I am very happy

tonyb

Man, I love R2R also, but....they're kinda like that high maintenance girlfriend you had great sex with. Beautiful to look at, performs well, but the upkeep and inconvenience killed it. I always though the SQ of R2R equaled and even surpassed vinyl on some recordings.

All us older dudes grew up in the era of great analog playback. We all had the milk crates of albums, those metal R2R tapes, the old tube consoles in another room. Fast forward a half a century of technology advancements and we still can't duplicate it. We are however getting close, maybe in another 50 years, I dunno.

Can you imagine trying to teach the kids, let alone your wife, how to thread the tape in the player ? Heck, they could barely handle cassettes and 8-tracks.

sgmsmg

After reading this thread I stumbled across this. I am sure this isn't the best example but could be a good starter R2R

https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/ele/d/vintage-sony-sterecorder-521/6282740312.html

mhardy6647

tratliff wrote: »

mhardy6647 wrote: »

msg wrote: »

Re: R2R, do you buy old tapes for that sort of thing, or make your own?

How's the fidelity? I have zero experience. Didn't people used to buy records, record them to tape and then put the records away, listening only to the tape copy?

Oh, do you need another expensive rabbit hole?
The fidelity can be superb -- remember for a long, long (long) time, virtually all all records were mastered from tapes.


Otari MX5050 010215 2 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

http://www.tapeproject.com

The MX-5050 is exactly what I'm looking to add. Just trying to secure tapes.

I have a spare one if you want a hobby (i.e., a fixer-upper)
I got three for free courtesy of the local CL (radio station castoffs). All three were rode hard & put away wet; the one in the photo was the healthiest of the three (although all three did "work" at some level). Gave one away to a local vacuum tube hifi guru who was mostly interested in the cart it was on.

Tapes (as such) aren't hard to find -- what's hard to find are really top quality recorded tapes. The aforementioned guru has a collection of things like half-track masters from pressing plants, safety backup copies of masters (second generation tapes); stuff like that.

tratliff

Realistic wrote: »

Todd did your dad get his RTR? Buying new pre recorded tape is not a option for me, half the fun of owning a RTR for me is making my own tape mix or putting complete albums on tape its a good time and I enjoy the sound it reproduces over a cd.

He hasn't picked it up yet. Waiting on the guy to finish the refurb. Looks like it will be another month.

I understand about the recording vs pre-recorded. That's why my dad bought the Technics. His goals and mine are slightly different. He wants the r2r for recording and playback flexibility. I want one for the superior sound quality than other sources.

Realistic

Thanks Halo I really love it, posting pics are part of the fun for me. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here and I welcome there advice, and there input on my stuff.

Realistic

Msg I have a decent size record collection and for me besides the cleaning most records have maybe 2 to three good tunes on them besides Zeppelin ofcourse So I really enjoy making a reel tape with all my favorite tunes on it. I am in the process of putting all my Who cds onto reel tape as I type this, good times for me

Realistic

Hi Blue Fox, I play my reel play list from start to finish and enjoy every min of it, for me its a simpler time as hectic and fast paced some days can be its nice to fall back into a simpler time, I close my eyes, listen and just day dream a lot

[Deleted User]

Maybe you need a pioneer CD player?

Not silver faced of course.
Pulled it out of the archives and it is playing six CD-Rs randomly.
It's got a bit of a dent in the hood as someone dropped something on it.
PM me if you need it.

Realistic

Kharp1 I did not know anything at all about Reel to Reel, watched a lot of videos how to clean tape path etc and picked up a brand new 10 inch blank and took off with it. I have completely rebuilt a tape transport on my ct-f900 tape deck so I wasn't that nervous about the RTR because its parts are a lot bigger And I would be more than happy to help you out if trouble does arise if you do purchase a RTR.

msg

Realistic wrote: »

Hi Blue Fox, I play my reel play list from start to finish and enjoy every min of it, for me its a simpler time as hectic and fast paced some days can be its nice to fall back into a simpler time, I close my eyes, listen and just day dream a lot

Mix tapes again! What a great idea!

• How long does a common R2R tape run?
• I presume there are levels of quality and types of tape, just like with cassettes?
• Do you guys have bulk head tape erasers to really wipe the old recordings clean? (I'm presuming here that these tapes are reusable)

msg

I remember @KennethSwauger posting up a while back with a question about a part he was trying to make for one of his units. Seems like a very engaging part of the hobby. Man, I'd love to hear one of these things. I should have a look around to see if there are any other addicts nearby.

