that is the peak. You must look at the operating level or reference level which on the B77 is 257nWn/m. Pretty high in the end just not the really high as the pro machines which peak at double or even more than that.
non è una questione di QUALE ma PERCHÉ
Se uno guarda questo video da già il perché…perché ha un suono ineguagliabile.
Reel to Reel (R2R)
Yazoo - Only you
ruclips.net/user/shortsadxjreGTtUY
None. This is a complete dead end. Only a fool would do this.
Oh, and don't forget about everybody's friend - sticky shed.
You dont have to drone on repeating yourself over and over like you are talking to a group of slow people.
It is a video people can rewatch any or all as it is a video with simple controls to do just that.
That is your experience, not necessarily that of everyone else. I have several viewers from all over the world and English is not their first language. Maybe I repeated the first types of tapes a few times more than necessary but that is only a small part of the video. I think the rest was flowing better.
@anadialog Your English is superb and that guy complaining is just a crank. I think its great the way you explain things.
Besides I'm an Italian-American and we paesanos have to stick together!
Have an MX 5050 Otari which is most excellent, but just 2 track. Which is fine. Got if for around 1,600 in excellent shape from an Austin hifi shop.
I recently bought a Ampex ax300
I immediately took it to a reputable technician who specializes in reel to reel!
You seem to think that it was in pretty good shape and restorative to the best of his ability.
I bought some pre-recorded tapes!
The Allman Brothers eat a peach album.
Rolling Stones Hot rocks 1964 to 1971.
All I can say is it sounds as good as or better than my vinyl albums!
I would like to start recording from some of my albums to reel to reel!
Any recommendations out there I would love to hear from you!
The problem with the Otari is that it’s a two speed machine. I know there’s an internal switch to change it from 7.5/15 to 3.75/7.5, but it would need to be recalibrated when you make that switch.
For me the ideal solution is the Technics RS-1520. It’s got 3.75/7.5/15, 2 and 4 track, NAB/IEC eq, balanced in and out. And a great transport. I have owned mine for 30 years, and it has been rock solid. I also have an external Dolby B unit for Dolby encoded pre recorded tapes.
Indeed! But as I explained the Technics RS-1520 goes for crazy money today.
If you’re an audiophile I have no clue why you’d be recording at 3.75ips. Otari MX 5050 is the very best and most reliable choice for the money.
@@AceTechHD Nobody is recording at 3 3/4 but a lot of the pre recorded tapes on the market are 3 3/4
I think the problem with the 15xx series is that they’re difficult and expensive to work on. They’re also notoriously for not maintaining the calibration, and most new users aren’t capable of doing their own alignments.
That Isoloop tape path sure is sexy though!
I bought a Pioneer RT 909 with a lot of work done to it (rollers, recapped, etc) and have been very happy although at 2800 I realize I probably overpaid when looking at more Pro oriented machines available. My reasons for choosing it were more pedestrian; takes large and small reels, plays both sides with auto reverse, tape path known to be easy on tapes. The looks definitly swayed me as well with the blue meters. It sounds fantastic and I was able to tape my precious RL Zep 2 side 1 only (German RL) before it developed a skip and was amazed how good recorded albums sound on tape! Also, I have good luck with 7.5 ips tapes having compared Zeppelin 3,4 to well regarded album masters and the prerecorded tapes sound better! I can only imagine what 15ips sound like but thats irrelevant as I'm not interested in the obscure music available and certainly wouldn't pay astronomical tape prices so I'm more than satisfied with what the Pioneer has to offer. 7.5 ips can be album quality or better imo which is very impressive
Fantastic Deck, one of the best 4 track reel to reel.
You don't need more if you aren't interested in master repro/record!
