Welcome Ryan. I was a big reel to reel enthusiast back in the 70's. I had I believe a Teac A2100S. It was 3 heads, solenoid controls and did 3 3/4 and 7 1/2ips. It was also auto reverse. I wish I had kept it but sold it when CD came out. Have fun.
Just wanted to introduce myself.
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Ryan. I'm a young reel to reel and vinyl fanatic. I have several TEAC reel to reels, my favorite is my A-3340S. My username is my nickname, as I have a lisp on "S," which resembles a snake's hissing. Anyway, just wanted to say hey.
Thanks,
Ryan (Or Kaa, or Snake, whatever you want to call me. :) )
I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Ryan. I'm a young reel to reel and vinyl fanatic. I have several TEAC reel to reels, my favorite is my A-3340S. My username is my nickname, as I have a lisp on "S," which resembles a snake's hissing. Anyway, just wanted to say hey.
Thanks,
Ryan (Or Kaa, or Snake, whatever you want to call me. :) )
42 responses Add your response
Hi, Ryan. As a young guy, how did you get involved with reel to reel? I've had my hands on many 1/4" and half inch decks in my profession. I wish I could afford to invest in R-R for my home system. What decks have you owned and what tape stock have you tried? Ever buy any NOS stock, by that I'm referring to virgin or one-pass vintage tape? |
I was listening to my Technics 1500 2 track as I read your post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7BU6azwk78 |
@lowrider57 Hey! Hope things are well. The thing that got me fascinated into reel to reel and analog recording formats was the Beach Boys and the Beatles. They used 1/2" 4 track Scully 280 machines, I think. I had a few home vinyl record cutters made in the 40s for voice use, but I wanted to go a little farther with sound fidelity and go to what my hero Brian Wilson used to make his masterpieces (he and I chat on Twitter a lot.) I first started using 3 3/4 IPS and 7 1/2 IPS decks to get my feet wet with analog, but I soon wanted something better, bigger, and more accurate. I spent 2 months struggling to find the perfect deck, I got a TEAC 80-8 deck off eBay, but the guy had no way to deliver it, so that was out. I looked and looked for much longer, until my dad surprised me with something amazing. He had purchased a MIB TEAC A3340S from a seller named hifi on eBay, the deck ran at 7 1/2 IPS AND, my favorite part, 15 IPS, the professional studio recording speed! I've loved that deck ever since, and I don't want to replace it anytime soon. I currently have a Roberts (Akai) 1725 tube recorder (not fully working), a TEAC A1200U, (Perfect working condition,) and of course, the TEAC A3340S (Mint condition perfect working machine.) Thanks, Ryan |
Used a Techniques 1500 (may have been a 1700) around 1980 in a Hollywood duplication studio (made duplicates of radio commercial tapes for national/local distribution). Very nice machine! Didn’t they make R2R decks which recorded at 30 ips way-back-when? Ultimate sound! Finally, don’t forget to demagnetize your razor blades before making a splice! |
Yes @dweller , there were decks that recorded at 30ips. Before my time. Ryan, it's so cool you are in touch with Brian Wilson. And very cool that you're working with pro gear. My favorite deck was the Ampex 440, a real workhorse. Definitely need to have an engineer on staff to keep those up and running. There are threads about tape stock and which is the best new production brand... SO expensive. |
I've had a Teac X-10R since about 1982. With it, I use a dbx 224 to remove tape hiss and dbx 3bx range expander. Back in the day, I'd spend hours and sometimes days mixing a 10" reel, or simply recording some of my favorite albums. I don't have the patience or desire to do that anymore, but I still like listening to those old reels. |
@kaathesnake, I too am a Brian Wilson lover. I had a Revox A77 Mk.3 in 1975, but used a Teac 2340 (same as the 3340, but with 7" reel capacity, not 10.5") to make some demo recordings with a great songwriter I worked with from '74 to '76. We took the tapes down to Los Angeles, and went to Brian's mansion in Bel-Air to ask him to produce some pro recordings with us. Marilyn wouldn't let us talk to him! The 2340 was surprisingly close in sound quality to the Revox. |
@lowrider57 It's very hard to type all the equipment I have, since I have so much! Well, I have an Electro Voice BK-1632 analog board (very nice board, BTW,) that I run 12 audio channels into the reel to reel then use the last 4 channels to mix and master each channel on the tape deck. I have a 2009 MacBook Pro with an 10.11 El Capitan operating system on it, Logic Pro X as my DAW, JBL LSR305 monitors, Stax Lambda Jr. electret headphones, Apex 210 ribbon mic with Lundahl transformer, MXL V69 Mogami Edition tube microphone with Neumann U87 capsule, Blue Bluebird large diaphragm condenser mic, 1960s Sony dynamic mics (I don't know what model, came out of an old Sony tube reel to reel,)supposedly the same types mics that were used to record Bob Dylan and The Band's Basement Tapes,) Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, and cables of all sorts and types, etc, Joemeek stereo tube compressor (that's named after sound pioneer and producer Joe Meek, who tragically killed himself after killing his landlady on February 3, 1967,) Realistic stereo electret condenser mics (which sound very good on acoustic guitars and Hammond organs, BTW,) 1958 beautiful condition Hammond M3 tube organ, Audio Technica ATR 20 dynamic mic (I like to sometimes use it on acoustic guitars and vocals, it has a nice treble presence :) ,) Stage Right Memphis Blue Elvis dynamic mic (mic I got off Monoprice, amazing build quality and sound for something you buy off Monoprice, LOL. Has a very rounded tone, lacks in treble, and somewhat reminds me of a 40s ribbon mic. Very dark tone.) And that about wraps up my list. :) Best, Ryan |
@bdp24 Wow! You tried to get to Brian’s mansion, eh? That was a daring attempt! Brian is a very kind fellow. He’s getting very frail and old, but he’s still rocking! I hope to meet him someday, and spend some time with him out in Beverly Hills. Yes, the TEAC A-2340 is a good deck. I like the A-3340S better, since it has 10.5" reel compatibility and runs at 15 IPS, but still that is a good deck. :) |
Ryan, being as into Brian as you are, you may have met the members of his band, some of whom were in a Pop group named The Wondermints. Before they joined Brian they had a member named Brian Kassan, who played bass in the group. Kassan felt they weren't including enough of his songs in their set, so left to start his own group, Chewy Marble. I met Kassan when we both played in the band that backed Emitt Rhodes for his first live performance in over twenty years, at The Poptopia Festival in the late 90's. When Chewy Marble "let go" their original drummer, Brian contacted me, and I ended up playing on about half the songs on their second album, Bowl Of Surreal. Kassan's a mighty fine songwriter himself. |
Ryan, Thanks for introducing yourself. Though I never had a quality RTR, my good friend Nate had a Pioneer RT 707 or something like that. We recorded vinyl to it and it sounded really good. That machine cost around $500 in 1980 or so and we were so blessed with good sound for high school students. I’m a bit surprised that the newer United Home Audio RTRs haven’t been mentioned. I’ve heard them on MBL systems many times and the SQ is just amazing. At the LAAS show 2017, I had the great opportunity to hear a big Studder play Frampton’s “Lines on my face”. It was glorious with DartZeel electronics; I forget the speakers but it was one of the few real delights at that show. I do realize most of this conversation has been about vintage gear, just thought I’d mention both old and new. Ryan, Welcome to the ‘Gon! |
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