It’s wonderfully reassuring to see one’s master tapes being handled so well. I’m a big fan of Studer studio machines for that reason. I no longer use tape but when I did the Studer was always my first choice, generally 800 multitrack.
Is there a size between 10½ and 14 Inch? As far as I can see a 14' reel takes twice the amount of tape that a 10½' does and for the rest of the reel system right from 3' to 10½' it alternates so that every second size of reel has the double amount of tape.
There are also 12” reels but I think they are less common, 14” is ultimately more useful once 30ips became popular as then you got the same recording time you would on a 10.5” reel at 15IPS - more suitable to having a full album side at that speed. Or an entire album at a more typical 15ips. My understanding is that the masters for both sides of Dark Side of The Moon are currently stored on one 14” reel
I got my broken A820 one month ago. After half month's struggle to trace the problem, the faults was located: two gold fingers developed a gap so they were virtually open; one MS7524 IC was broken too. I also fixed a problem with position adjustment mechanism by arc welding. Now it works beautifully. Do you have the most up to date firmwares for Mk-I? Mine is 38/86. Is it possible to upgrade it to 06/89? How?
The A820 is a complex machine, I have fixed a fair few now and have to say, having a second machine is very helpful in quick fault finding ( though done it the hard way too), not sure how you update the software without taking the EPROMS out and putting them into a writer connected to a PC.
Cheers, I have watched your videos with interest, the funny thing is with the digital machines and the Studers, I find them much easier to fix than the early valve machines, thank you for your comments.
Sorry... but, for the money honey, I'll take my Studer a807any day. I'm very happy with it. I bought it just about 3 years ago for about $4000.00, that's buck-a-roo$. It operates flawlessly (after a little TLC). Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have an 820. Most of all I'd love to own a J-37 because of the 50 + tubes.
The A807 is an awesome machine, took me ages to get a VU model with the original side panels, have had a couple of J37’s but sold them, got a couple C37’s though, fit my collection better. This video is very old and I think I have had 6 A820’s since, down to 2 now ( a ¼ inch and ½ Inch), a few years ago they were much easier to find ( you don’t want to know how much I paid for the one in this video😉 )
Why in the world did you get rid of your J37’s????!!!! Do you like the sound quality of an A820 better than the legendary J37? I find the sound quality of tubes to be much more superior to solid state. I know the A820 has more bells & whistles, but I’m just talking about the sound quality.
@@steelcantuna The J37 doesnt fit my collection, but I do have a few C37's, in fact, the two machines connected to my main HIFI are the A820 and C37. As to which is better? its a matter of taste really, thats why I use both.
Thank you for your kind comments, the A820 is a fantastic machine, I would love to find a D820 as well, I have the Sony DASH machine which has a SN of 00002 ! I love your collection, you have some very interesting machines.
FYI - AEG is Anschutz Entertainment Group. NAB is National Association of Broadcasters. Like AEG, NAB is known by it's individual letters, N A B not as a word [nab]
Cheers! the A816 I have not had yet and would probably only get one if it comes up cheap as it does not have a meter bridge, quality difference? I couldnt comment, prices of these machines? they can be from £2000 - £7000
An amazing machine. Is just a piece of art!!! the desig is just amazing: mechanisms, heads, motors, syncs, electronics, etc. Is just perfect. Unfortunately, digital recordings is now the standard. Do you know the price of this machine when new? Is from 1980's?
... Studer Engineer had a headache when they sow an ATR100 playing a tape mounted on sqare reels at AES convention in NY in 1976 ;-) Who knows if the digital (and conventional) servo used in the A820 can match with an ATR100...