Unfortunately to high priced actually.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on getting as high end as one can get for high fidelity sound within a car? Thank you for your excellent and passionate channel, a real gift to us all, beautiful
Thanks! Great question. Well, back in the 90’s Clarion was the way to go, but now you need to find a good amp on your own, even something that isn’t car audio oriented but it has to fit under the seat or where the amp is located. Then a great set of speakers another rare component. Audiophiles don’t think of cars because the environment isn’t audiophile at all. If instead we are talking stock sets, Harman Kardon seems the leading name now but I wouldn’t go down that lane. For instance, just this morning I saw two ads selling Luxman amps for automobile audio…now that is high-end sound in your car!
Thank You very Much on this Topic. I am very experienced in the subject and would like to add some comments and correction.
1) I have (Now Broken) 2 Tandberg tD20A machines. one is low speed 4 tracks and other is High Speed 2 Tracks.
These are the best Home/Semi professional sounding machines and recording ability, however, they are not and option any more.
2) The Tandberg is an European IEC Only Machine. I have discovered that 2 Track IEC Tracks on the machine recording and playback head are physically wider than NAB Tracks. This means higher magnetic strength in recording and Playback. However, When playback an NAB recorded tape there is and added noise due to a non recorded area at the NAB recorded Tape tracks. It is there for better to have a NAB playback head (using the correct eq)
3) A 4 track machine can perfectly play back a 2 Track recorded tape. The opposite does not work. Your 4 track Phillips machine can play 3 speeds and all type of recorded tapes. (I ignore 1.75 speed recorded tapes)
4) A lot of old tapes suffer from a Sticky tape syndrome. This is why a good mechanism is critical for old tapes playback. I recommend to choose a machine where the tape passes as less as possible fixed parts which causes friction, tends to catch dirt from the tape thus wear the tape. A machine with roller wheels in the tape path is much preferable. The Studer and Tascam BR20 has such mechanism. The Otari you show and Tandberg I have used in the past does not.
5) I use now a Tascam BR 20 as my main deck. It is a professional grade machine was produced till mid 90s. Mechanically it has a similarity to Studer design. Both recording head and Playback head are the same and both can be used for playback. This means that they are capable of very high magnetic level. The BR20 Has an IEC/NAB selector on the front Panel. It has an EDIT Capability mechanism. It has both RCA and XLR inputs/outputs. Great SNR (very quiet pre amp noise level on Playback)
6) In the 80s and 90s I have preferred to invest on RTR best (home type) machines for the purpose of recording my music collection rather than do it on a cassette machines, I have used an external DBX NR gear for both my RTR and cassettes, Always calibrate each recording for best results meaning minimal difference between Tape and Monitor position on the 3 head recording system. I can fully say that today's digital recording capability surpasses any 2 channel best analogue recording means available in the past and today.
I am using my analogue gear (Turntable, Cassatt and RTR) for the purpose of digitizing my analogue music collection. The Gear That I am using for recording has "zero" difference between Before ("Monitor") and After ("Tape") position. No Azimuth Issues. No Dropouts in the recording. No Hiss. No Grainy sound. No Head Cleaning after each playback. All is now much better. If I would like (and I don't) to have an analogue sounding recording I will add the RTR in the recording loop.
To make long Story Short: I do not see any Benefit for using analogue recording today and I am a one who deeply appreciate analogue recording capability.
7) I am using an RME ADI 2/4 a professional USB DAC/DA 9together with a dedicated PC as my main recorder and playback machine.
rme-audio.de/adi-2-4-pro-se.html.
It surpasses the best recording capability of any of the RTR machines I have ever Owned.
8) with the approach of a "Playback only" RTR in mind, The selection of machines is greater, The calibration service is simpler.
9) Another point not mentioned is the use of Noise reduction. Even for just playback, a noise reduction is needed if the master tape was recorded with such gear. Dolby A or Dolby S were commonly used in the 80s. DBX type II as well. DOLBY B was some time being used for home recording and for some of the pre recorded tapes.
10) Pre recorded Tapes: Many pre recorded tapes were dubbed at 1:8 high speed for 3.3/4 Speed and 7.5 Speed.
11) Cost of true master tape (or a copy of a such) is very high. Many Counterfeit version of CD to Tape exists in the free market. Beware.
