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What to ask when buying Revox A77 Reel-to-Reel

deniss

deniss

Active Member
I would like to acquire a Reel deck, and I might have a line on the Revox A77. From reading the forums here, people seem to speak very highly about these decks. The seller states it's in excellent condition all around, with heads cleaned and demagnetized recently.

Since I am a total novice to reel, what should I ask the seller about it?

Did the A77 come in different flavors? Like 2-track or 4-track or speeds?

Any clues would be appreciated!
Denis
 
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The A77 is a wonderful player! Check out this site Here.

There is an email link to contact Ken Swauger. He is an A77 expert. Happy Listening!
 
Yes, the A77 came in many different versions. The majority of the home units were 3.75/7.5 ips 1/4 track stereo units, but there were some 15 ips half track units, and well as some super slow-speed units as well.

The best A77s are the MK III and the MK IV units. These have some worthwhile improvement over the erlier versions.
 
Good to know -- I will ask the seller which specific model it is.

The tape counter is dead, which he says is a simple belt replacement. Is that so?
 
I think:

1. To examine to what degree its RECORD and PLAYBACK heads are worn.

2. To watch its PLAYBACK frequency response graph; you’ll need:
An industrially made test tape
and a software spectrum analyzer with test signals are needed (some very good ones are free on the Net)

3. And its “loop-through” RECORD-PLAYBACK channel frequency response graph for recommended tapes (only a software spectrum analyzer with test signals is needed, some very good ones are free on the Net).

4. And to what degree the internal recording and playback amplifiers FR controls are used (to have a reserve of regulation).
 
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I had a MK I that I used for several decades. It did not have the tape tensioner that was introduced in the next generation. Required a bit of tender car not to mess up the tape but, I never had any problem as I was aware of it. There was an accessory metal panel that you could buy and stick on the plastic back panel. But, on many machines it required the reels to be adjusted to prevent reel rub. Agree with the tape counter. Also make sure the remote shorting plug is there if the remote is not included.
 
Make sure the heads so NOT look like this.

These are shot. Any other issues are fixable.

Marc
 

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Tinman said:
Make sure the heads so NOT look like this.

These are shot. Any other issues are fixable.

Marc
Click to expand...

They aren't pretty :)

Just yanked a set of heads from a dead A77_mkIV that got factory replacement heads a couple of years ago ......
It ran extreemely well untill a thunderstorm (Lightning) took out the entire shop ...

( 2 Track heads - that is )

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I Had to blow the camera to ultra macro - to see the dirt on them :)
The mirror is incredibly - they where perfectly aligned - not 100%, but as Toyota says 112% !

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I Have replaced litterarely thousands of heads - i'm not sure I can do a job that good :no:

( edit : And i didn't clean them good 'nuff - still a little debree in the upper right corner ....)
 
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OP - did you get the Revox? I think I saw the same deck on PHL Craigslist. The price was right and was tempted but I already have 2. Hope you got it and if you did, sure you will love it.
 
Revox reel to reel..................

Other than hearing the owners description of the unit, the first thing that I would look at (and this goes for "any" brand of reel to reel tape deck) is check the heads as someone else has already mentioned. Because if the heads are gone, well lets just say that you would be putting more money into it than you had expected (very expensive to replace if they can be found and/or to re-lap if possible).
But over all you mentioned that the owner described it as 'excellent' but "The tape counter is dead"!?
To me when I hear the word 'excellent' when someone is describing something then that means that there should be "no" problems with the unit. Everything and I mean everything should be working on it. I should not have to replace, fix or repair anything on it if it is in excellent condition.
Then again that's just me and these are my opinions to each their own.
 
Tinman said:
Make sure the heads so NOT look like this.

These are shot. Any other issues are fixable.

Marc
Click to expand...

I think I have seen that pic before. Would those be mine :-) Glad you
purchased that new Ultra Sound Cleaner...... it got a work out on my A-77.
Sure was crappy looking inside considering how new the outside was kept.
Pop took good care of his toys. I was suprised the unit did not fill the room with smoke as all the capps looked really bad. Thanks for the pic's of the Revox as you restore it for me. Someday I will pass it on to my son.
Thanks Marc.
Louis
 
Yep. Those are yours, Louis.

It's coming along.....

Yes, I clean damn near everything in an Ultrasound tank. Here's the transport board before cleaning.... note all the oil from the leaked out motor phase cap.
And after cleaning, as well as after re-cap. Yes, all the switches and relays were done as well. :yes:

Marc
 

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Tinman said:
Yep. Those are yours, Louis.

It's coming along.....

Yes, I clean damn near everything in an Ultrasound tank. Here's the transport board before cleaning.... note all the oil from the leaked out motor phase cap.
And after cleaning, as well as after re-cap. Yes, all the switches and relays were done as well. :yes:

Marc
Click to expand...

Take your time, I have been playing my old Akai 7" and listening to music Pop recorded back in the 1960's. Dad would be happy to see how nice you have cleaned and restoring his "Baby" :thmbsp: I have your PR-101 reels ready to send to you.
Louis
 
Unfortunately, I this deck wasn't meant to be mine. Funny, first time I saw it sold, it didn't sell for several days, and this time it sold immediately as the seller reposted.

So I'm back on the look-out.

My main reason for getting the reel is because my parents have some reel tapes of their own music from many years ago which were professionally recorded in a studio (perhaps mixdown tapes), and I wanted to revive those tapes, at least make the best digital version of them that I can, and perhaps also transfer them onto some new tape, to make sure they can store a while longer.

So taking that into account, am I looking for a 4-track machine? The reel size is fairly small, around 7-inch by my estimation, rather than the 10-inch. That's probably because the studio recorded on consumer tapes for the final product, though I really don't have any info beyond that, and my parents aren't technical at all, so I really can't get any more info from them either.

Thanks for any pointers!
 
You would have to find out what track format your tapes are actually recorded on.

Or.... find an Otari MX-5050BII. It's a great machine and will play back both 2 and 4 track.

Marc
 
So in other words not all 4-track machines are capable of playing 2-track tapes? Is there any physical difference in appearance of 2- and 4-track tapes?
 
deniss said:
So in other words not all 4-track machines are capable of playing 2-track tapes? Is there any physical difference in appearance of 2- and 4-track tapes?
Click to expand...

a normal 4track deck can play a tape recorded on a 2track deck, one channel would be a tad lower on output level though.

The track layout is the reason for this.

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