Audiophile Reel to Reel Tape - Is it worth the fuss? Absolutely!
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Greetings from Tubelandia! I wanted to share my experiences and resources on how to achieve THE BEST Analogue sound available!
TECHS:
Analogue Rules (Michael Gore - Goreski):
www.analogrules...
Reel to Reel Tech (Curt Palme - Northwest Pacific):
reeltoreeltech...
Bob “Midnight” Shuster (NYC - Northeast):
shustersound.com
Tom Amp Services (Florida / South East)
www.audiomagnet...
JRF: Not mentioned but the best place for tape head evaluation / relapping.
www.jrfmagnetic...
Myriad Magnetic (Dan Labrie)
www.myriadmagn...
ATR Services (also a resource for tape and Ampex ATR-100 parts and accessories.
www.atrservice...
RESOURCES:
Analogue Rules & Reel to reel tech (above)
Reel to Reel Rambler (Dave Denyer):
thereeltoreelr...
TAPES:
White Stripes Elephant Preorder:
store.acoustic...
Harrow and the Harvest Preorder:
store.aconyrec...
Analogue Productions UltraTape:
store.acoustic...
The Tape Project:
The Tape Project | Releasing classic albums on reel-to-reel
Hemiola:
www.hemioliare...
Hortch House:
www.horchhouse...
Mastertape Sound Labs (awesome classical selections)
www.mastertape...
I rocking a Teac x2000r and a x1000r have been into reel to reel for many years. love the format
Great Machines. Thanks for watching!
Great overview , the good tech is paramount…it’s great that you listed all the contacts. My friend had a Revox B77 way back when I loved the sound and was thinking of getting into it and your video and references is extremely helpful 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Glad you find it helpful!! Good luck in your search and please reach out for any questions:)
Getting along very well with my Fostex E2. Thank you for posting.
Great to hear! Thanks for watching
I have old tesla czhechoslovakian reel to reel player with great dac build by my dad I have few of my fav records and it's my fav sounding setup
That’s great that you have something built by your dad! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing your insights. I also have a fondness for vinyl, especially from the pre-digital era (late 70s). Growing up in Brazil, I was exposed to my dad's small collection of reel-to-reel tapes, which provided a wonderful experience. While I understand the allure of reel-to-reel recordings, I'll stick to the second-best medium, such as well-recorded vinyl and DSD. I recognize why tapes are expensive, but I appreciate why people invest in them. There's nothing wrong with spending money on a good reel-to-reel recording. In a world where so much money is used for negative purposes, it's refreshing to see it used for something positive like reel-to-reel recordings.
Thanks for your comments and perspective, and many thanks for watching!
The right tape on the right machine makes all the difference!
Thanks for watching!
I found a Teac 4010s at Estate sale for $65 with Original box, manuals, real caps and headphones. I replaced all the Suzuki caps and recapped the preamp/amp board. Great sounding machine the heads are in excellent shape.
Very nice! Sounds like you found a great deal. I actually have a 4010S that I inherited from my mother in law. It punches WAY above its weight class. Great machine!
Great resource for R2R tape. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!!
Back in the 1980s I had a Revox A77 which I bought from a colleague at the BBC. When I retired 5 years ago I got myself a really nice working, re-capped and calibrated for modern tape, Revox B77 Mk II. It is a quarter track 3.75 /7.5 ips machine but it still sounds bloody great to me. The only thing I've had to do to it was replace the counter belt and put new rings and pucks into the NAB adaptors. It only cost me £600 which is about $735 and, to be honest, at my age, any better machine would be wasted on my aging ears. The fact is, as we get older, some of those higher and lower frequencies are no longer audible. It still gives me enormous pleasure and is the coolest thing I own, or will probably ever own. I am fortunate that just about the only place in the UK that still sells tape is a 10 minute drive from me, although it is manufactured in Cologne.
Thanks for you comments Ian, the Revox A77 is a great, robust machine!! Glad to hear you’re still enjoying it!!! Thanks for watching!
@@JeffersonDDThe A77 is just sitting unused in my spare room, it really needs more work than is economically viable. The B77 is my machine of choice now. I'd wanted one ever since my friend bought one new in 1979.
Too fucking verbose, fatman
Awesome! Long live analogue!
“Let it forever guide us through the darkness to the next light”.
Nice 5050. I had one in my radio studio back in the late 90s, and I've been flirting with the idea of getting one recently. It'd go nicely with my Luxman R-1050.
I agree! Thanks for watching!!
Excellent! I bought my first good reel to reel in 1972 a Teac 1230 finally gave up two years ago. Have 2 of the 5050's love them!
Awesome thanks for watching Robert! No time like the present to jump back in!!
Ha Ha I never left! The old "inline" as they were called and of stacked heads were the show off tapes for guys with a lot of money. They still play great and the rca red seals at 7 1/2 are mind blowers to this day@@JeffersonDD
Oh hell yeah I've been WAITIN' for this to drop
Sorry to be so slow nephew. Working on it!
