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Reel to Reel uses -

My wife and I love to entertain.  It never ceases to surprise me how many will walk over to my stereo and stare at my Reel to Reel tape deck.  Some under the age of 35, will ask what it is? Others want to know why I have it, and what do I use it for?  Of course I answer their questions, but now it makes we wonder how others use their machines?  I have been following a couple of high end blogs that I really enjoy and see that one gentlemen uses his machine to play master tape copies.  I do this as well, but have no where near the selection that he does.  I make copies of my favorite LP's to play when guests are over, and also make my own master tapes using a couple of neuman's microphones.  I record small jazz trios and solo artists straight to the machine.  People are amazed at how 'real' these tapes sound.  My main reel to reel is a Pioneer RT-1050 high speed half track.  I have a second just like it that I use for the above mentioned site recordings.  I also have a ReVox B-77, a Sony TC-765, and a Crown 822, all half track machines.  Anyone out there making your own masters?

Norman
normansizemore

Showing 5 responses by livin_262002

livin_262002
185 posts
 
For me playing music on RtR is a ritual I like. I'm a BIG Tandberg fan. I have a Tandberg TD20A SE 1/2 Tr High-Speed deck. I had a Revox PR99 MKII also, but when it came to sonics Tandberg was a clear winner. I'm not sure if it was the CCIR (on Tandberg) vs NAB (on Revox) or if Tandberg got the sonics correct, I just love the sound of Tandberg.

Reliability is a whole different story, Tandberg decks tend to be a tad fragile compared to other decks. That and sparse availability of spares makes it a difficult deck to maintain.

I usually record multiple Vinyl albums to one Reel (BASF SM911 is my current stock tape and I have calibrated the deck to that tape) and let it spin :-), it never fails to put a smile on my face
livin_262002
185 posts
 
Norman,

  I seem to like the CCIR eq over NAB, that's probably the reason why I didn't like the Revox that much. Tandberg with it's DynEQ and Actilinear implementations have nailed the sonics, especially the headroom with DynEQ.

I have a couple of recordings that I had done @ 15IPS. The sound is simply superb. The soundstage is huge. But again 15IPS with 1/2 track eats tapes and becomes an expensive proposition :-)

I also own Tandberg 3014A cassette deck and yes the Tandberg house sound is very addictive. I had a Nakamichi Dragon and still have a ZX-7, but liked Tandberg so much I sold the Dragon but kept the ZX-7 which I like over the Dragon.

Interesting you mention live recordings I'm scared to move the Tandberg because of it's fragility. I should probably look for another deck that can be hauled around.

BTW you can see my setup on my Virtual System Page.

livin_262002
185 posts
 
Inna,

   Studer is the Rolls Royce of RtRs built for studios. For home use Otari won't disappoint. Otari stopped making RtRs just a month or two ago, but you can still buy a new one from leftover stock. It retails at $9K+.

Good Luck.
livin_262002
185 posts
 
Norman,

  PR99 is a very versatile unit though it was marketed mainly to radio stations. It was used more as a playback unit rather than for recording. When I had mine I really liked it. The CCIR mod to PR99 is not a complex one I had planned on changing EQ on mine before I sold it. Also the PR99 had trouble calibrating for a +6 tape like the SM911 and Quantegy 456 the bias oscillators on it didn't put out enough current. That was the main reason I sold mine. That said it could be modded to bias those tapes and CCIR eq.
livin_262002
185 posts
 
Agree the Sony APR series machines are cool looking. One had come up for sale locally for $600 I almost pulled the trigger on it but again virtually non existent spares and the sheer size of the unit discouraged me. Nevertheless awesome machine.
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