Variable speed is a good thing to have especially when a tape was recorded from a record player that played a little fast or a slightly slow tape transport with the tape being recorded on.
hi the otari mtr 12 can do the same tricks to play in back play as well and i have set of 1/2 inch head blocks as well and 1/8 tape block never use the rew ff only spool button it rip the tape rew ff are to powerfull full track mono i used to make test full track tape for cassette's i have a DP2700 deck
Cheers for the comments, I would love a M20 / M21 with meter bridge when one comes up, as fro dropping the analogue machines? well thats progress, they are a nighmare to edit with compared to a PC
you are so lucky to own such equipment, i would love to own a Revox B series or a Teac or even a Technics machine, i worked in hifi for a number of years but could never afford a machine. Sold loads of cheaper end Sony machines quiet a few Teac 3340 four track and quiet a few Revox A77 happy days nothing like a 10.5 inch reel on full rewind. Where does one look in the UK to find a clean working machine can anyone let me know. Cheers hifi friends.
Seblington Greetings Question ! I will be looking for a Revox B77 7.5-15 ips machine soon any advice where to look can you help ?? can we natter on email cheers Steve
Nice unit, I have his brother D820X DASH format, extremely complex because of its digital processing electronics fully wire wrapped and making use of general purpose TTL IC's TTL IC's and a lot of GAL's, PAL's and PROM's. However I don't hink it can work as here * (search for "Ampex ATR100 - Ooooh" on youtube), keeping its W&F in specs. @30 IPS :-) Continues...
otari mtr 12 12'5 max the only tape deck that you find as a fix up deck is a scull 280-14 i am working on one jazz up /pimp up deck it's a tascam 38 parts left of from doing alot of tascam 38 decks it's the kg's of the reels full is the same as a full 1/2 spool full been very lucky i am a tec as well
As great as those machines are (and I've worked with them before), I'd really be hesitant putting a three or five inch reel of tape on one side, and a 10.5 inch metal takeup reel on the other. I'd be very afraid of the machines handling of the tape with those awkward differences. Nice video, though. Enjoy the machine. I'd love to have one but have nowhere that kind of money!
Its not a great practice to mismatch reels, for example, if I was to fast rewind to the 3” reel then stop, the weight of the 14" reel may cause over spool, though the machine does recognise this and stops without damaging the tape. But for this video, it demonstrates it can, and quite successfully, even in wind (Library mode), showing great tape handling capabilities, but yes, its good practice to have matched sizes, and in most cases, not to use reels with smaller hubs than the spool hub (something which is apparent in the A820’s setup where it asks what size hub you have, it doesn’t list super small ones).
Try to wind an Ampex tape at such high speeds in a bobby platter or in a disassembled NAB spool with only the lower plate and you will see what happens... I'm used to work with only one NAB reel face, the hubs and pancakes, but only when I use BASF tape. Ampex tape shows an annoying trend to unevenly winding at high speeds, thats why one turn tends to stay not exactly over the precedent, but slightly above or below, may doing spitting the tape out with those well-known aftermaths (i know them).
Studer, Harmon, Revox are they all the same company?, by the way that is one piece art. cd is so boring, you cant beat a reel to reel, and a turntable.
The best? The transport is arguably, along with the Ampex ATR-100 series, the best at handling tape. But the whole machine, including its record and playback electronics is NOT the best SOUNDING, not even near it. Why? IMO, the use of dozens of opamps in the audio chain, mostly the ubiquitous 5532/5534 series. Not the worst opamp ever for sure, but there are tape electronics using discrete electronics that sound better. And sounding great should be the major goal of a high-end tape recorder, right? The A80 series using discrete electronics was probably Studer’s high-water mark. All the subsequent machines are buckets of opamps. And never mind the sound advantages of the tube machines such as the glorious C37/J37. At the end of the day, the goal of the transport is to slide the tape across the heads with minimal wow and flutter. The 820 does this extremely well, but several other more modest machines do it well enough too. The contribution of the transport to sound quality among top machines is less than the contribution of their audio electronics. Believe it or not, a well-set-up Crown machine, such as a CX-822, will sound more vivid, punchy, dynamic and alive, while remaining smooth and easy to listen to. With not one opamp in sight. The secret is in the audio electronics. To me the ideal machine would be an A820 transport with custom made electronics, maybe even using tubes (gasp!).
The Studer A816 is the best Studer ever made........................or the best they sold.................because it was actually AEG Telefunken that made it.