If you have money running outta your butt, go for it (and that's coming from an owner of a few). Blank tapes are "ridiculously" expensive & the upkeep can be extreme, but in the end, to "my ears" nothing sound's better than a good analog reel tape. Just be pre-warned.
_"to "my ears" nothing sound's better than a good analog reel tape"_
Probably because you have never listened to good digitally recorded, mixed, mastered and reproduced music.
@@jordillach3222 If an album was record AAA on tape, it makes sense to get as close to the session tapes as possible. LP's are great, and 45 RPM can get very close, but there is a magic in properly copied tape
Thanks for watching! Yes it’s not cheap at all but it can get crazy expensive if you’re inexperienced or try to “go the cheap route”. I’m hoping some of the resources I mentioned can help people actually save $$ if they take the plunge:)
@@JeffersonDD I would say so. I went the worst way possible into the hobby, but I did learn much.
Great video. I love my Tascam tape decks. The sound is great.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video/information.
My pleasure, thanks for watching!
Can’t get enough of tape!
Excellent video. Bridge of Sighs ... brother, you're speaking to my soul. Notwithstanding the @home value, 40 years ago, we recorded on 8 & 24 track tapes. Recently, I've made a commitment to the analog domain in every aspect save the virtual tape which I can capture upwards of 192khz. That's okay for the stems, but for post/mastering, I'm interested in capturing to tape for the nearly perfected analog recording. Cool stuff.
BTW, thanks for the resource/suppliers details. I saved this video for future reference.
@@williambyrne6855 glad you found it helpful and thanks for watching! Nothing but respect for working with multitrack machines I can’t imagine how difficult it was back in the day. FWIW, a lot of early digital multis was mixed and mastered to tape, so I think you’ll have a lot of success working with the digital stems. It’s almost the perfect marriage of the convenience of digital and the warmth / saturation from tape.
@@JeffersonDD Cool. When recording on 8 track, the drums went down on 6 tracks with the other two for scratch & timecode. The 6 drum tracks were then bounced down to two Left & Right tracks. The engineer was a drummer which really helped. Afterwards, we had at least 5 tracks for bass, keys, guitars, and vocals.
Reel to Reel is the only way to listen to the best sound possible. With the exception of live music.
Couldn't agree more!
Vinyl records are basically just dubs of analogue reel to reel tape.^
Bit still: DSD audio needs to be much more common !
Digital audio if well mastered can sound fantastic, too !
So I think that a well mastered DSD digital audio file can sound as good as a well mastered analogue 15 IPS 2 Track reel to reel tape !
Yes there’s much more importance in the mastering than what medium it was mastered form. All that said, IMHO once Transfered to the digital domain, little can be gained in terms of taking it back to analogue, at least in terms of improving SQ. There’s too many variables to just make an A/B comparison. But yes the mastering is more important than the source.
@@JeffersonDDyeah, but you can't say"mastering is more important than the source."
The source and mastering are both important !
Like I always say,a good recording must be recorded, mixed and mastered well to sound really good.
I am not much convinced that it is all the same. I record my vinyls and CDs to tape and have ease to compare the results. I would not judge what is better - it is too disputable but I see slight differences I can sometime "hear" the digital sounds on CD. With vinyls so far I not noticed because I play too old vinyls to have digital in it. I like sopranos more from LP. but sure those differences are far less important than each and every alignmment in system
Really enjoyed your video. I received all the information I desired. Thanks.
Great advice and resource suggestions. Thanks for the video
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
and worth even more fuss if an outboard tape head pre-preamp is used. Will take tapes to another level above and beyond the standard playback electronics in a 5050 or Ampex 102, or Studer 810. Also don't forget all the 1/2 track tapes RCA, Mercury and others issued in the late 1950s. Some of these are sonic blockbusters.
Absolutely! Although I haven’t gone down the Tape Head preamp rabbit hole… yet! Thanks for watching!
Unless you are buying a NOS machine (which is practically unheard of), most reel to reel decks have had a LOT of hours on them. I am relatively a new-comer when it comes to reel to reel and there was certainly no R2R decks here in my country (Australia) for sale at the time a few years back when I looked. What decks I could find were overseas. With the advice of a friend who told me "avoid units that say they are overhauled, you don't know what the heck has been done to them" I imported a Revox b77 MK2, listed as working but needing service. It was expensive to procure the unit (because they are are also heavy, the shipping cost was hefty). The unit I got was a nice one, iec ccir unit which could do 15 IPS. So basically a pro-sumer level unit. It had belonged to a Radio station in its past life and was absolutely worn to hell, it had a LOT of hours on it... The heads were pretty worn too... But... the unit was all original and UNMOLESTED - it just needed an extensive overhaul, both electrically and mechanically. Money was not an issue and I had it overhauled by a professional here that specializes in reel to reel gear and has been servicing and restoring Revox and other brands for decades. I was in good hands. I wanted to enjoy this unit and hear it like it would have sounded when it was brand new - so I went the expensive route - full mechanical overhaul, full electrical overhaul - all the capacitors were changed along with anything else that needed it (other components that might have been out of spec)... I had brand new heads installed in the unit (yes NOS can be found if you are willing to pay a small fortune since they are very hard to come by and what is around is hideously expensive for that reason) - the unit was then fully aligned and calibrated for RTM SM911 tape. I got the unit back after its overhaul and was like a child at Christmas with their new toy. I did some 15 IPS recordings to fresh RTM SM911 tape from a good quality source (digital but with a decent DAC in front of it) --- I remember listening to my unit for the first time after doing some recordings and my jaw dropped at how beautiful it sounded, bought a tear to my eye. It IS an expensive hobby, but if you love analog, it DOESNT get any better than a good reel to reel unit!
