Reel to Reel decks

Hi Handymann,

Mike offers sage advice. I would respectfully advance that 15 and 30 ips reel is the acme of analogue reproduction.

Regards,
Sam

I owned a reel to reel machine 35 years ago. I loved it. I kept it for about ten years. I never bought any pre-recorded tapes. The only tapes that I played on my machine were my LP's that I recorded to tape. When I went to record stores in the mid 70's and 80's, I never saw any open reel tapes for sale. I saw them advertised in magazines in those monthly music clubs, but I wouldn't be bothered with mail ordered music. I wouldn't be bothered with a reel to reel today. To me, it would be more trouble that it's worth.

I have a Technics reel to reel. I use it to record my vinyl. I recomend Revox because you can still get parts; although I have never had a problem with the Technics.

Hi, I've owned a lot of reel to reel decks from Revox {had 4 of these]Sony's, Vikings, and Tandbergs. Am useing 3 decks in my system now, and have 2 Pioneer decks that I love,one is a mint 707 and the other is a 1011-L, they are built beautiful and sound great and are a lot less trouble than most of the Revox's I owned, parts are available and so are the machines.Of course have a slew of tapes from the past and present. Just remember you need to run these decks quite often no matter which one you decide on, they don't like sitting idle for long periods..

Yes, 15 and 30 ips tapes are the ne plus ultra of tapedom. But let's get real,
folks, a would-be tape newbie will be totally turned off by the prices of tapes
(Handyman, would you believe $500 per Tape Project performance?) and the
machines capable of playing them.

I would recommend visiting the Ebay sites, as well as Audiogon of course, to
get a fix on prices of tapes and equipment. Buying used tapes (there are
precious few new ones) is pretty much of a crapshoot, and buying used tape
decks -- there are essentially NO new ones -- is dicey as well. The decks
need regular service and finding competent tape techs is no picnic either. I
know I've painted a gloomy picture, but there IS a plus side in terms of fidelity
and just the fun of watching those reels spin. It can be addictive but you do
need to know what you're getting into.

As a starter deck, I'd recommend a Teac in the 2300 or 3300 series or a
Pioneer 700 or 900 series, and avoid brands like Akai (very hard to find parts
and Akai is not alone in this respect). I've been into tape since the 1950s, but
if I were starting out today I'd think long and hard about it. Good luck, Dave