Need advice about reel to reel tapes found in an attic

Thank you Zebop

 

The Brian Ferry picture is 4/5 th of side one of his (released July 1974) Another Time, Another Place album which was partially recorded at AIR according to
Another Time, Another Place (album) - Wikipedia »
Since the reel picture has it dated May 74, perhaps it is conceivable that its a mastering safety copy.
One thing for sure. They will probably play really well. GUY

 

They are 7.5 ips running speed which suggests they are listening, preview or promo copies rather than production masters or safety copies, which would run at 15ips.

 

Thank you guyanthonybrown

 

Many have different speed is it written on them Shak Cohan they are just a couple of them, as i had to go to the storage to take the photos and decided not to take to many but to give members here a rough outline of what my post is about and why we are asking for any help in this matter and could they be of any value
many thanks

 

They definitely have SOME value, being, at minimum, submaster dubs generated at Air.

I would say, only based on what I see in your photo, that they don't appear to be of super high value, since they are neither original masters nor the highest quality 1:1 15ips submasters that one can produce. The stuff in your photos doesn't reveal any incredible unreleased material, but that doesn't mean something unreleased isn't in the box, of course.

So advice: Do not toss them. They are probably not of sufficient rarity/value that hording them for another 40 years in hopes of generating a fortune makes sense, either. If you can produce pics of all the tapes and host them somewhere so we can see them, that would help in determining if there's anything super interesting. If not, I'd still say that these have sale value.

If you were to list these for sale, even with the two pictures you presented (which don't tell the whole story), I would definitely considering bidding or buying. I don't say this because you should offer them to me, just that, even based on what you've presented, they would have interest value to someone like me...

 

Okay, based on those pictures I'd say they are preview/promo copies copied directly from the masters or safety copies, they are very cool, should sound fantastic and with the right marketing will fetch some money to people that collect the artists or at least the higher profile ones. Without seeing the whole collection we can't tell you if you have anything unreleased, mixes or complete tracks, or equally if there are any tapes that are just recordings of records which would be almost worthless. If you are talking 100 tapes and want to check them all then your cheapest option is to buy a NAB tape machine, an old, serviced Revox or similar, that way you can confirm they are as written and play and sell the machine after, this is assuming they are all EMI tapes and don't suffer from sticky shed syndrome and require baking, hopefully someone will correct me if EMI suffers from SSS. Potentially you have a collection that is of some value.

 

Thank you Dubmart but to be honest with you, i do not like touching them, i would love to hear the elvis one that is amonst them esp knowing that our client partied with him in his youth, i agree unless hearing them we are not much wiser, so maybe if we take a few of them to see if they need baking? if so get that done and put on a cd and see how that goes for now?
many thanks

 

There are a few active Bristolians on here and we often disagree with each other.

My two problems with the BBC are, they shouldn't have lost/wiped/binned it in the first place and that they generally won't pay to get things back in their collection although I believe they are less stubborn about this nowadays. I don't know about these days, but even back in the 1990s you could find skips near Whiteladies Road and Cotham Hill full of BBC Betacams, Umatics and enough tape reels to sink a ship, personally I prefer the British Library/National Sound Archive.

 

Amanda, are you looking to make money from these or do you just want them to go to a good home? I'd assumed the former, but if the latter contact the British Library and see if they want them, if they do they will have the best home: About | British Library - Sounds »

 

You never really know... you've taken the step in the right direction.
This "could" be an absolutely amazing incredibly rare find. Sounds interesting to say the least, especially the number of Beatles/solo items.
Try to stay level headed - do not sell anything till you know something. Be ready for disappoint... but these finds still happen.
You need to try and set up a way to play these.
I can put you in contact with a retired major record co. executive, who is now a top respected dealer in extreme high-end collectibles of all kinds. Are these in their boxes ? with full song and notes, numbers etc ? Kindly post pics if possible.

PM me if interested in the correct contact person.

 

Dubmart the decision is my sons, i did this post to see if they are any value and also to help and try and find out more about them, and the replies ive received has opened my eyes a lot as i never knew about baking etc, but i think he wants to sell that is why i asked about value, also my first post did not list all of them as there is over 100 of these, i shall try and work out how to do an album and see if i am able to take a pic of each and every one of them, but that shall take me time, the Hancock ones there are 7 of them and 2 of them are what i call half reels the fact they have Hancock F and Hancock C on them, so maybe the full reels holds 2 forms of shows on the one reel? and the half reels only hold one show?, if selling where would the best way of doing so? an auction house? even in that area we have no idea, but its getting them checked first is what i see important, what is on them etc
many thanks

 

Yes in their boxes, all you have asked, im not letting anything go to my head about these, i intend to keep both feet firmly on the ground, i do not know how to message on here so sorry Bruce Mulle
many thanks

 

The best way to sell them depends on what you actually have, so I know it will take a long time, but posting photos of every tape and box is probably the only way to get an idea of what's there, once you post the pictures you will get some ideas as to what's of value and the best way to sell them, as a previous poster mentioned if you do have any unreleased Beatles mixes then going through a specialist dealer may be best, other tapes might be better suited to eBay and so on.

Because of the cost of transferring tapes it won't be worth it for low value ones, hence my suggestion about buying a machine and doing it yourself for minimal cost, with any high value tapes throwing in a copy of a professional, preferably high res transfer will hopefully increase the price you get, but it will only be worth it with any really valuable tapes.

 

Thank you Dubmart, i am overwhelmed at all the sound advice and help i am getting here, everyone has been so helpful. OMG buying a machine and doing it myself? i can not work a DVD player
many thanks

 

Try these guys about the Hancock tapes. Tony Hancock Appreciation Society - Home »

 

Thank you Fanman, but it says you need an account with them to contact them, so unable to do anything
many thanks

 

Are there any track details for the second Stevie Wonder reel that's mentioned, Amanda?

 

Yes there is well i need to check, but that shall be in a couple days, i got so tired from listing them all, so i only did a few of them JJam
Many thanks

 

If you use postimage, you can select to make them smaller (800x600) before uploading.

 

As you are in London, I would suggest FX Rentals who have a copy room that does transfers and baking if necessary for many artists/record companies etc.

Audio & video formats copied, transferred, restored or prepared for archiving. »

Judging from the boxes posted thus far it will be difficult to ascertain the content/worth without careful possible baking, then playing/transfer.

 

Go on one of the UK hi-fi forums such as TAS (The Audio Standard) or AOS (The Art Of Sound). There are some tape enthusiasts with reel to reel recorders based in the London area that will likely offer to play these for you. It is quite possible that some of these are more than mix tapes and could be special.

 

really enjoying this thread, and like everybody, I'm equally as curious more so now even seeing those photo's.
ideally, yes, it would be great if you could hear them and see what is actually on them. The tapes look really
tightly wound, which is good, they must have been used on good machines. If you are just looking to sell them,
eBay is a good option, you'll get some money just for the reels and boxes alone. Of course if you do so, spread
the word here, and the word will get out as many are interested here already.
personally, I'd want to find any way I could to hear what they are, and then make a decision from that.
you could have something 'unique' and 'rare'..who knows?...

 

Thank you luckyno13 ive saved the link
many thanks

 

that is a really good idea! I'm sure someone out there would love to help you solve the mysteries on their R2R machines.