Advice Regarding Reel-to-Reel


I went to a neighbor’s home to look at some records they were selling.  While I was there, the husband tried to interest me in buying his Teac a-6300 deck.  He said he bought it new in the 1970’s while stationed in Europe, as his music options were limited.  He doesn’t use it anymore and they are trying to reduce clutter.  He asked for $300.

I said I would get back with him.  Looking on-line, I see much higher prices for those decks.  They are described as semi-professional decks with good capabilities. I also read that such an old deck should be gone over by a qualified tech to be lubricated, have belts replaced and have the electronics checked for possible replacement.  This work could easily come to $500 or more, and that is if I can locate a person with the knowledge and equipment to do a quality job while hopefully avoiding shipping it.

I told the people I would pass on their deck, but I keep reading and thinking about it.  The price is good, but the expense and hassle of restoration, and not knowing how much I might use it (playing mostly records, CD’s and radio now), give me pause.  It does look really cool though with those 10.5 inch reels!  And if I needed to sell it on for a profit, that might not be too difficult?   And thoughts?
bob540

Showing 3 responses by lalitk

bob,

Not to discourage you but keep in mind the cost of R2R tapes are in the range of $300 and not to mention limited titles availability. I thought of getting an R2R so many times but as it stands, it is probably the most expensive playback audio equipment to own when you factor in scarce repair facilities and tapes cost.
@oldhvymec

I don’t quite get the ‘desire’ to record music that’s already available on another format. First, you need a pristine source and just because it will sound ‘different’ on R2R doesn’t quite justify the long term investment for me. I’m sure it’s lot of fun because of the tactile experience it provides :-)

To me, R2R machines are nothing more than an eye candy unless one can afford to buy R2R tapes, like the one below.

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/130634/Muddy_Waters-Folk_Singer-14_Inch_-_15_IPS_Tape
^^^sure...there is always an opportunity to pick through litter and bargain bins :-)

Between our posts, OP now knows his choices.