reel to reel help


A friend of mine wants to buy a reel to reel tape recorder. I know nothing about them. Can anyone suggest decent makes and models. I'm not sure what his budget is but probably in the $200-$500 range. And is there anything in particular he should be looking for? Features, options, etc. thanks-matt
mattman
Hi - To make an informed recommendation, ask him if he plans to play back prerecorded tapes or tape his own music? Makes a big difference. To simply play back prerecorded tapes, a good Teac will do just fine. If you're recording, a Revox would be great, the sound is far superior to a lesser deck. But there are questions like: 2-track? 4-track? What speeds does he need? What size tape reels - 7 inch? 10 1/2 inch? Reel-to-reels are a lot of fun, but there are many, many different types. Feel free to e-mail me directly, I've owned lots of RTR decks, and will try to help as best I can.
Good Luck, Ed
For r-t-r beginners, this site may be useful:

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/vintagetx/

The guy who maintains it, Rolf, is knowledgable and quite friendly.
Matt- Can't say I know much about them, but a friend has a Tandberg 10X (purportedly one of the finer decks around) for sale. I'm sure the owner's manual lists the features, which you could use as reference even if you're not interested in that particular model. I'd be happy to send a copy of it to you. Contact me if you'd like details.

Regards
Jim
I have one that might be just the ticket on eBay right now. Email me for the link .... graham