Reel to reel

Getting the most out of your reel requires dedication to maintenance. Fortunately it's not at all difficult, but it should be done frequently; what you can't see will hurt you; "magnetism" is something you have to be aware of.

I'm a fanatic when it comes to demagnetizing the heads; after every two reels of recording, that's what I do. If you're not doing any recording, and just enjoying playback, this isn't necessary.

If you just purchased a reel, buy new rubber rollers; these are essential for high quality recording and playback; also buy rubber roller cleaner, and head cleaner.

If my rubber rollers get a little bit shiny, I clean them. These are the things that will guarantee the best results from your reel.

Today, I'm going to make two posts, the next will be about how I used the new blank tape that I recently purchased.

Happiness is a good working reel to reel recorder.

Recently, I purchased 4 blank 10 inch reels of tape. Initially I planned to record at 7.5 for the sake of economy, but an audiophile demon caused me to set the speed at 15; "The devil made do it".

Recording at 15 IPS causes "hyper awareness, this had better be good"; clean and demagnetize heads, go through record collection, select only the best. As everyone knows, sometime your favorite record has cuts you don't like, be ready to hit the "pause" button.

In regard to the results, no matter how magnificent, the playing time was too short; after I got comfortable, and into the music, it stopped. If only I had a butler to put on another reel; or ten machines in a row, plus remote controls to start another machine as soon as the music stopped on the one before.

Thank you for your thoughts on recording Orpheus10.  I believe I will stay with 7.5 ips as well when I make my playlists.  15 ips does use up a lot of tape in a short amount of time.  I'm sure the difference in speed will be of little consequence when recording my favorite LP's or HiRez (dsd or flac) music files.  Recording a playlist is mainly for convenience and the pure joy I get when I hear my favorite music coming from that big tape deck with the turning 10.5" reels and busy VU meters.

Of course, playing pre-recorded tapes at 15 ips is a different animal.  I'd guess that speed is required to experience the full dynamic range of a dupe of a Master/Safety master.  I finally mustered the courage to order my first one.. once it arrives and I get a chance for a first listen, I anticipate it will either be a revelation or a bit of a let down.  But I prefer to be optimistic as most who have experienced a Master tape dupe played back at 15 ips through a proper r2r deck and a system worthy of same, are duly impressed.   btw:  The recording I ordered I have on LP and CD, so an a/b/c comparison should be fun and quite revealing.  It will help me decided if the high cost of this format is worth the entry fee.   I will report here when i have experienced my first listen.

Gusser, I'm looking forward to hearing about your results. Taking all things into consideration, 7.5 is the best speed.

Agreed!  I will report asap.