12) Calibration tapes and cleaning accessories: Very Recommended to have.
13) Before buying a specific machine it is important to check the 50hz/60Hz compatibility. Some machines motor speed is established using AC frequency a US machine will play slower in EU and Vice Versa.
Thanks Again for bringing the topping up, and generally for you videos.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Thanks for your comments! I don’t see corrections.
1) Can’t say the best. Too many out there. Maybe for you but it isn’t an objective point.
2) Good point but as many things I did not mention, this is a video for your FIRST r2r, menaing for people at the beginning. Can’t go too much in depth, for that I have done dedicated videos.
3) I wouldn’t recommend that. The fact that it can doesn’t mean it sounds good. You will be missing part of the dynamics and “information” that way.
4) Sticky shed syndrome aside, at that point any transport is useless, gum will built-up everywhere, I agree that a good transport is paramount. The elements you highlighted can be solved for the Otari with the $225 mod kit sold by Bottlehead (tape project) but that is a further step, in this video we are focusing on newbies.
5) Nice!
6) Digital?! That’s a different story…
7) As you maybe know I had the RME ADI 2 pro FS. Worse standalone converter (both AD and DA) I ever had. Loved the fact that it could record in DSD! RME is big among pros but to me it seems that it simply cannot match high-end audiophile DACS. I have a Lyra 2 by Prism, great stuff but the DA part is not even close to the Holo Audio May or even less to the T+A D200.
8) Indeed!
9) Love dbx and indeed it can higher the overall S/N and dynamic range. Advance stuff though. Once again this is not the correct video.
10) Yup, Ampex and the later guys companies like Barkley crocker. A few also did 1:1, like early EMI, but very rare.
11) I agree.
12) Essential for recording.
13) I explained that in the video: 39:41 . There is a work around reducing/enlarging the capstan.
Thank You for your Detailed Reply.
I'll try to keep the dialoged short...
1) I bought the 4trk Tandberg new on 1981.
at that time the popular RTR to buy was Akai and Tandberg cost almost twice.
It was considered to be one of the best because of it's ability to record with high frequency response (24000), Hi magnetic level and very low noise. Tandberg invented the ""ACTELINEAR" which later on became what we know as DOLBY HX Pro. a method of dynamically controlling the Bias of the recording head such that it allows strong signal to pass without saturation of the magnet. they had a special edition machine (Called TD20A SE) where they had made their own recording curve to extend the dynamic range which achieved an SNR level of 80dB(!).
The Paly back head was a "No Wear" Ferro magnetic head but the recording head was not that type, It get Wear quit soon. this is in order to achieve the above performance.
Any Way, in today's perspective of course there are better machines. but it was one of the best I knew as a consumer at that time.
3) The only draw back is that the signal obtained is weaker, BTW also the tape noise is slightly lower too because less particles are passing through the airgap of the head. An excellent noise free Tape preamp can get the job done very nicely.. BTW, as per item 2), when you play an IEC recorded Tape on a NAB playback head you also play only partial part of the recorded material. you don't get the maximal signal Level as with proper IEC Playback Head. Hope I don't spoil the party....
6) I put aside the technology involved. I I have always judged the audio performance of a recorder by the ability to bring the difference between the "Before" and "After" to a minimum possible (Tape vs Monitor or A vs B). I emphasize that the "machine" I am using today for recording (for archiving my music) surpass any machine I owned and own today. Yes, It happens to be a Digital machine but who cares? I judge the product by it's end results.
7) for archiving purpose you would need an "as linear as possible ADC". for audiophile purposes there may be some excitement when the machine adds some color or life to the playback. I do not know.
I purchased the RME for the purpose of it's ADC. the DAC is a bonus.
The RME ADI 2/4 has an improved SNR of a total 130dB on it's predecessor which allows a feature I was trying to get with my previous sound card (Tascam 2x2 UHR) but was missing few dBs of SNR.