Thanks SO MUCH for that story! I’m sorry it cost so much to import it there, and the repair costs, but sounds like in the end you were very happy! Thanks for watching / commenting.
@@JeffersonDDI have no regrets at all despite the steep cost. I am in love with my unit haha. The tech was also great and he sensed my great interest and enthusiasm in getting to know how the unit works inside (I worked in the electronics service trade once upon a time), the tech explained loads of things to me that I didn't know and I learned a tonne. In fact he's happy for me to visit his workshop and he will guide me through calibrating the unit for different tape types etc - a guy thats happy to share the knowledge (I would pay him for his time of course) :) I will probably take him up on the offer when I get a chance to travel again soon. I have all the test equipment here and test tapes to do a lot of things, Just need things explained properly and nothing beats hands on experience and guidance from a pro tech. Apart from the treat of listening to my unit, like you say yourself, watching them work is mesmerizing, watching the analog VU meters move.. whats not to love about it! :D
@@alex1520 Agree 100%! Learning to align / set up your own unit yourself is very rewarding. If anything, you appreciate even more what fascinating machines these are!
RTM the best analogue blank tape for your mixtape!!
Yes I’m a fan of RTM, it’s what I use
Own an OTARI MX5050 BII myself. Wonders of the world. Amazing sonics.
It's one of the best secrets out there. Sonics are really top notch. Thanks for watching!!
I own an OTARI M-10 Studio Recorder with four LEGS ! An animal - making MUSIK like putting its ARMS around your neck ( but does`nt have any ) only to get you connected like an umbilical interconnect cord...
Otari MX5050 BQII here... incredible machine!!
Great video!
Thanks!
Excellent. Thanks for the clarification
I need to spend more time with R2R, just haven't done so to date. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching! Hope you get it going soon! Lots of resources for you in the description!!
Had a Tascam BR-20T for years. Loved it. Sold it once 24bit/192khz digital became cheap. While I still love audio tape and have recorded many songs on 24 track tape both 1" and 2", there is simply no comparison to 24 bit digital. While I am a huge vinyl fan, and have quite an extensive collection, I have shunned tape. I even record my vinyl at 24/96 to place onto my media server. While I love reel to reel, I really now only miss the nostalgia of it and the cool looks.
I certainly love the convenience of digital, and certainly there are diminishing returns with 24 channel tape, sound wise. However even DASH / Protools multis can sound much better mixed down to 2T tape, at least to my ears. Thanks so much for watching and your insight! BTW; as you probably know that Tascam BR series was very robust and sounded great!
Something I’ve noticed over the years is that when I recorded my vinyl onto my cdr615 the cdrs maintained that same sonic character. NEver could figure out why.
@@scottstrang1583 While the CDR615 is a great deck, it follows the CD specification (16bit 44.1khz) which includes a brick wall 20khz cutoff filter. If your phono cartridge has a frequency response only up to 20k, that could be why. You would not hear any difference because there is none. My cart has a frequency response up to 30k so that allows the upper harmonics to work much better with the lower harmonics (which you can hear) and the effect of this can also be within human range (and usually is) adding much to the spacial characteristics of the sound. So ultimately 24/96 would be required to capture these upper frequencies.
I almost commented and then gave up as it would come across as trolling. There is however a couple of fidelities that digital has that analog has not, one is temporal stability and the other is event dynamics preservation, set the level during sound check and sit back and enjoy not fiddling any knobs during the recorded concert. Gone are the days of constantly adjusting record level to try to stay withing the possible envelope.
No doubt about the rolling machine its captivating there is something pure audiophile about them i also own OTARI's love them probably the best of best of Japanesse machines would love to have a Studer on day
Thanks for watching!
Excellent!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Thank you for your input. I am in the Bay Area and is interested reel to reel as well.
Do you have opinion on Akai?
Thanks for watching! So when you get a machine, make sure you use Gorski for repairs / refurbishing. Also the links I provided have good options for picking up a fresh machine. Good luck and enjoy!
@@JeffersonDD Are you interested in meeting up sometime and you can show me your reel to reel and we can listen to some music tracks? I made a pair of custom made speakers we can test it on that if you have time. I am in the Concord area.
@@bongchan531 Akai is not my first choice for a 2 Track 15 IPS machine. Their Consumer models are decent and they made some great Quadraphonic Machines... BUT: They are filled with specific transistors that can cause static noise, and they must be replaced at this point in their lifetime. If you purse an Akai, please consult Curt Palme's page for tips on what to look for.
@@bongchan531 Its a possibility, but my free time is kinda filled right now. Please send me a PM with your contact info and we can go from there.