Not sure on that as I do own both, I certainly prefer the A820, the transport is much better than the A812 but they both share the same heads and rec / repro cards. Build wise the A812 is a modified beefy A810, bigger reels, bigger driving amps and more computerised but mechanically very similar to the older A810, I found both the A810 and A812 can stretch the tape. I thought Studer acquired Telefunken and designs of the M20 series where used after the A810, I did not think Telefunken built it, I could be wrong but if you know of any information on the web regarding that I would be glad to see it.
Sorry, my bad, I haven’t had an A816 yet thought I do want one, it’s a shame it never came with a meter bridge. Did Telefunken build it or had Studer acquired Tekefunken and its design was influenced by Telefunken technology? Never heard of anyone building Studer machines but Studer.
In vain you pass the cords through the heads, they contain glue that sits on the heads, while the quality of the records drops sharply. This glue is difficult to remove with alcohol. Always cut out glue traces. Sorry for my english, i don't american. Напрасно пропускаете через головки ракорды, на них содержится клей, который садится на головки, при этом качество записей резко падает. Этот клей трудно выводится спиртом. Всегда вырезайте ракорды со следами клея.
Hello, no worries :-) I think I get what you mean, certain tape such as Ampex 406 and 456 suffer from the glue on the tape comes off and gets stuck not only to the heads but the tape transport, slowing or stopping the machine transport and making the reproduction very poor. The best solution to this is use either new tape or BASF professional 468 or 911
Well they were not for a person as such, they were designed for large studios, according to BAUCH in the UK, they only sold 16 machines, 2 went to Abbey road,the BBC didn't buy any from them and opted for the Nagra T as a cheaper alternative as the A820 at the time cost £45,000 !
It’s wonderfully reassuring to see one’s master tapes being handled so well. I’m a big fan of Studer studio machines for that reason. I no longer use tape but when I did the Studer was always my first choice, generally 800 multitrack.
Beautiful machine, you must feel lucky to own it!
This is by far the best, the most complete, the most professional machine I've seen so far.
My God that's GORGEOUS!!!!! 😍😍 absolute PRECISION MACHINERY!!!!
Only one word : Perfect Machine !!! Thanks Mr Willy Studer ( Rip ) Really !! Merci Beaucoup ....
Tak powinna wyglądać prezentacja .
Piękny sprzęt pięknie opisany .
Stuart you lucky lucky man - wanted one of these for years.....
1st time I heard of 14 inch reels. I've always thought it stopped at 10.5 inches. Interesting. Nice piece.
I have a 807 and a80R, this machine is the lord of the land
Nice, what a beautiful machine.
Fantastic !! Beautiful machine !!
wow that speed was super high! jet engine
Very nice video, very nice explanations
Beautiful Machine!
Is there a size between 10½ and 14 Inch? As far as I can see a 14' reel takes twice the amount of tape that a 10½' does and for the rest of the reel system right from 3' to 10½' it alternates so that every second size of reel has the double amount of tape.
There are also 12” reels but I think they are less common, 14” is ultimately more useful once 30ips became popular as then you got the same recording time you would on a 10.5” reel at 15IPS - more suitable to having a full album side at that speed. Or an entire album at a more typical 15ips. My understanding is that the masters for both sides of Dark Side of The Moon are currently stored on one 14” reel
An amazing video, what a beautiful tape recorder!
simply beautiful and over engineered!
I got my broken A820 one month ago. After half month's struggle to trace the problem, the faults was located: two gold fingers developed a gap so they were virtually open; one MS7524 IC was broken too. I also fixed a problem with position adjustment mechanism by arc welding. Now it works beautifully. Do you have the most up to date firmwares for Mk-I? Mine is 38/86. Is it possible to upgrade it to 06/89? How?
The A820 is a complex machine, I have fixed a fair few now and have to say, having a second machine is very helpful in quick fault finding ( though done it the hard way too), not sure how you update the software without taking the EPROMS out and putting them into a writer connected to a PC.
Cheers, I have watched your videos with interest, the funny thing is with the digital machines and the Studers, I find them much easier to fix than the early valve machines, thank you for your comments.
