Can we finally put Reel to Reel out of its misery? Put it to rest people.
The format is dying and too expensive to repair properly. Heads wear out so easy and many out there are all worn. High quality technicians are either retired or long gone. Its such an inconvenient format that can be equalled by nakamichi easily in tape decks. Retire it please put them in museums.
The links are to my scans of the tape labels. The Mary Chain is the original Jugoton distribution master, sent to the former Yugoslavia. As I know Alan McGee, Jim & William Reid well, they have signed my master. The George Michael is a safety copy from a CBS Netherlands distribution/production master.
If you look hard enough, you can find little gems. There are quite a few distribution/production masters in circulation. Don’t forget in the heyday of the vinyl LP, there were lots of countries with record pressing plants. They all needed a tape sent from the record company to cut the lacquer for their own market. When the record plants closed, many of these tapes survived.
Charlie
PS Sleepwalker - the George Michael tape is stunning. My friend Chalkie Davies was his tour photographer in 1982. He said that he was an utterly charming guy. Yes, it’s the polar opposite to the Mary Chain, but I happen to like lots of different music styles.
Bummer, I'm considering a Pioneer RT 707 for my system. Really just for looks, I mean you can't beat the look? Gorgeous. Stunning, bla, bla, bla... But do I really want to spend $500 - $100 for something to 'pretty up' my rack?
It’s amazing of the loyalty to a type of media format and we ALL have opinions of which each of us like one over another yes R2R format became cassettes then CD Now it’s all on I micro chip 1000s of songs on the size of s finger nail. Now we all sit back and wait for the next innovation. And will type away and talk about that I will stay with my R2R tape. vinyl records and tubes for my amp snd preamp until these supples are no longer available
As a small interesting piece, a person who signed off (who signed the arrival of it to the record company and was eventually a responsible "editor") on one of the topoxforddoc’s reels of tape has a story to tell...
"Despot attended recording sessions of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (London, 1967), Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed (London, 1969), Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma (London, 1969) and Arsen Dedić’s Homo volans (Zagreb, 1973)."
I agree with, pretty much, everything you say. However, my points were aiming at the fact argued along this thread that R2R is thriving and not dying. Even the Italian poster’s informative description of revamped machines shows the opposite is happening. They redid their machines only to make more viable back-up.
For a handful of enthusiasts, R2R may be the best thing ever and there is no arguing about its merits but, as a format in general, it has deceased some decades ago. All of the references about parts involve eBay. Proof that it is great is a picture, or two, of a description of specific tapes from more than thirty years ago. It is, in fact, defunct on any significant scale. Together with a dial phone.
Nothing to do with R2R, but the radio station I was mentioning was non-USA located, completely non-commercial with, seemingly, unlimited resources to waste. To the dismay of local crowd that is forced to fund it, but that is a different topic altogether. They, to this day, have occasional orchestra performances in the studio. Just for the heck of it. Speaking of (in)convenience.
... notice that tapes were not backed up to another tape but
to entirely different (even allegedly inferior) format. That is saying
something
Backing up the tapes to digital makes perfect sense, because dubbing them onto another reel will only add noise.
Maybe 10 years ago ... I asked a person at the radio
station to copy a reel of tape ... "Great,
you came at the last moment. If you came five years from now, I
probably could not do it. We have transferred all that we have into
digital ... "
... it seems that they had, more or less, abandoned the format.
By the way, it is a well-funded and quite serious radio station.
In the US, broadcasting is a business, even for non-commercial stations. Analog tape is an inefficient, expensive, cumbersome format for radio, so of course most stations abandoned reel-to-reel. The industry has also mostly abandoned cart machines (remember them?) and analog tape for phone delay.
I agree, but do notice that tapes were not backed up to another tape but to entirely different (even allegedly inferior) format. That is saying something.
Maybe 10 years ago, a few more or less, I asked a person at the radio station to copy a reel of tape with some of the music my friends made in high school (pure nostalgia, nothing spectacular). Basically, to transfer the only existing record of that into some other format.
"Great, you came at the last moment. If you came five years from now, I probably could not do it. We have transferred all that we have into digital just in case and tape machines have been dying in the process. We have only one that is good now."
Sure, he could have them fixed, but it seems that they had, more or less, abandoned the format. By the way, it is a well-funded and quite serious radio station. Not a garage project.
Hi everyone, I'm Roberto from Turin in Italy. I'm the proud user of three R2Rs: TEAC X2000R, TASCAM 34B and AKAI GX-625. Everyone enjoys excellent health, the necessary mechanical maintenance is performed by myself as well as maintenance. The problem of spare parts has been solved by purchasing other identical machines to be used as donors. If necessary of course! Recently, state television has had the assembly and alignment of at least a dozen or so new STUDER A810 machines performed by RAI in the warehouse. This is to be able to "read" the numerous tapes still present in their archives, digitize them in order to have a security back up. The reel recorder is not "dead" or even in agony. It is no longer used for many years in the production of music in the studio, with results that we can all listen to: poor dynamics, extension to the extremes of very limited band, "flat" studio recording. I will not separate myself from my R2Rs, it is enough to put a well-recorded reel to be able to hear a detailed, warm, full-bodied sound! I also use a DBX 224 noise reducer and a DBX 3BX dynamics expander with exceptional results. Often it also improves music by recording it from CD to R2R!
