What should I be looking for when buying my 1st Reel To Reel ?

Spares availability, ease of maintenance, condition of unit and heads.

These were three things i checked when bought my Revox B77II (second hand).

A good technician is required to align and check the deck (for your preferred tape also) as most likely you will obtain it from the secondhand market.

If you opt for best sound quality 7,5 & 15 ips 2 track but 3,75 & 7,5 4 track is very convenient too.

Good luck.

Nostalgia

That’s all there is. I was primarily tape from 1967 to 1996.

If you can’t set bias to tape without a handhold don’t bother. My last machine has clear instructions and built in some wave generators

you want auto reverse, which means 6 heads,

Playing back pre-recorded tapes, 7" reels, you want a deck with 3-3/4 and 7-1/2 IPS speeds. 15 and 30 are for semi-pro, not pre-recorded, and often decks with 15 ips do not have 3-3/4.

7-1/2 IPS is preferred, sounds better, but sometimes you will still want a tape that you can only find in 3-3/4.

I love my Teacs, x1000r and x200r, their last pro-sumer decks.

Expensive and very time consuming. PARTS at a reasonable price for one.  A lot of the heads interchange. There are a lot of RtR nuts out there. I'm one of sorts. I use a direct head playback unit. It's still a matter of good source material. 

You're almost better off making your own. The biggie is when you finally get to hear a great 15ips recording like Roy Orbison, or Old Blue Eyes and you wonder why they ever stopped producing it. I'm not a huge county western fan but the old "Opry", and the Outlaws had some really great tapes at one time. CCR, Carlos, Steppenwolf and one of my favorites on tape is Momma Cass. 2-600.00 is not uncommon.

Did I mention RtR is time consuming and VERY expensive.

Thanks for the input everyone, good information!

Best

Robert

@rbtstock: PS Audio "publishes" a great online magazine: Copper. It's free, and is delivered to your computer's in box. UK reviewer Ken Kessler (Hi-Fi News & Record Review) is up to Chapter 11 in his Copper column dedicated to all things reel-to-reel. Highly recommended.

You can also check Tapeheads.net for good info.

@rbtstock  before you buy anything you need to figure out what type of tapes you are going to play back. 1/4 track commercially released tapes, 1/2 track tapes, what speed (3 3/4 , 7 1/2, 15. 30), Etc. 

There are a few decks that will take care of the track configurations, but not all the speed configurations. once you determine what types of tapes you are going to playback, then you can narrow down what type of deck you are going to search for. 

I'm assuming when you said 'play' you meant pre-recorded tapes (like me).

Don't go by specs,

my 1/4" 7-1/2 IPS pre-recorded tapes are my noisiest format (lowest S/N ratio). 

YET, they are my BEST sounding source when the music plays!!! Are you near Plainfield, NJ? Drop by.

I inherited some Classical 2 Track Pre-Recorded tapes from the 50's (stereo tape came out in 1956. Stereo LP in 1958). They are the very best sounding I own, but they need a true 2 track head to sound their best, and those heads will not play the much more common pre-recorded 4 track. (A 1/4" wide tape 4 track head can play a 2 track tape, just to hear it's content, but not with great sound).

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2 track 1/4" tape: 2 wider tracks and wider pick-up heads = double the  magnetic material to hold/retrieve the signal.

PRO: even wider tracks and/or faster speeds is also more magnetic material for the same content.

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I've messed with recording/playback, 1/2", 15ips, but it's a library of pre-recorded tapes now. 

PRE-RECORDED CONTENT: is limited by the era the tapes existed, search for your favorite artists, see what's out there.

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These Teac's are beasts, check the heads for wear, the other stuff can all be cleaned, lubed, adjusted. 

I finally am using one vertically (in my office), which finally let me use my 'Mickey Mouse' dust cover.

shown here

(main system: 4th photo), under the plants left side another X2000r lurks. Trays of plants easily move on/off either TT or R2R as needed. Gotta trust the Wifey, she trusts me!

In terms of quality I recommend; 15ips, 2T and IEC equalization for the very best results. There is a lot more music on R2R tape than you think, here is a list I work from:

Ok, a really naive question. So, why would one want a reel to reel now? To record things and play back? Or is there big reels of music somewhere to be purchased. As I remember tape degrades after ten years or so. 
 

Just interested. 

For me, very simple, the best source of sound I have ever heard. For example, I own a 15ips copy of Lyn Stanley live at Bernies. All I can say is wow! Probably the best recoded and sounding music source I have ever heard. That good, really does sound like being at a live concert. Look here for more details on this recording:

https://lynstanley.com/product/reel-to-reel-london-with-a-twist-live-sampler/

This is a $750 tape (including tax, S&H).

The other reason to own a R2R tape desk is; why do you think virtually all high end manufacturers use them to demonstrate their products at HiFi Shows?