Michael Gore (Goreski) repaired my Otari MX5050 several years ago and it still sounds great. I don’t use it much lately but curious to hear some commercially recorded tapes. Thanks for the info.
If Michael worked on it, then it’s probably still going strong! As far as tapes go, the New White Stripes is probably the best “Rock and Roll” tape out there… can’t recommend it enough! Nice to see you Russell!
Not really audiophile level, but I bought a Pioneer RT 909 deck for $200 about 5 years ago. It was a risk, but the seller was the original owner and seemed legit to me. It needed a new belt and pinch rollers and I never got around to doing the work until recently. It was a bit tricky since some un-soldering and re-soldering was required to get the belt on. You also need a crazy size Allen wrench (5/32") to install the pinch rollers. Anyway the first tape I played on it was the Sinatra/Basie album on Reprise. All I can say is that it really blew me away, even with a 50 year old tape. I have since purchased some fresh blank reels from ATR and make recordings of LPs. Not hi-end, but I am having a lot of fun. One thing I did learn is that some commercial tapes came in a format labeled "For In Line Heads", and these tapes require a special machine that is not the usual type most people had back in the day.
Thanks for watching!! That’s a great Machine and it’s cool you did the repairs yourself! I’m familiar with that Sinatra Basie tape and it’s really fabulous. Yes I’ve heard of the in-line heads but I’ve never had a
Machine that would play them, so I’ve avoided them. Definitely try recording some stuff once you get tape! Even recording streams adds some warmth with is fun to learn about.
Actually, "in-line heads" is the standard - at least for two-track stereo machines. The earlier format "staggered heads" uses separate heads for the left and right channels, so one comes before the other on the tape. As long as the distance between the two heads is exactly the same on all machines, this sort-of worked!
@@gdavisloop Great point, thanks for the correction. Yes its the staggered heads that I try to avoid in general. Mainly because I don't have anything that will play them! Thanks for watching!
I heard two restored Sony decks just a week ago TC765 and TC880 both were really really good
My first R2R was a Sony TC-630D that I bought in 1973 while living in the barracks(Travis AFB) from a guy going overseas. I fell in love with the sound of tape due to that machine. Held on to it until 1983 until I bought a new Teac X-2000R and sold the Sony(shoulda kept it too). The X-2000R has been serviced once a couple of years ago and is still going strong. Still love that tape sound and watching those big reels spin!
Back in ancient times when Vinyl was king, the only thing that blew it a way was a really good 7 1/2 ips prerecorded copy of the same album from a major recording company. When I heard the difference I wanted to replace all my vinyl, but the cost, the fragility and the very careful handling stopped me from buying more than a few of my favorite artists.
Definitely not for everyone, but the sound can’t be beat. However, it’s a matter of effort:reward ratio for most of us:)
I don't know about you guys? But when 3M Scotch. Shut down making their recording tape. That was it for me. I saw the handwriting, on the wall. All was tumbling down. I did not like the sound of the Ampex or Agfa/BASF, product. As well.
I mean, sure. I didn't have any choice but to use it. But it was not my favorite sound. 3M Scotch, was my favorite sound. It was so open and Ballsy. You, just don't know what you guys are missing.
I don't care who's recorder you use. Ampex ATR series. Studer, 80 and 800, series. Stephens, 3M, MCI or, Scully. They all sounded great. They were all totally terrific.
Yes I was trained to be a factory authorized warranty service technician for, Ampex, 3M, MCI. And while I turned down, job offers. From them. I accepted a Managerial, Position. With another one just as Legendary. One I loved using, myself. For many years. Scully. They were the best! I made the better best! I made the best, better! And nobody could stop me! It's what I was hired to do for Scully..
Yes there is nothing like, Saturation on Drum Tracks. Primarily. For all the other tracks. Digital sounds, on the money. And so you can make more money. As nothing really need be, realistic, sounding. What's that mean? It's all, unnatural, electronic, sound, reproduction. What's natural about that? How many musical instruments are made out of, flapping pieces of cardboard? I don't know any? It's only supposed to sound fun for parties. That's all that matters. As technical blah blah. And gear specs. In the, 21st Century. Really does not matter anymore. Everything exceeds, American NAB Standards. For pennies on the dollar. Actual pennies.
And so if you don't get the sound, nor the recordings you desire. I can assure you. It's all your fault. You, don't know what you're doing. You are overthinking, everything. You are trying to pull a Chevrolet out of a, Chrysler showroom. That will not work. They do not sell, Chevrolets. And you can't make them.. So just, forget it! And make the rock 'n' roll recording and be done with it! Stop goofing around. Stop overthinking. Just do.. Grab a microphone. Place it on an instrument. Resist the desire to change the position. Just use it that way. If it doesn't sound good? It's all your fault. I doesn't matter where the microphone is. It only matters that it's in the, general vicinity. The rest is up to you. That's why you have knobs and dials. Better learn how to use them. There's a lot. I know. You'll just have to get over!
