Reel to Reel

C1ferrari--I'm doing, fine, thanks! It looks like you are really enjoying your R2R, too.

Mepearson--All the prerecorded 7.5 ips tapes I own are from the early days (1950s) and are 2-track only. As I said, they are very, very nice, but not as nice as either the TP tapes or other 15 ips tapes I have lucked into. Sadly (and no doubt in part because of the resurgence in interest in R2R that forums like Audiogon have ignited), the "large library" of these early 2-track prerecorded tapes are soaring in price. Some I have tracked on ebay recently have fetched over $300 each, a huge increase from six months ago. My original post had this "value" issue in mind--I think a newly released, 15 ips / IEC tape from the Tape Project is a far better value at $300 than a lovely RCA 7.5 ips 2-track from the 1950s that costs nearly the same. But, as you said, our opinions are debatable!

Hello Mark!

Thanks for the expression of interest in my future recordings :-) Should anything of consideration develop, I'll share them.

Vbr,
Sam

A tape machine that is a bit of a sleeper is the Magnacord. They were made in 7 1/2 and 15 ips versions, although seems to me the 7 1/2 ips (with 3 3/4 as the slow speed) is a bit harder to find. There was the 724 and 1024; like any older machine they will need to be refurbished, but are capable of exceptional quality and are useful as field recorders, as its actually possible to pick them up with one hand.

They have a beefy chassis and 3-motor design, not unlike a compact Ampex 350 transport, but with the all-tube electronics built into the same case. If you have the input transformers, a balanced input for microphone is available. I've refurbished a few of these over the years and they will take a Studer A-80 to the mat with ease. While not as feature-laden, the transport is actually more solid and the tube electronics simply out-perform the A-80 (BTW, the A-80 is no slouch and is one of the better transistor units I've heard, despite its clunky appearance; we have one in our studio that we use quite a lot).

Dertonarm,

i saw your response to my post over on the 'Absolute' best cartridge' thread regarding my reel to reel comments. i had asked....

have you investigated newer RTR transports with improved ss output electronics?

you responded....

I am pretty accustomed to the younger generation Studers too.
The improvement in speed stability and reduced vibration does not really make up for loss of dimensionality and low level dynamics compared to the C-37 - especially not when running at 15ips.

your answer did not really speak to my question....have you heard newer transports with improved output electronics (such as the Cello circuit)?

i thought that making that point on that thread was not the right thing to do (as you noted) but maybe here on this thread you could more specifically answer my question.

my opinion is that the very best transports combined with improved output electronics can be every bit as good and likely better than the most 'loved' and 'revered' 60's RTR decks. they would have more dimentionality and low level dynamics.

Sam,

I've only managed to listen to a half dozen or so 1/2 inch two track tapes; all at 30 ips. Recorded at Sounds Unreel studio in Memphis in the mid 80s, without dolby, the dynamics are as good as anything I've heard. Steve Horton and his band never quite made it big but the Memphis rock he put out should have gone somewhere other than clubs in Memphis.

There are a bunch of 1/2 inch 8 channel tapes that will have to wait a while before I can get to them. Since they'll need to be mixed down to two track it'll take time to get familiar enough with the songs to do a decent job; it will be fun but creepy mixing music from dead guys! Ken