Reel to Reel?

[ev13wt]

I assume you keep the decks well lubed.

:scratch2:

:lmao:

 

[Coastsider]

Nothing better than hitting play and having 3 1/2 hours of music without having to stop what you were doing to flip an album, or search for the next song.

Brings back great memories of my bachelor days living in my first house in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon back in the 70's. They may be somewhat exaggerated now even in my own mind, but that's O.K. because it was a really good time. I had a Magnecord 1024 back then which managed 5", 7" and an odd 8" reel which contained enough tape to prerecord music to last an entire evening.

I have both a Pioneer RT-701 and RT-707 now which I agree are the best deal going these days, and which allow me to enjoy my collection of pre-recorded albums on tape that I amassed over the years and thankfully hung on to through the non-reel to reel years. I don't know what happened to my 8" reels but I'm too old to have need of them now anyway.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Gentlemen, (and ladies),

Those great records you hear and Compact Discs you also hear, had one thing in common, the best of them from analog sources were made from (drum roll) Reel To Reel tape masters. At 15 or 30 IPS, 1/2 track or Full track mono, 15 or 30 IPS on 1/4" tapes. Which is also the only archival medium in tapes. Secret to making great vinyl= great master tapes.

 

[stoutblock]

BITD there was nothing like a nice R2R to impress your friends. It was the final sign that you made it to the top of the audio pyramid (especially if it was a Crown).

Today I just love them because needle drop recordings sound divine and they look cool. Oh yeah, my AKAI 635D with bit 10" reels still impresses my friends more than any other equipment I have.

With that said, my Nakamichi 1000 ZXL sounds very nearly but not quite as good. Very, very close though. OK, maybe it does sound as good but I will never admit it...

 

[TerryO]

Gentlemen, (and ladies),

Those great records you hear and Compact Discs you also hear, had one thing in common, the best of them from analog sources were made from (drum roll) Reel To Reel tape masters. At 15 or 30 IPS, 1/2 track or Full track mono, 15 or 30 IPS on 1/4" tapes. Which is also the only archival medium in tapes. Secret to making great vinyl= great master tapes.

Absolutely True!

 

[bluesky]

Kinda new to vintage audio, but what is the point of reel to reel recorders? I know they can record stuff but why would u need that? Is the quality better than a cassette or vinyl record?

I'm just confused on why people would want them.

Very long play, it records well, and it's analog!

The positive: the 'cool factor' is way up there.
The negative: a lot of moving parts. If it breaks down...good luck finding parts.

At the time 7 inch R/R was all the rage. Today...If you dig them but not really necessary. LPs are fine. To me, R/R is more of a novelity. But they just look awesome!!!!!!!!!! An empty "specific company" 7 inch Reel will cost you, Sansui's from minimum $75 for a good one to over $100 for one in great condition. Where you get 7 inch tape...I have no idea.

But they sure 'Got the Look!!', as Prince would say.

Used to have a 1970 Teak I bought new. I ended up selling it within a year. Just didn't need it. But it sure did look cool!

 

[Jay Pemberton]

Another place where reel-to-reel wins: that early form of surround sound known as quadraphonic. In the day quadraphonic recordings were in 'matrix' formats (several non-interchangeable methods of piggybacking rear channel information onto front channel information so as to record the lot onto two channel-based media such as records, or potentially, cassettes or FM radio broadcasts--the non-interchangeable part a large reason quad flopped) or discrete.

Discrete meant four-channel recordings on a four-channel medium: this meant either special 8 track cartridges or the vastly superior 4 track/4 channel reel to reel tapes. Hence the special cachet held by such machines as the Teac A2340SX and A3340S machines and such like....

 

[bobaloniny]

A billion good reasons why r2r is still a viable option, none of which I will repeat.
For me, I just like it, it appeals to my fiddle around side, and my anti-same old thing side. Love the quality of reproduction to the point of if I have anything worthwhile in digital format, I will record to r2r, thats my archiving medium for long play.