It really is that simple. Do not do this job,, completely, Sober. You will overthink everything. You will screw up. You'll make an abomination of a recording. You will never do this work again. You will go to work for, Dunkin' Donuts. Where you will really appreciate the, powdered sugar, best.
When they go low. We Get High! Out Now! Out Now! Or was last month Pride Month?
RemyRAD
I really don’t know how to respond to all of that, but I appreciate your perspective and years in the field. Scully machines are legendary, but I’ve never had the chance to work with one. Thanks for watching and your comments. One thing I wanted to mention, my video is geared more towards audiophiles using 2 track machines, and less about multis with all the cool groovy studio tips. Take care!
So I got 11 ReVox RTR's, no Studer's unfortunately. A properly calibrated ReVox (A77, B77, PR99, C273) has a superior sound reproduction to any other analog recorder ever made. In fact it even outperforms some of my DAT recorders in overall sound dynamics and pleasantries to the human ear.
Revoxs are great machines. Sounds like you know your way around them! Thanks for watching!
The reference Sir Paul McGowan of PS Audio change your Speakers first. A pro studio R2R costing a new car then fine but start at the other end
I don’t disagree with you, but my video is more geared towards folks who are considering getting into R2R and have their other components sorted
I wish you had been around in the '80's when my wishes were to get back into tape (and hi fi)! I made the mistake of buying over the internet and had a lot of bad experiences (and a few good ones).
i have not that problem isn´t the best but i started to record compilations i made in spotify into reels and i´m very satisfied with it´s quality, i´ve already recorded 90 reels since 2021 at high speed, it´s better than almost everything and i could do it better but because i´m old and lazy it´s easier like i have been doing
Glad you’re having fun with it! Thanks so much for watching!
Well i also have cassette decks and 8 tracks recorder as well as VHS HIFI (surprisingly good) which need head???, despite being lower (not vhs hifi) quality they also worth it (specially dolby C/S/HX pro ones), in fact i even prefer them tp the hi res digital sound! Of course the slow speed can compete to 15/7.5 ips 2/4 tracks reel to reel but for those whose can't afford it, it's better than just digital!
Thanks for watching! Cassette is just another form of Analogue. If you prefer the analogue signature of course it’s still enjoyable;). I traded Grateful Dead cassettes WAY back in the day and still have 2 Nakamichi cassette decks
Reel to Reel has its place and would enjoy getting involved at some point.
Mr. Jefferson, do you have a microphone that you can plug in and record yourself live?
I actually have a headset to use for my next one. I think it should help. Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback!!
@@JeffersonDD I enjoyed watching your video as it’s the closest I will get to one of those big, beautiful machines. What I was asking is if you can plug a microphone into your reel to reel and record your voice to tape?
Because you hold a key to a mystery, a Key that most of us do not have.
There are thousands of us out here in RUclips land who cannot afford a reel to reel machine. And many of us are wondering; if you record yourself saying (for example) “All together now” ~ and then you replayed the tape backwards ~ what does it ACTUALLY, HONESTLY, TRUTHFULY, sound like you are saying?
Here is a hint to what I am getting at: ruclips.net/video/TOb0giGydZc/видео.html
I own a Teac A-4300SX so limited by size of reels... Looks like limited selections for smaller reels?
Delmark offers 7.5 IPS options. If you check Dave’s site too, he list all the folks providing tape. Of course there’s also many vintage tape options released on 7.5 IPS.
How often do you clean your tape machine, when did it last time has been serviced fully and has been used, and which parts must be replaced asap!!
Lots of questions here.
1) I clean the heads before and after each use.
2) I demagnetize the heads after about 6 hours of use
3) as far as “known to fail” items that should be immediately replaced? It depends on the machine which is why the FIRST step should be to get the machine evaluated by a tech before you buy it, or buy it already serviced from a tech. I can’t emphasize this enough! Good luck and happy hunting
I have a number of Revox A77s, a B77 and a large number of Scotch NAB reels. No, they are not worth the expense, the maintenance or the room needed to keep them. I do my own repairs and alignment, being a broadcast tech.
Thanks for watching and your feedback. Certainly they aren’t for everyone, but the sound can’t be beat. Cheers
ATR tapes are not available in Europe and advise you only use Recording The Masters brand blank tape, stay away from old used amped and Scotch tapes
Couldn’t agree more. I love RTM and they’re my preferred goto. I just wish they kept making SM468… luckily I have a small stockpile of it:)
Nice to see a video about tape. I have a TEAC A-3340S that needs some work so I rarely use it, but I have an AKAI 280D-SS that works great and I play it a few times a week. I have about 120 or so 7" reels and buy 7 1/2 IPS when I can find them, but in most cases even my 3 3/4 IPS tapes sound really good. It's hard to find anyone in the Tacoma area to work on the TEAC. Is there any 10" deck that plays all 3 speeds? Would love to hear your set up some day when I'm in the Berkeley area.
Thanks for your comments! I Would love to demo it for you. I actually have a TEAC A-3340S that I use in my vintage quad setup. It’s a killer machine. You should check with Curt, he’s pretty close to you and has a lot of experience with the A-3340
Oh and actually lots of higher end machines will play all four speeds, but the OTari will as well, you just have to throw a switch in the back of the machine.