The Feature I am talking about is ability to directly convert the phono cartridge output without using any Phono Preamp. The RIAA curve is done digitally after the conversion!. It is the only ADC I know that can do that. Direct conversion of the cartridge signal output without passing through any phono stage is actually a direct "Grove to Digital" conversion which provide a next level of details capturing, I have never seen or heard this capability on other product so far.
8) I use my equipment also for professional sound restoration and remastering for vinyl and for Digital domain, from original master tapes, LP's Cassettes and other media recordings. It is a different topic to discuss and share, we'll talk about this some time any time you whish to.
You may find some samples of my work on my You tube channel.
Here is an example
ruclips.net/video/raGPiQq_SGo/видео.html
Thanks Again for the Ana(dia)loge.
Hi Guido! Your video is very helpful for those would dive into R2R. But I would like to point out some subjects:
- The models and brands you suggest is almost impossible to find in Brazil (except Revox which is offered worldwide). The most common R2R, reliable and the technicians acquaint about is Akai. The plethora of models make the hobby for a newbie a bit easier.
- A complete refurbish kit from Nagravox fo B77 costs the same of kidney transplant...
- And finally...whereas we live in a tropical country, every tape shall have an extra care to last longer than in Europe. Searching for used tapes looks like a lottery...there´s just one winner.
BTW: I´m about to record one video about my setup and forward it to you. I hope to be the choosen!
I hear ya! It’s difficult and in the end in most cases you just got to import.
Sure, send it! I actually try to publish everything because I do not watch them until I start filming. They are true reaction videos, no BS.
Thank you for your video Guido. i have a question to ask you just about magnetization levels: i went to see the magnetization levels of our two modern tracks. i noticed that the most frequent value of magnetization is 320 nwb for example hemiola but also other small manufacturers use this level . I have no idea for audionautes or Sony or Zavalinka or other Italians.
I was wondering if you had also noticed that the most common value of magnetization was 320 nwb at what value in modern prerecorded tapes you had found most frequently. I also note that some times it is written in others it seems a mystery what the level of magnetization is.
My curiosity specifically was whether your Revox B 77 could read these tapes without distorting the tapes at 320 nwb or did the distortion come by reading tapes magnetized at higher levels like 510 nwb?
Unfortunately I found conflicting information: some say it can read them without problems others say that the Revox b77 or a77 is meant for 257 nwb but that it can go up to 320nwb but that is not its ideal value of magnetization of tapes to operate at its best, do you confirm this from your experience ?
Thank you, you have a very interesting channel.
Hi there! Yes, 250/320nWb/m are the most common today, that is true. As for the Revox B77, or any other machine, you must look at the reference or operating level. That is where the machine works comfortably. In some cases manuals also report the peak of fluxivity and in fact the B77 has 520nWb/m as peak but its operating level is 257nWb/m.
The B77 has peak LEDs in the VU meters. If it is aligned according to the service manual you have 514 nWb/m when the peak LEDs turn on.
I have a nice Akai 4000 that I have repaired ...looks and sounds good..
Really? 😅
HI LOOKED AT THE PRICES MOW why big letters because it's now big price's i am seeing £2000 - £14.000 easy in the uk i used to see FOSTEX b16 at £250
note this was 19 years ago i had 2 they needed little light work i pulled a fostex E16 apart for parts to fix alot of things that were not right on the rest and sold all parts i did not need
you think i am nut's on my otari mtr 12 the head block comes of there's a bolt each side of the head block i had a head block made to hold a tascam 38 head and a fostex E16 heads
play back you see them up right decks are a right pain to use for editing with a jazzed up otari i can do alot of editing tricks and not leave cutting marks all over the nice decks
TEAC 2300/3300 are the best!
no, you ain't seen nothing yet, my friend (**)!
I want a 24 track 2” Studer 😍
You are the proud owner of the Philips N4520, this machine is the 4 track version, the N4522 is the 2 track and both have on front the switch for NAB/IEC eq.
Also can they do 3 speed and they are a lot cheaper than other machines with this features.
In fact I recommended it. IEC/NAB selection is only for 15ips. Rest is NAB.