Sorry... but, for the money honey, I'll take my Studer a807any day. I'm very happy with it. I bought it just about 3 years ago for about $4000.00, that's buck-a-roo$. It operates flawlessly (after a little TLC). Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have an 820. Most of all I'd love to own a J-37 because of the 50 + tubes.
The A807 is an awesome machine, took me ages to get a VU model with the original side panels, have had a couple of J37’s but sold them, got a couple C37’s though, fit my collection better. This video is very old and I think I have had 6 A820’s since, down to 2 now ( a ¼ inch and ½ Inch), a few years ago they were much easier to find ( you don’t want to know how much I paid for the one in this video😉 )
Why in the world did you get rid of your J37’s????!!!! Do you like the sound quality of an A820 better than the legendary J37? I find the sound quality of tubes to be much more superior to solid state. I know the A820 has more bells & whistles, but I’m just talking about the sound quality.
@@steelcantuna The J37 doesnt fit my collection, but I do have a few C37's, in fact, the two machines connected to my main HIFI are the A820 and C37. As to which is better? its a matter of taste really, thats why I use both.
Thank you for your kind comments, the A820 is a fantastic machine, I would love to find a D820 as well, I have the Sony DASH machine which has a SN of 00002 ! I love your collection, you have some very interesting machines.
I fell in love already
Very well put, it *is* the best recorder out there.
I won't die without having one of these...
Stuart
Great video and looks a great open reel to reel - great find
Warmest regards
Richard
Thanks, it looks even better now I have replaced themissing cosmetics and such, fantastic machines
Very nice machine
So, how does an A827 compare to this ... is this a stereo mix-down machine, whereas A827s are all multitrack?
Amazing... not words..
Thank you :-)
amazing video , beautiful machine
FYI - AEG is Anschutz Entertainment Group. NAB is National Association of Broadcasters. Like AEG, NAB is known by it's individual letters, N A B not as a word [nab]
Cheers! the A816 I have not had yet and would probably only get one if it comes up cheap as it does not have a meter bridge, quality difference? I couldnt comment, prices of these machines? they can be from £2000 - £7000
An amazing machine. Is just a piece of art!!! the desig is just amazing: mechanisms, heads, motors, syncs, electronics, etc. Is just perfect. Unfortunately, digital recordings is now the standard. Do you know the price of this machine when new? Is from 1980's?
I love this machine
Great video as always!!! How does it compare to the A816? That's quite a rare one isn't it? How much do the A820 quarter tracks go fo approx?
That really is a beast of a machine! I have to say I'm a little jealus of all those nice R2Rs you have.
Харошая машина! Мячта всей жизни! Super maschinen!!!
Nicely done. Thank you.
...
Studer Engineer had a headache when they sow an ATR100 playing a tape mounted on sqare reels at AES convention in NY in 1976 ;-)
Who knows if the digital (and conventional) servo used in the A820 can match with an ATR100...
3:33 I almost shit my pants hahaha
I wish I could afford to buy a couple of those, and a Nagra T.
Cheers, long time in the searching for this machine.
who made that piece of music at the end? i LOVE that!
i am not sure if it did, but if that was played back on this tape recorder, it sounds AWESOME!
Variable speed is a good thing to have especially when a tape was recorded from a record player that played a little fast or a slightly slow tape transport with the tape being recorded on.
14"... Maybe I'll have big boy toys someday 🤣
Omg my uncle used to have a machine like this and the part at 3.34 would give me a semi
Have 2 pieces with 1/2 tape and the works really good but there are other machines the will work on the same level
hi the otari mtr 12 can do the same tricks to play in back play as well and i have set of 1/2 inch head blocks as well and 1/8 tape block never use the rew ff only spool button it rip the tape
rew ff are to powerfull full track mono i used to make test full track tape for cassette's
i have a DP2700 deck
you have the services manuals?
Damn, that puppy is fast in FF
wow 14 inch that's biggest I ever herd of. how much does it cost get one ? I have Sony t TC 270 7 inch from 1972 it still works great
Right now (August 2017) there is one on ebay for $22,000.