@@JeffersonDD thanks, I'll look into it.
Also thumbs up for the Otari MX-5050BII-2.
And the TASCAM 42B.
Studer, AMPEX, or Marra: someday!
❤️
Thanks Walt! Great to hear from you!!
Do you think there is any chance new tapes will be released again at 7 1/2 ips speed ? My two tape decks do not run at 15 ips . I have Revox A77 mk iv 2 track and a Tandberg TD 20 a 1/ 4 track deck ?
I know Delmark offers 7.5 IPS and a few others as well. Check the Dave Deyner page in the description, there are a few more. Thanks for watching!
@@JeffersonDD Thanks for letting me know that . That's great news CHEERS !
All fallacies - not saying R2R isn’t great; but a really high end TT is going to surpass. Yes, Surpass, the same album on tape.
Tapes are EQ’ed as well. Tape machines have Lower dynamic range than a world-class TT (my TT setup is 80dB).
Tapes are copies of copies of copies of copies. Vinyl is 1-2 copies from the master. Every tape copy degrades the master by at least 2dB in dynamic range, adds noise, etc.
Fallacies? Agree to disagree. Tapes are EQed as well. Technically a correct statement but you don’t have the frequency compromises for the LP medium. Lack of channel separation for low frequencies, inner groove distortion, etc etc etc. Rapid SQ degradation with subsequent copies (and the 2dB drop off) are known issues, but it’s marginal at the UltraTape level which is usually a 1-2 off tops. In the case of Gillian Welch; it’s 1:1 off the master. The best LPs will still be a minimum 2 generations from the master, plus all the fathers / mothers stampers etc. each step contributing to the reduction in SQ. You of course have a very high performing (and beautiful) TT and setup. However it will NEVER match the clarity and performance of Stufio level tape playback. That tech can’t extract more info from the tape when it’s further away from the tape source. Perhaps you’ve never listened A/B Ed tape playback when it’s optimized? Finally, as Chad said, no component you can buy will get you closer to the music. Thanks for watching
I have both the Akai 747 with digital VU's and a nice Zenith HiFi VCR with adjustable levels......... I perfer the JVC made Zenith HiFi VCR,
Those HiFi VCRs had really good sound! Thanks for watching!
Yes, and I do love the analog tape!! Enjoyed the presentaion!@@JeffersonDD
Thumbs up for Curt Palme. 👍
We love Curte!! I’m not sure how he has time to work on machines when he’s always giving us free advice in the forums!
i have three revox B77 MKII 2 tracks high speed, and for the moment an akai g630d for 4 tracks, which i will replace for a 4 track revox B77 MKII, there aren't as solid as the otari MX5050 B2HD, but more available as well as spare part. .i think it's an overall affordable starting pro machinery today! Also very happy to see the reel to reel world gettings more new tape release, as chad which is known as one of the best vinyl producer out there get involved into it. Reel to reel have despite the spec the most pleasant sound that i could ever heard and this not only at 15 ips, even my studio pro sound card at 768khz can't sound so detailed, fine and dynamic! I don't regret the investment and I'm now convinced forever than analog is the way to go, even if digital can't be avoided totally due to cost at my level, ending on tape is for me the mandatory step Great job hope you and them the best! Long Life Analog!
Can you recommend a good machine for mixing/mastering, hopefully one that not insanely expensive? Im a mixer and would love to incorporate analog tape into my workflow, but I dont want to spend $30k on a machine, nor do I wanna buy a shitty one.
Thanks for your question. I answer a lot of it in the video, but in Short, a later Otari MX-5050 series (B2 HD or BIII) give good performance and are relatively inexpensive. More importantly have a good local tech who can evaluate it before you buy it. Thanks!
I have a pioneer RT909 in my system and I love it. Your rule #5 is paramount. It’s cool as fuck. But at my age, with my ears, I’ve got to be honest. the technical specs are lost on me. But I still love it.
That Pioneer is a really solid machine with great performance. I think no matter how old you are and hearing is, better sound is still better sound! Thanks for watching!
In most cases technical specs do not reflect the real performance of set. Looking at them is exciting because we imagine that we hear 20 kHz which we read but it is in most cases is not available even for best ears because is hidden below humps of speakers+amplifiera and killed by phase cancellations and irrelevant azimuth. Even to spot difference between 9kHz band and 12 kHz requiers lot of luck and knowledge in aligning everything and being aware about tweeters constructional problems. Many people complain about their ears but realy their even expensive system dumps quality.