Although it is strictly true that the two tracks format is better than four track, you can get excellent results doing your transfers from vynil to tape using 4 track stereo. Is different if your goal is to reproduce master/production tapes, but if you want to do transfers from digital or analog to tape, I'd go for a top quality 4 track stereo.
You covered everything on this video very well, fantastic!😊
hi have been down the same road but i did not spend the money one good thing you all need to talk to alot out the
i had home 4 tracki later i got a otari mtr 12 i was after the 12 1/2 spool i could play on my deck
my mtr 12 will take 1/2 tape and it has all the eq setting i am not 100% with it there still alot on the deck
i love the var speed settings and i can change the head blocks and rollers
now i am save up for a 14 inch i have one i am fixing up
Just the video I need! Looking of as much info on finding the best Reel to Reel for my budget & needs!
Hello. Three machines were worth to mention here Otari mx50, 55 and ofcourse Tandberg TD20A SE. Otaris both eq but tandberg iec only however it can be modified inside. Actually Guido Tandberg worth to mention because of it sonics. So you can by two macines one for iec another for Nab. You will spend 4000€ on both.
The Tandberg is mentioned a few times here, apparently it’s quite popular.
Nice production Sir. 15 IPS, very few machines can do that. 30 IPS, did not know that existed. Quite a few Otari MX-5050 B2-2 for sale.
15ips is actually the standard in tape, only that it is more common in semi-pro and pro machines. All albums are recorded in 15 or 30ips.
Assuming price isn't a factor. Otari MX-5050 II or later. /thread.
EDIT: Made this recommendation before watching the full video, I see it was redundant. :)
😜
Just buy elcasete or double speed cassete deck and record yourself becouse there are no master tapes for real
I have a double speed deck (among several others) and love it. But R2R is just a different experience. I have a few true master tape and several copies which are almost as good as the original and in general terms very high quality.
In italiano vado meglio (:D) effettivamente dopo il tuo video ho cercato infos a proposito delle equalizzazioni e ne risulta che l'equalizzazione IEC nasce per ottimizzare il risultato possibile con nastri registrati a 15ips, vado a cercare un pò di registratori e trovo che vi sono dei Revox con velocità max di 7 1/2 (A77) con equalizzazioneNAB e IEC e per esempio l'A700 che vola a 15ips che equalizza solo NAB... ma cosa fumavano ai tempi? ahahaha!! certo capisco che un registratore nato prima del 71 non potesse avere l'eq IEC ma l'A700 é del 74 e non mi pare proprio che Revox fosse un azienda di inconsapevoli, prendiamoci queste stranezze per quel che sono ma lasciano delle zone d'ombra nel pensiero logico... attenzione! revisione post approfondimento: i B77 e A77 si potevano prendere in versione HS (High Speed) potendo quindi giustamente usufruire della eq. IEC e si potevano chiedere in versione 2 o 4 tracce. (mai più scriverò commenti durante le ricerche :D
Ciao Alessandro io ho un a77 alta velocità. Questo tipo di registratori ad alta velocità girano in due “origini” : le versioni nate ad alta velocità e quelle trasformate dall’importatore o da tecnici più o meno capaci da bassa ad alta velocità da 4 a 2 tracce . Se possibile io mi orienterei su un alta velocità nativo anche se costa un po’ di più (ovviamente se cerchi un a77) . Spero ti possa essere utile .
Traduco per i lettori internazionali :
I have an a77 high speed. This kind of high speed recorders run in two “origins” : the native high speed versions and those transformed by the importer or more or less capable technicians from low to high speed from 4 to 2 tracks . If possible I would go for a native high speed even if it costs a little more (obviously if you are looking for a77) . I hope it can be useful to you .
The A700 was available with NAB or CCIR EQ. NAB was and still is the most common EQ for 7.5 ips recordings. Most people were recording at that speed so they sold far more NAB devices. Today it doesn't really matter. You can easily mod the record and playback amps in an A700 to change them to CCIR. You can even do 15 ips CCIR and 7.5 ips NAB and have the most common EQ for both speeds.