@@donpayette7062 wow thats a lot
Great videos/channel! Thank you! :)
So cool I am going to get one soon or later
Analogue at its best.... no bit rate, no sampling rate... just pure signal
This machine is 800 watt, the digital version is 1200 watt, the 1/2 inch version is 1000 watt and yes, my electric bill is high :-
)
you can keep warm in winter)))
Cheers for the comments, I would love a M20 / M21 with meter bridge when one comes up, as fro dropping the analogue machines? well thats progress, they are a nighmare to edit with compared to a PC
seb what is the track at the end?
Not the best anymore but nice to see these vintage machines.
Can people scratch on these like a DJ?
you are so lucky to own such equipment, i would love to own a Revox B series or a Teac or even a Technics machine, i worked in hifi for a number of years but could never afford a machine. Sold loads of cheaper end Sony machines quiet a few Teac 3340 four track and quiet a few Revox A77 happy days nothing like a 10.5 inch reel on full rewind. Where does one look in the UK to find a clean working machine can anyone let me know. Cheers hifi friends.
Cheers for your kind comments :)
Seblington Greetings Question ! I will be looking for a Revox B77 7.5-15 ips machine soon any advice where to look can you help ?? can we natter on email cheers Steve
Thank you very much, need to make some more videos :-)
Nice unit, I have his brother D820X DASH format, extremely complex because of its digital processing electronics fully wire wrapped and making use of general purpose TTL IC's TTL IC's and a lot of GAL's, PAL's and PROM's. However I don't hink it can work as here * (search for "Ampex ATR100 - Ooooh" on youtube), keeping its W&F in specs. @30 IPS :-)
Continues...
You're one of the very few I've seen that uses leader tape.
otari mtr 12 12'5 max the only tape deck that you find as a fix up deck is a scull 280-14
i am working on one jazz up /pimp up deck it's a tascam 38 parts left of from doing alot
of tascam 38 decks
it's the kg's of the reels full is the same as a full 1/2 spool full
been very lucky i am a tec as well
As great as those machines are (and I've worked with them before), I'd really be hesitant putting a three or five inch reel of tape on one side, and a 10.5 inch metal takeup reel on the other. I'd be very afraid of the machines handling of the tape with those awkward differences.
Nice video, though. Enjoy the machine. I'd love to have one but have nowhere that kind of money!
Its not a great practice to mismatch reels, for example, if I was to fast rewind to the 3” reel then stop, the weight of the 14" reel may cause over spool, though the machine does recognise this and stops without damaging the tape. But for this video, it demonstrates it can, and quite successfully, even in wind (Library mode), showing great tape handling capabilities, but yes, its good practice to have matched sizes, and in most cases, not to use reels with smaller hubs than the spool hub (something which is apparent in the A820’s setup where it asks what size hub you have, it doesn’t list super small ones).
Nice! :) JC
those fw and rwd speeds are scary,,,
Try to wind an Ampex tape at such high speeds in a bobby platter or in a disassembled NAB spool with only the lower plate and you will see what happens... I'm used to work with only one NAB reel face, the hubs and pancakes, but only when I use BASF tape. Ampex tape shows an annoying trend to unevenly winding at high speeds, thats why one turn tends to stay not exactly over the precedent, but slightly above or below, may doing spitting the tape out with those well-known aftermaths (i know them).
A recording studio offered me the machine and so I brougth it, hard to find these in the UK
OMG..this awesome machine weighs..91kg..? wow
3:32 it takes off. ^^
Hello, you think I am lucky? I have brought another 5 of these! I plan to sell 3 on if you are interested but they are rather expensive.
Showwwwwwwww!!!! Fantastic
Bad ass!!!
Japanese Otaris are great too and dont forget soviet made MEZ
❤❤❤❤
Pancakes are awesome. No need to pay extra $100.
Даже на таком дорогущем аппарате, сделано по принципу: необходимо и достаточно, а жаль...,
PER-555 ? ... nice
Studer, Harmon, Revox are they all the same company?, by the way that is one piece art. cd is so boring, you cant beat a reel to reel, and a turntable.