I'm picking up my refurbished 909 next weekend. Saw a video of a 909 vs.like a 10k turntable and difference in body was easily discernable over youtube. Really I just bought it as an alternative to a turntable for my vintage system since the phono sucks on my Marantz receiver but line levels and tape inputs sound great. Going to splurge on a Zeppelin 4 and Abbey Road to hear the difference but mostly will be recording the few expensive/fragile curated albums I've gotten the last few years to play on my vintage system. Already have all the digital hires streaming, SACD, Bluray surround, etc. but I want pure analog as well. Wont be paying for any 400 tapes (except for maybe the Zep) but the 909 wouldn't play them anyway. If 7 1/2 is as good or a little better than album...I'll be plenty happy! Just hope these old tapes still work
@@davidwald2938enjoy recording! Just make sure you use good tape stock for recording. I suspect at 7 1/2, your LPs will sound great, possible perceptively better if you push the signal into mild saturation. Enjoy
Having produced music over the last 30 years, back in the day tape hiss was a necessary evil. Dbx could sometimes help but had its own set of issues. I currently have three reel-to-reel machines and at one time owned lots of 7.5 IPS pre-recorded in addition to high speed Studio Masters. When I'm working on a recording I am always listening for problems among 50 other things. That's why LP's are only marginally enjoyable for me and I have a very high-end collection of Japanese vinyl. As said in this video, ticks and Pops take me out of the moment. So I say use digital and Tube/transformer the hell out of it. SACD/CD for me streaming may cut it someday but not yet
Thanks for your insight! I sometimes encounter DBX encoded stuff, however I’ve never bought a decoder / encoder since I have friends that do and can make me dubs. I agree streaming has a way to go. Digital is always gonna be more convenient, but to me at least, tape is the most satisfying. Thanks for watching!
On my Nagra Reference TT and HD Phono, there are No Ticks and No Pops. If you hear these on a nice record you don’t have a great TT setup.
I've owned the Teac 2300 SD and Revox B 77 both setup for the Grandmaster 456 Tape, and Scotch 206/207. I could get 456, for 7 bucks/7 inch, 1800ft, 1 mil tape reels from Tapeworld back in the day. But today I dub CD's in real Time, free from the libraries around me via an ancient Magnavox CD player with digital out to a Tascam CD recorder's digital in, included in the playback loop an Audio Note Kit DAC. Works for me. I look periodically at the prices for USED tape and NO THANKS on the prices. The new custom built machines are pure beauty, but I'm not into taking out a mortgage to own one.
Hi Scott thanks for watching!! I’m glad your setup is still working for you. Of course that 456 is known for SSS and probably isn’t a good tape to use these days. Regardless, it doesn’t take a mortgage to get a serviceable machine, but there are a lot of sharks out there, so always good to educate yourself as much as possible! Take care!
Otari MX5050 1000 bucks ? I wish. I’ve been browsing for a B3 for years and one that is newly serviced to the max goes for 3000-4500 easy!
I still believe it’s doable but probably not the best cosmetically. Please check with Curte Palme @reeltoreeltech.com. He might can help you out
@@JeffersonDD ok thanks! On a side note I am sort of in the tape world. My fathers friend gifted me his TEAC X1000R when he sold his house and down sized. He hadn’t used it in years but was on “display” in his living room so it wasn’t in some moldy basement. Anyway, I had to get serviced. Mostly it needed a new belt. It worked great but after 1 1/2 years it stopped working a few months ago! Frustrating! Maybe the belt broke again?!
I accepted this gift gladly from him but the major negative was that it only plays up to 7.5 IPS so I am unable to get any of the audiophile tapes at 15! Really want that MX5050 B3!
@@manganzon81 good luck and be patient, I suspect you’ll get one eventually
Tape and Vinyl ? Lets A-B plugin's to tape ! Can you tell ? Fantasy thanks for the business !
Thanks for watching! I’m not a studio guy so I don’t use plug-ins. I know there’s a lot of folks who claim one or another is superior. All I know is you can’t get a UA Box to spin in a mesmerizing way😜. Thanks for watching!
Didn’t you just get de-monetized for using Washed Out’s “Feel It All Around” for your intro? Anyway, cool video. I’ve got 2 reel to reels - an Akai GX-747 DBX and an Akai GX-4000 D. Both fantastic decks!
Yes wonderful decks! Make sure you get those notorious resistors on the Akai replaced and those will be singing! I have no idea about monetization, but I’m riffing on Portlandia theme for Tubelandia:)
i have a pioneer 909 auto reverse record and playback. i bought it new in the late 70's. and a box of 10 maxell 10' tapes. i use it with a dbx noise reduction. i have not used them in about fifteen years. do you know of any good service shops in the southeast usa. i live in south mississippi. not any hear.
As for the Joe Pass, IPI should have opted to put out "The Complete Catch Me Sessions", which has 11 tracks, rather than the original, with 7. --I think they still could have got it all on one reel.
As I recall I had a Blue Note compilation of this and it was across two LPs. Plus I think IPI likes to do sampler style releases for a lot of their stuff
Generally, what are the sources used to record the tapes? Of course if the source is digital, the tape is pointless. Should the source be original analog, there are the replay/duplication degradation factors.
@@williambyrne6855 its a little all over the map, in terms of sources, and in terms of commercial releases it depends on the vendor. In terms of the degregation issues, you’re right but there are ways to mitigate the most negative effects (ie; dubbing backwards, “bumping up from 1/4” 15 IPS to 1/2” 30 IPS, etc.). However as in all things, the source material has to be up to snuff, or the dubs won’t be so great.
