About 15 years ago my brother in laws mother died. She had been a hoarder and amongst the Aladdin’s cave of treasures in the home was an R2R from her deceased husband that was at least 40 years old and had been in the attic for decades. I forgot the manufacturer but it might have been Sony. The family badgered me to take it. I bought a couple of very expensive tapes and then couldn’t get it to run. I took it to an audio repair shop that I’ve had other wise vey good experiences with, and they couldn’t promise me anything but said they would give it a shot. $200 and two months later they basically admitted defeat-to many difficult to replace parts. I tried with what they had done and it was muffled and had speed variability issues. I haven’t been interested in R2R since
Reel to Reel
So I have this tug to get a reel to reel but I'm a little perplexed by pricing and how the decks and the pretty high prices don't move. I've been keeping an eye on certain ones for a while now. People really have patience. lol But is it even worth it to mess with? I remember having a quadrophonic RTR in the 80's and wow did it sound good...rich and thick and chocolatey! It seems like it could be fun to experience/experiment with this and hear again how it sounds esp through modern gear. Would/Have any of you had much experience lately with RTR? Is my memory better than the thing is actually? lol
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I had this Sony reel to reel that I bought through a friend in the Army PX, and I loved it for years until it broke and was badly repaired. I had used it to make mix tapes from LP's. My friends had lesser decks and did the same. Those days are over for sure. I can do everything with digital, and all of the reel to reel gear and tapes have become unaffordable It's still a wonderful memory. That was a beautiful and elegant auto reverse deck! |
I've had R2R's in my system since I was a teenager. I currently own a Revox B77 (vintage). It was refurbished by Curt Palmer (Reel to Reel Tech). Great guy and one of the best at R2R refurbishing. Buy one of his decks and you won't be sorry. In terms of SQ,Not quite there with my DCS Bartok or my almost fully upgraded LP 12, but I have 50 or so reels of tape of out of print or live recorded music that I can't replace. Listening to those tapes through my Revox is a pleasant experience for sure. |
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