Realistic

Tony my wife really enjoys listening to it but she said she will never try to run it without me I think that's kinda funny as she is much more intelligent than I am.

Realistic

I would like to get my hands on the box of tapes that come with that sony .

Realistic

There is nothing like that on cl around here.

Realistic

I understand what your saying Todd I just cant bring myself to spend that kind of money, which I don't have anyway on new pre recorded tapes. Although it would be pretty cool to have a nice collection of pre recorded reels , I would really enjoy that too. Good luck on your hunt, did you look at the fully restored MX-5050 on the bay? Tell your dad I said have fun and enjoy the music while making his tapes, that's one great thing about making your own tapes, you really listen to the music and hear things you didn't before.

Realistic

The time and amount of music you can fit onto a tape vary, my pioneer will do 7 1/2 or 3 3/4 inches per second, most people prefer 15 inches per second as to not compact the music. Although the 7 1/2 tape speed sounds great to me I am no expert. Yes there are expensive and cheap recording tape just like the cassette days, I ordered a good one. And yes they are re useable which is great, but once I am done loading up a reel its a keeper for me. You can purchase a variety of different tape lengths and sound quality. Msg I hope these pics help .

Realistic

Tried to upload a short video but it says its not allowed and to large, sorry.

Realistic

Rednedtugent nice pioneer cd player, that is next on my list to complete the all pioneer set up but as we all know finances dictate so it will be some time for me to get one.

Realistic

Msg here is a pic from a scotch 7inch tape I am recording on, I hope it helps answer some of your questions.

mhardy6647

Way too many R2Rs here -- most need to be rehabbed
I tend to pick 'em up the way some folks pick up stray puppies

FWIW: This is the pick of the litter; rebuilt to a high speed (7-1/2 & 15 ips), half-track stereo machine by Charles King in NY State. This one's in good working order.


ReVox WHRB Dead aircheck by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

mhardy6647

Yes, the tapes are reusable
msg, if you get to the point that you really want to go down the R2R road -- for some reason, I've accumulated a few bulk erasers; I can sho' nuff send you a surplus one. They're just fairly powerful, albeit small electromagnets; they're a little bit scary actually

Also, in terms of tape brands/formulations -- it gets a little complicated, as the precise bias characteristics of different tape formulations can vary; for best results a deck should be calibrated to a specific formulation.

This being said, there are good tape formulations in current production; in terms of vintage, my faves remain Maxell UD-35; the TDK "Audua L" is pretty OK, too. These are rugged, robust (yes, even four or more decades later) tapes that are extremely well made and sound good on most hardware of their era (and even better for 'tweaked' decks).

small%20TDK%20L1800 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

small%20maxell%20UD3590 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr


I've also been impressed with some BASF tape blanks that materialized here at some point; I don't know which precise formulation it is, though

aprazer402

@Realistic Hope all is well with you. You have a very nice Pioneer vintage system. I was recently doing some cleaning and came across some things I have no use for. I do not intend to explore the RTR rabbit hole. Is your Pioneer RTR model RT-1020L? If so, I have the original operating manual for it. I also have two 10.5" metal reels, both full of tape. I have no idea what is on the tapes. One of the reel boxes is a Pioneer box but the reel is TDK, the reel other is a Maxell. You welcome to have it all no charge, just PM your address. P.S. What Pontiac do you have? In high school and part of college I had a 1966 GTO convertible black with white top, 389... Some day's I wish I still had it, but not so much any more. The friend I sold it to back in the early 80's resold it about four years ago for around $35K.

Realistic

Wow, thank you very much I will put them to good use for sure, at 48 yrs old I wish I found this hobby along time ago.

Realistic

My uncle owned a 65 GTO convertible, black on black got to ride in it as a kid. He purchased new and still owns a 400 4spd trans am in the early 70s not sure the exact year, he doesn't stay in touch. Bob

gp4jesus

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I have some 7's collecting dust at the moment...

Realistic wrote: »

Next speaker purchase is a pair of 7s but are very hard to find around here, ...

7s? RTi A7s? Minimus 7s?