Wow...!
Lucky you
Gorgeous
The best? The transport is arguably, along with the Ampex ATR-100 series, the best at handling tape. But the whole machine, including its record and playback electronics is NOT the best SOUNDING, not even near it. Why? IMO, the use of dozens of opamps in the audio chain, mostly the ubiquitous 5532/5534 series. Not the worst opamp ever for sure, but there are tape electronics using discrete electronics that sound better. And sounding great should be the major goal of a high-end tape recorder, right? The A80 series using discrete electronics was probably Studer’s high-water mark. All the subsequent machines are buckets of opamps. And never mind the sound advantages of the tube machines such as the glorious C37/J37.
At the end of the day, the goal of the transport is to slide the tape across the heads with minimal wow and flutter. The 820 does this extremely well, but several other more modest machines do it well enough too. The contribution of the transport to sound quality among top machines is less than the contribution of their audio electronics.
Believe it or not, a well-set-up Crown machine, such as a CX-822, will sound more vivid, punchy, dynamic and alive, while remaining smooth and easy to listen to. With not one opamp in sight. The secret is in the audio electronics.
To me the ideal machine would be an A820 transport with custom made electronics, maybe even using tubes (gasp!).
i own 3 Otari's and a teac, would trade two of the Otari's for a clean Studer all day long
I too have several OTARI machines, they are awesome.
Это круто!
The Studer A816 is the best Studer ever made........................or the best they sold.................because it was actually AEG Telefunken that made it.
Not sure on that as I do own both, I certainly prefer the A820, the transport is much better than the A812 but they both share the same heads and rec / repro cards. Build wise the A812 is a modified beefy A810, bigger reels, bigger driving amps and more computerised but mechanically very similar to the older A810, I found both the A810 and A812 can stretch the tape. I thought Studer acquired Telefunken and designs of the M20 series where used after the A810, I did not think Telefunken built it, I could be wrong but if you know of any information on the web regarding that I would be glad to see it.
Seblington : I said .... 816.......
Not 812.
therecorderman.com/en/img/A816/A816-l.jpg
ruclips.net/video/rBp8Py69AcE/видео.html
Sorry, my bad, I haven’t had an A816 yet thought I do want one, it’s a shame it never came with a meter bridge. Did Telefunken build it or had Studer acquired Tekefunken and its design was influenced by Telefunken technology? Never heard of anyone building Studer machines but Studer.
그림으로 하나 갖고싶다
German engineering at its best
3:33 fast forward. yeh!
In vain you pass the cords through the heads, they contain glue that sits on the heads, while the quality of the records drops sharply. This glue is difficult to remove with alcohol. Always cut out glue traces. Sorry for my english, i don't american.
Напрасно пропускаете через головки ракорды, на них содержится клей, который садится на головки, при этом качество записей резко падает. Этот клей трудно выводится спиртом. Всегда вырезайте ракорды со следами клея.
Hello, no worries :-) I think I get what you mean, certain tape such as Ampex 406 and 456 suffer from the glue on the tape comes off and gets stuck not only to the heads but the tape transport, slowing or stopping the machine transport and making the reproduction very poor. The best solution to this is use either new tape or BASF professional 468 or 911
@@Seblington Hail, I don’t bother about tapes, I just cut the records from all coils (reel), and there are no problems.
красата
Nice but I think I'll keep my Otari MTR-15 it's still a better deck maybe the best deck
Those must had been used by a very rich person to play music on them regularely.
Well they were not for a person as such, they were designed for large studios, according to BAUCH in the UK, they only sold 16 machines, 2 went to Abbey road,the BBC didn't buy any from them and opted for the Nagra T as a cheaper alternative as the A820 at the time cost £45,000 !
THOSE BIG MACHINES HAVE A PRICE. MASTER MIXER. BEN LIEBRAND HAS A BIG TAPE MACHINE. AND HE TALKS. THAT FOR THE PRICE YOU CAN BUY A CAR.
*very* jealous.
How can you call it PROGRESS if things goes worse!?We already lived our best times
Апаратище
where can you get 14inch reels now?