@@JeffersonDD Appreciated. Should I discover anything interesting, I'll drop a note.
hi to all
you can have a deck that is working when you have it note and when you are using it it can get bad
i know the decks like the teac 44 i picked up is still working ok and a teac 80-8
the 1/4 inch decks alot have for sell have alot of wear for the money the 1/2 inch decks i have find are better
for my money
Thanks for your comments and thank you for watching!
I hate when sellers don't include pictures of the tape-heads. They also always state that it has been recently overhauled by a "qualified technician". Usually that means you have to change the heads, pinch roller, belts, correcting bias, rec levels, playback levels, brake adjustments, and other stuff the so-called "qualified technician" has laid his hands on. I rather buy an unserviced machine than a messed up one.
Yeah I know, there are SO MANY people out there trying to rip you off. That why I recommend finding a good tech first and THEN look for machines
@@JeffersonDD I am a tech, but when buying a machine from another country, it's not so easy to get it checked out. Anyway, I think I have all the recorders I will ever need, so I don't think I will buy another one. Restoring is pretty costly too with overpriced parts on Ebay etc.
Funktional Technologies • Brooklyn NY • Sales & Refurbishing Tape Machines since 1980
Thanks for watching! I believe I heard about you guys recently. Yall sell a lot of refurbed Otaris, correct?
I've got a shirt like that
Hmmm. The Atari looks good turning behind you, VU meters and all. Is there no Chinese company knocking out just that? It would fool most people (and more importantly, me).
Well the Otari is made in Japan so there’s that! Thanks for watching!!!
@@JeffersonDD Thanks for putting me right on O instead of A. Now I'm on the hunt and I'll be checking out my local E-waste recyler shop - because that's where I get my gear.
@@SubTroppogood luck!! 🤞 you find one!!
I'm curious: What is the soure tape or music source for these reel to reel tape producers? Is it all analog? Thank you
Yeah, that's a good question, specially after the MoFi fiasco.
I record my tapes myself so that they are exactly same as original sound (or better - no problem) and use just all my collection of CD. LP and cassettes as source. I cant even imagine better quality than this because with playing again original and from tape I find tape nearer to ideal due to more care in connections and levels of signal. . No matter if it is CD or cassette or LP - it is not possible to recognize if only no cracks interfere (usualy do not)
Well, that makes a lot of sense.
I know tape can sound very good, but what source are people recording from? If it is from digital, then we’re using tape to add colour the sound, Right?
Well if you don't want to pay around 300-400$ per album you are right, a high -res digital file, preferably without added (dynamics) compression is often the way to go. And yes it adds colouration, but that depends which deck you are using. The better the deck is the less colouration will be added. There are also old commercial tapes from back in the day, but i can't recommend getting them, as they were copied (like cassettes) at high speed and often at the lower playback speed 3 3/4 IPS on 4-track, these are more for collectors then audiophiles.
Stay away from any so-called "master tape copies" If they are not from reputable sellers. E-bay has a lof of them fake ones. Often those are straight CD copies. A nice print of the LP cover stuck on front and on the back you'll see that the box is a normal consumer tape re-utilized.
If you get a master reel to reel deck ($2500) and master tapes, then yes. Standard deck and tapes, not worth it.
Hi Carl thanks for watching; I was gearing the video towards audiophile R2R (15 IPS). Lower speeds are more a novelty but can still sound good
Yeah the inner city areas of your "Republic" are doing just great lately aren't they, "comrade"
yes the sony tc range are bad i had to jazz 3 of them to get them to run right
tascam 30 danger be where i worked on alot the power regs can go on them there a 24v step down reg
that goe's the run the capstan motor if you buy a tascam 30 line please check the capstan imotor is not
getting 37v dc where the 24v dc was going in this why capstan motors can burn out
why it's good to have a tec check them over in the uk it's 60 uk a hr the best price i have seen
at this price they work from home
i have a otari mtr 12 purrs like my cat only plays now bad coil can't find a one
I give all my reels to the homeless
Hell go into LP albums its waaaaay cheaper
hi to all new bee's please keep away from reel to reel i am a tec they are time bomb ready to go of
and getting them fixed is a right pain i am a tec i have worked on 50 plus decks and now betacam sp
decks 1/4 inch tape is bad news wee now why the ill thing i have seen on alot of old master tapes
i have picked up alot of zonal 1/2 i inch runs nice
Lol, greatful for being a musician. Playback is playback in the end of the day.
Thanks for watching!
Wow, no wonder you listen to analog media, you cannot even detect how horribly over compressed and distorted the introduction music in your video is..
Hugh masakela is amazing lp I can't imagine how good it sounds on reel to reel
The dynamics are off the chart!! It’s a great album anyway, but the tape really elevates it
Hi friend, could you change the name of your channel because it's causing problems on my RUclips channel called tubeland and I've had that name for a long time and all my accounts have that name so your channel is disturbing mine, change the name to please🙏🙏🙏
Na verdade esse canal ja existe ha dez anos....
How about this. You change the name of your channel this is the older account.
And this account has double the subscribers, so I think you should change your name……friend.
Thanks guys!!