For spares and board upgrade options I'd go for a Revox B77 2 track high speed.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support!🤗
Very useful video. Thanks!
thanks guido for all the good advises unfortunetly i dont know much about reel to reel !thanks buddy!
Check the other videos I mentioned and linked in the video description for the basics! ;-)
I went for the Technics RS1506 - very happy with it 🙂 Also bought 10.5 reels, a splicing block, splicing tape, leader tape, a demagnetiser, RTM LPR 90 1100m NAB Pancakes. The quality is as good as I can hear, I mean I'm 66, my hearing is fading after 8 khz, these are the breaks of getting older. Having said that I love the sheer theatre of the machine. I have an electronics background and just love playing with this stuff I also bought a Sony Noise Reduction Adapter (Dolby B), don't yell at me the machine totally does not require this, I just wanted to play and see if I could hear the difference when it was set up properly. I have been making some of my own recording downloading Albums from HDtracks at 96kHz.24bit, recording 4T 7.5 ips. I also have a 2T tape recorded at 7.5 ips (produced by someone else), and be damned if I can tell the difference in quality.
Nice! You should try with dbx!
@@anadialog I will keep that in mind. Silly I know but the unit has got to look right. It could be the dog's bollocks, but if it doesn't look the part I wouldn't buy it.
great overview of the various options. The only thing I would add is if a person wants to play 4 track tapes, the other option is to buy a dedicated 2 track machine and send the headblock off to JRF and ask them to add a 4 track playback head so the user will have the option to play either format. Recording will still be all 2 track.
It is not enough to add the head. The 4 track preamp also has to be installed. The switch has to be added too.
That is something that is extremely difficult to do. First of all there has to be space for it, then you must be able to set the correct azimuth for it and the connection to the preamp meaning that that also has to be modified, finally the speed and calibration …a nightmare that I don’t recommend unless there is a precise model and a precise tech that knows how to proceed.
@@anadialog tough to do for the average owner, but JRF routinely does this. I have 2 decks that now have this feature. www.jrfmagnetics.com/
320nWb is not max. Otari mx-50, 55, 5050BIII DIN versions have 520max of their flux. Those are semi pro machines.
Max intended as operating level. You are talking of peak.
@@anadialog No I am not. Peak is 1040nWb. Otari can work.on high flux lever which is 520nWb. Din version. Nab versions high flux is 370nWb
@@giir3211 In the US you are mainly going to find, if not only, the NAB version and the manual reports for that (standard) version in HIGH position 320nWb/m. They made the 520nWb/m for Europe because we had different standards and they are quite rare. In any way, thanks for pointing out info about the DIN version.
When I was first buying my stereo equipment and reading the trades in the 70s I lusted after rtr. It looked so cool and still does. But now, it's just a waste of money. Forget it and buy more music. You'll be glad you did.
Though you are still here watching THIS kind of videos…;-)
@@anadialog wtf, I thought I made myself clear. It's a waste of money.
You are dead wrong. Any starter deck needs to be 4 track otherwise the dam thing will just become a dust collector on the shelf. I have been an audiphiles user and collector for 50 years as well as a career in radio broadcasting. Start with a good 4 track deck then add a 2 track if interested like an Otari or technics that will play both.. This guy had no clue.
Two track tapes sound a lot better my friend
Your comment clearly demonstrates that you did not watch all the video.
So after investing a lot of money into the device itself and into servicing it you want to "cheap out" with 4 track to safe on tape? With 4 track you'll here every small defect in the tape and you'll often hear parts of the music on the other "side" - especially if it has a lot of bass. If you want 4 track buy a good cassette deck.
@@theshowcase23you are exactly right. I have 7 decks (2 four-track units) but NEVER use them 4 track machines due to noise (unacceptable to me). 2-track tapes @15 IPS are an entirely different story (hint: SHOCKINGLY pleasing to the ears)!
