Need advice about reel to reel tapes found in an attic

The most interesting thing [to myself] is the mention of Capitol Radio shows/recordings.
It was London's FM radio service.
The rest of the country only had BBC AM Radio stations.
Capitol had interesting Live broadcasts,which due to the technology of the time [no Hi-fi's with integrated Tape decks] weren't able to be easily recorded.
I guess the original taper must have found a way to connect the R2R to the radio to record them.

 

Im sorry the photos are large but i do not know how to make them smaller heres just a few of the tapes
Many Thanks
Amanda

 

Just an update, we are having some of these transferred on weds onto cd, i shall keep you all updated once this is done, at least we shall know what is on them soon,
Many Thanks
amanda

 

It looks like they may all be EMI tape so likely won't need baking which is good, the Beatles tapes don't have any additional information filled in which to me suggests they are more likely home recordings from vinyl whereas the tapes with the information filled out are most likely direct copies from masters of some description, even at 7 1/2 ips they should sound great and will appeal to anybody with a nice tape deck who likes the bands.

Any information on the big reels?

 

We have decided to take one of those, as we are curious as whats on them, i have selected 6 reels to take for now, and keeping both feet on the ground, my son will post whats on them well extracts here for me so the members can hear, but if theres any preference we would like to know as we can always change our choice
Many thanks
Amanda

 

My suggestion would be at least one of the Beatles, just to confirm whether it's from vinyl or tape and then 2 or 3 of the bigger names such as that Bryan Ferry, again this will hopefully confirm that those tapes have what they say on them and that they are dubs from a master, then the large reels as they may well be more important and also may be recorded at 15 ips, or they could just be a really long radio show, either way if everything else is as described I think you can assume they all are and save yourself the large cost of transferring them all. I'm enjoying this thread and look forward to some answers soon Amanda.

 

We did choose one Beatles one, Elton John, Elvis, Bryan Ferry, ( Gallagher and lyle or Stevie Wonder or one of the Top of the Pops one) and a large reel to take, once these are done, i think we need to take the ones that are not in the boxes to see what is on those at a later date, i do like the idea that when these are being done, i am able to be there and listen, this has been a very interesting experience for me, as i have really learnt a lot
Many Thanks
Amanda

 

I'd go Stevie Wonder and Top Of The Pops instead of Bryan Ferry, just because if they are from tapes they will be more valuable than the Ferry, I didn't notice Stevie in the pics, is it an album?

 

Good luck with the tapes.
I hope they turn up some rare gems.
You could have them just as digital WAV files instead of CD's and save yourself some money.

 

That one maybe under one of the piles Dubmart, as i did pile a few up, we could not get all in the photo, and we also had some still in the container they are kept in, thank you for your suggestions,
Many Thanks
Amanda

 

Thank you Quadboy for this info, i shall mention that, well im keeping both feet on the ground at the moment, i just want to know what is on them.
Many Thanks
Amanda

 

Can you show a pic of the Elvis tape? That may help in many ways, since Elvis was never in England except once for a quick flight change in 1958*, and UK only ever got US RCA copy masters which I can take a great guess at by seeing that tape box. The other tapes may have similar sources and have been made for similar intentions, whatever that was.

(*There's a ridiculous rumor of a secret 1960 visit to London)

 

I believe the client used to party with Elvis in his youth, i shall take a photo over the weekend as they are kept in storage, i am interested in that reel to reel also
Many Thanks
Amanda

 

All these tracks appear on The Beatles 1967-1970, most of them in the same running order:

Tape on the left: Back in the USSR to Old brown shoe: LP 2 full side A; then the last two tracks of LP 2 side B (Across the universe and The long and winding road)

Tape on the right: final track of LP 1 side B (Revolution), then Strawberry fields to All you need is love: LP1 full side A; then (I'm the Walrus) LP1 side B, the first track

Hope this turns into something valuable though, best wishes to Amanda246

 

Amanda said she's going along, so assuming she has a reliable USB 3 portable hard drive I'd just get the high res transfers onto the drive, I assume nobody charges more for doing 24/96 transfers these days and they should charge a little less for not having to provide physical copies.

 

Hi, just an update, We went with the reels of our choice, the large ones are Tony Hancock, and the others that we took are what they say on the boxes so whats on box is whats on the reels.
We sat and listened to the ones that we took, but due to the person being busy they could only transfer one reel for us today, so we got one of the Handcock ones done on CD, what contained 2 shows on the one reel, but we have plans to return next week with the Beatles ones and so forth, We could of left them there for a month but i was reluctant to do this, That is why we are willing to take a couple a week to get transfered to cd, so we are present when these are done. I do have some questions to ask about a Beatles ones we took, so anyone willing to help please let me know as this is baffling me a little
Many thanks
Amanda

 

I just find it curious that the creator of the reels would list producer/engineer on the boxes if they were merely needledrops of official releases.

 

Hi Quadboy, we could hear no needle being dropped, i must admit i did enjoy listening to them and the sound was amazing, infact it was confirmed the reels we took were not from a recording from an album
Many Thanks
Amanda

 

They wouldn't which is why they are almost certainly copied from some form of master tape, the Beatles missing that information suggests that they may not be direct transfers, but hopefully some of the Beatles experts can help Amanda work out what exactly she has.

 

Without being able to actually hear anything it's hard to draw any conclusions. Unless we can have samples PMd to us from the transfers performed, it may be best to get the professional opinion of the person performing the transfer.

 

We only played part of a couple of songs on each of the reels, as i wanted to make certain they had what it stated on the box, I did ask if what he heard were from an album put on reel or from a radio/cd and he said no they are not, now im wishing we should of got one of the Beatles ones transferred instead of Hancock, esp the one where some of the songs are not in the same order, i do admit i did feel a bit disheartened as we drove for an hour and half to the destination and only had time to get one done, i guess checking the reels making certain that the description on the box is what the reels contained took up more time than we expected, i would like to ask anyone who has knowledge on the beatles a question if i may? is it normal for their songs to fade into each other? I am going by one of the reels we heard, and the songs are not in the same order as the album
Many thanks
Amanda

 

Not a Beatles expert, but on the White Album (on other albums too but especially that one) a lot of the songs fade into one another; seems like as many stop abruptly. I still remember how jarring an impression that album had on me the first time I heard it--how rambling and disjointed it was.

Doesn't explain the selection/ordering of tracks on the tape you posted a picture of, though. Looks like a mix-tape/reel.