How did you actually get them? For example, even in 1998, you could not go to the store and buy that Jesus and Mary Chain reel of tape. Was someone cleaning the closet?
Both are from over thirty years ago. How is the tape? Any problems due to age?
OK, here’s on for the trolls. Who would prefer to listen to a Nak cassette deck, Elcaset, DAT or other medium instead of some of my distribution master tapes on a 15 IPS Studio R2R? https://i.vgy.me/FY946m.jpg https://i.vgy.me/hWJJn1.jpg
I have not forgotten DAT which was, at least for some time, a professional's choice. I had it on my mind when someone implied "tape is better because digital sucks". Not that I think that DAT is phenomenal, but it does exist, it is a tape, and it is digital. Still, my heart goes to DCC. It played regular cassettes, too. I wanted to like MiniDisc (another radio station workhorse), but it does make a case for "digital sucks" more often than not. This Elcaset is intriguing, though.
There is at least 28 people in the world who are lusting over a working Elcaset player. There is one currently at $360 and 28 bids. R2Rs are a little more common. Move over R2R, Elcaset is the coolest kid on the block now.
I have a Technics RS1500 and love tape but it is more hands on than streaming or the 1000 albums on a hard drive. Question to all here is how many of you use an outboard preamp like Bottlehead and others? Is it really worth the cost and effort?
Ditto classic cars, or ANY sports car or motorcycle...bad mileage, expensive to maintain, and hey...look how much stuff you can fit into a minivan! Mechanical watches...don't keep time very well...outta here! Great original paintings...can't you just get something at Home Goods and call it a day? Tube amps...sure they sound better if you're into that whole "it sounds better" thing, but put yer iPhone buds in yer ears and there ya go. Although I personally hate earbuds as wax collecting and invasive little bastards (use 'em on airplanes sometimes...so sue me), I enjoy all of the above anyway (no mini van as I think those things are testosterone destroyers), because sports cars, motorcycles, watches, art, tube amps, etc., are fun, and yeah...I really should stop all of this anachronistic behavior and hang with Vinny55, as hey...I bet that guy's a LOT of fun.
You feel you have the right to an opinion w/o comparing your
Naks & Elcasets
to a quality open reel machine? If you're trying to sound defensive about not wanting to hear the difference you know is there - you've succeeded. it's called evidence & in this experiential hobby, direct experience kinda counts. The kind that stands up in a court of law & those principles apply to any premise operating in the real world. You would hear the difference guaranteed as everyone is implying to you here. THEN you'd have the opportunity to say. "I heard it but its too much trouble & I can live w/o it" Now you're like the fox in Aesop s fable who can't reach the grapes & then exclaiming they were probably sour in any case. Your assertiveness w/o evidence of direct experience of a comparison, leads nowhere else. I have opinions but this is not one of them. Rather an observable, indisputable fact.
the reason so many have a problem with understanding tape / vinyl snd tubes is everything is press a button or say play with no effort on the other side we came from a time creating something and didn’t mind it toke time to do. now it’s immediate satisfaction
It’s called creating your mix of songs , from a source such As vinyl record that you record to your R2R your mix of songs or your CD and record your favorite songs,,, or from any other media source but to truly appreciate the analog experience vinyl as a source why is it so hard for many to understand that not to long ago their was vinyl and tape snd not a micro chip to reproduce music i will stay with tubes , vinyl and tape yes it was fun to hear your creation snd going to s store and buying s LP AND IF ANY NEW BLANK tape MFG created a better tape ( scotch, TDK, BASF)
It seems that vinny55 is alone in his call to annihilate R2R. Even those who do not see it as a format of any significance at this point, do not call for its forced demise.
Still, what do you guys think how many people around the world are actually active with R2R?
I am not sure how to get to some ballpark figure. Maybe number of R2R clubs and their members? Actual sales on eBay and similar sites? Does anyone have any idea? Would number be in hundreds, thousands, millions? What are your guesses?
I guess I am just trying to understand the reason for your post. Analog/vinyl is dead....oh wait...nevermind..
We live in a world where six figure speakers, amps and turntables exist in great numbers and repairing reel to reel decks or replacing heads is too expensive ? Regardless the reel to reel industry isn't taking a single dime out of YOUR pocket
The real point is that if you do not want or care for reel to reel, fine, don't buy or use it, but to "pontificate" to others seems to me to be nothing but enjoying the sound of ones own voice
Sure, put the R2Rs in museums. Those same criticisms can be made about other mediums as well. So what then, donate our tube equipment, cassette decks, turntables and CD players. To quote John McEnroe, "You can not be serious!" And then what, just streaming and downloads? No thanks, not for me.
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