Let's proceed; the mannerisms and 'oracle-like' self-importance of this presenter's style is too irritating to bear for long.
However, I watch when reel tape matters show up via the algorithm because tape is quite simply THE best means by which sounds are preserved realistically. There are many technical and physics related reasons for this which need to be examined by those bitten by the bug.
I own one of the biggest private archives in the British Isles and most music is on reel tape. This happened by accident when I assisted BBC engineers and at UK classical festivals in contrast to my entirely non musical profession. Now in old age and with none of my grown up children having no music-meets-preservation interests, the bulk of the archive will be sold but not in my native land or continent nor in the USA. I want it to be a living resource and higher education musical and tech asset and very few countries/cultures now bother with analogue and show no signs of exploring its veracity, using modern materials and expertise for culture rather than wars or luxuries or both. Some, however, do.
The "vinyl" trend is often a sham because recordings are seldom live, from microphones to storage, put together in front of screens. Ears are barely used. They are seldom analogue in truth.
I disagree with the presenter's dismissal of cassettes because some types of magnetic tape cassettes were (and are) made to strict biases, saturation and featherweight contact with heads and without high flux ratings, which this presenter does not understand. Nakamichi and few other Japanese companies set strict standards and cassette precision tapes were used extensively, mainly in Europe, by broadcasting companies for a lot more than ghastly cartridges with jingles on them in radio studios. The low speed caused many people to argue that cassettes could never be consistent or detailed but the enclosed and well protected cassettes of top quality in very expensive machines sometimes performed better than professional wide reel tape moving at high speed. As a matter of interest on speed, many noted commercial LPs/CDs from the late 1970s have a "heartbeat" low frequency artifact due to 15 ips + causing machine resonance and it can be heard through subwoofers to this day.
I agree with the presenter's implied disapproval of some in the "master tape" field of endeavour and know well that no actual master tapes would be sold but copies and patched "takes" often are to fools who buy them. It is human nature to justify an extravagance with nonsense when such as a "master" is actually a pastiche.
The vlog is slightly confusing about NAB and IEC because a tape machine set to one can be adjusted and, in practice, 50 or 60Hz should not affect playback on "prosumer" machines, plus respectable makes are really very flexible up the 'pro' scale when adjusted by engineers. Studer/Revox, Pioneer, Technics, Uher and Fostex machines were always engineer friendly but I never heard a good Ampex and TEAC monsters were overrated. Otari could be good in sound and track type swapping but, in my experience, suffered from bad chassis and case construction. This possibly explains why so many industrial and services users paid for special casings and a few of these can still be found. Phillips, Sony, Toshiba, Akai, Grundig and Telefunken made a few good tape decks but a very few. Pre-echo and weak chassis construction were big problems and at the end of Tandberg's dismal development the machines tried a physics-defying 'principle' which no professional users would touch. A pity because their rugged education tape machines were rather good.
For newbies, the presenter is correct in advising that one has access to people with the requisite expertise and they are getting rarer in the rich west. Beware also some newer manufacturers in the USA and France which make tape machines costing obscene amounts but which are loosely built from filched Pioneer and Austrian designs of lapsed copyright. Such companies might offer 7 year warranties but are unlikely to still exist then.
Tape quality is as important as the decks and doubtless our vlog host will publish something on the FACTS of tape without detaining us for too long.
Stephen, you keep trolling my videos saying they’re full of mistakes and that you hate my style…but you keep coming back! As I said in my last comment to you for the Quad, come down from your pedestal and discuss in a polite manner. You come out as very rude and snobby. Here you understood to give me some credit on a few things because you wouldn’t be credible in the first place. Se, once again your bias led you to a prejudice approach. If you took a few minutes to explore my channel and understand what I do, you would have discovered that I am a huge fan of cassettes. I have several decks, a few among the best out there, and did several videos on the topic. If your machine is old and does not switch to 50/60hz it will be a problem because the speed of the machine will change in fact several people do a mod to their capstan to adjust that. Once again, get informed, watch all the video and drop the prejudice.