Reel-to-reel tape is the new vinyl

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Brian Gupton, Oct 8, 2015.

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  1. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    Oh yeah, I would assume so. Like most things "audiophile", I just like to read about it and dream. :D I'd have to win that lottery, which I don't play, to get into stuff like that.

    Older used gear is my sweet spot. :)
     
  2. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Good post, I think we all fear, the new offering will not be the same quality of the ReVox from the past, times change and sometimes not for the better, however, I could be totally wrong, and this new deck be cutting edge. Since discovering that the deck will be made, I can't seem to find out anything about it making a debut at an audio show, I see nothing on their site, and really nothing on the Internet about the new R2R tape deck, could they have scrapped the project. It was suppose to be shown for the first time at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, however, from what I can see, they were a no show.:shrug:
     
  3. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    I think I came across similar Revox product announcement a while back but Revox really has not been all that active in the audio market over the past decade. To be sure, Harman International has amassed a good number of venerable audio companies under one umbrella. But I suspect companies like Studers, dbx, Crown, etc. now only focus on the professional market and as such, we would not even read about any new products in the usual consumer audio mags.
     
    Litejazz53 likes this.
  4. John

    John Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeast
    Hi Mr Rom- the C37 was typically a 1/4 inch machine back in the 60s. Tim will mod the deck into any format from 1/4",1/2", or 1" two track. People say amazing things about the one inch C37 conversion, with a claimed 90db signal to noise ratio, not bad for tape being pushed along by a couple dozen vacuum tubes!

    Tim also makes tube electronics for Ampex ATRs, along with all kinds of very expensive studio equipment.
     
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  5. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Isn't Tim de Paravicini in London or somewhere in the UK? A steep trans-Atlantic shipping bill is waiting for you for a start ...
     
  6. John

    John Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeast
    Yes I believe he is in the UK.
     
  7. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Vintage Tube Studer C37 Reel to Reel Gearbox ...

    [​IMG]

    This is some serious machine!
     
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  8. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Otari MTR 90 MK-III 2″ 24 track analog tape recorder only US $4,000. The question is, where do you find the tape?

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    ATR Magnetics | ATR Master Tape
     
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  10. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel

    Location:
    Long Island, NY

    2" isn't at all hard to find, after all it has been been a professional audio standard for like, close to 50 years already. It's being manufactured in the US by ATR Magnetics, and in France by the MULANN Group/"Recording The Masters", previously RMGI, previously Pyral
     
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  11. John

    John Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeast
    That's the one!
     
  12. Om

    Om Make Your Own Kind Of Music

    Location:
    Boston, USA
    Preamp built in? What are the tubes designated for?
     
  13. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    The tubes could be for the input buffer ... But I am not sure.
     
  14. Burt

    Burt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkwood, MO
    There are two series of ATR machines, completely different. One shares bits with or was OEMed from Tascam and these are referred to, really, as "Tampex"machines.
    The others are a capstanless servo drive machine using lots of discrete logic on lots of boards and you had better be really good with digital servicing to keep one going. Or have someone on staff full time who is. That said, when they work they work beautifully.

    Get a 35x or a 440 for quarter or half inch work. These are mechanical machines anyone with basic mechanical aptitude can keep going.

    The 300s are considered a little tough on tape by some. They are really heavy and seem to be of more interest for museum exhibits than working machines.

    If you do not have "basic mechanical aptitude", RUN, don't walk, away from open reel tape machines. Anyone telling you you will have ANY success with the format is willfully and deliberately lying to you.

    Studers are beautifully made. In Europe you can probably keep a Studer going easier than an Ampex, in the US the reverse is true.
    As to which is better, it's someone's opinion vs. someone else's.

    Ampex pro machines have a great informal network of pros, hobbyists, and everyone in between to help out, and transports and solid state electronics are still reasonable, and you can still get shelf life limited parts since there are still a few pro users going through them.

    Sonically I am not a fan of Captain Catchfire. Not his home electronics and from what I have heard not particularly his pro stuff either, plus many of his statements in interviews are simply techincal nonsense as far as I can tell and as far as "the real pros" I ran them past could as well. People like the late Jim Williams. (If you don't know who he is (was) you are, no offense, not qualified to hold an opinion.)
     
  15. Burt

    Burt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkwood, MO
    Better question: what kind of shape are the heads in?

    And unless you want to build a 24 channel listening rig, you will need a 24x2 board at the very least to do much with it.
    But if you're the guy with a safety copy of Some Classic Album and really, really want to impress your friends, or you want to actually record 24 track analog in 2017, the machine itself may be the easy game piece.
     
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  16. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

     
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  17. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    A few short years ago, I read somewhere the buyers of many of the vintage open-reel decks were actually women. That was actually a bit of a surprise ...
     
  18. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    J-Corder Custom Pioneer RT-707 Reel to Reel. available for $2,295.00 ...

    [​IMG]
     
    LeeS and 56GoldTop like this.
  19. HDOM

    HDOM Well-Known Member

    Almost more than half of my music collection, is not and never had been in reel to reel, but i belive they were mastered in reel to reel?

    For example Carlos Nakai or any native american artist, also Beny More, Bob Marley and all those old caribean artists?
     
  20. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Fostex G-16 reel to reel tape deck ...

    [​IMG]
     
  21. John

    John Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeast
    That photo reminds me of the G24s we had at the studio I used to record at. It used Dolby S and was incredibly quiet. I remember the Fostex manual specification page stating then S/N ratio at 88db for the 24s and 86db for the 16s. It was a great sounding machine, and really easy to use.

    Thanks for posting that photo!
     
  22. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Was it a built-in Dolby S?
     
  23. NickC4555

    NickC4555 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Leicester, UK
    I recently sold my Akai 4000DS for more than the £66 pounds I paid for it in the early 70s. Surprisingly, it wasn't a key part of my audio experience any more. Incidentally, if you DI a guitar into it and overload the input, they make a great fuzz box. I bet Hendrix never tried that.
     
  24. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    My Akai GX-77 is still working fine after 35 years. I probably paid somewhere between $300-350 for it ...

    [​IMG]
     
  25. H8SLKC

    H8SLKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    "Reel-to-reel is the new vinyl" = "Baluga caviar is the new Mrs. Paul's fish sticks"
     
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