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Reel to reel

I’m entertaining the idea of purchasing a reel to reel to record my albums on and also use to possibly soften the digital age a bit. Does anyone know where or if NEW blank tapes can be purchased? Are there any thoughts on a resurgence of R2R and if blank media will become more easily accessible?
128x128luvrockin
whart's avatar
whart
3,099 posts
 
I’d reach out to Myles Astor or Greg Baron, who are both into the high end 15 ips 1/2 track 1/4" playback thing of pre-recorded tapes. But, they should both know what the best current reel tape formulation is and where to get it.
A bridge I have not yet crossed---
Much as I’d love to look at a big assed Studer mastering deck in my room. :)
PS: don't mean to exclude others here who travel in those rarified circles who might have more info. 
luvrockin's avatar
luvrockin OP
208 posts
 
@whart,@whart, are those guys on AG? 
whart's avatar
whart
3,099 posts
 
let’s see
@mylesastor@gregberon
I don’t know if this will work.
Myles writes for Positive Feedback and also has a chat board on audio.
Greg is a dealer--very involved in the revival of the hi-end tape phenomenon. (United Home Audio, I think is his retail brand name).
Note I misspelled Greg's last name- it is Beron. 

You can tell them you got their names from me-- not that it will make much difference. Neither sell blank tape but may be able to give you the best info on sourcing. And if you are going to dive into tape, I’d suggest you get on one or another boards with some "tapeheads"- those old machines are cool, but repair and maintenance can be a challenge. There are companies, like Greg’s, who sell what amounts to a new deck or refurbished deck. There’s all kinds of stuff, involving changing out the preamp, in addition to tape handling issue that you should know, apart from what the different options are in terms of basic machines.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Of course you can buy new blank tape. Of course it might be hard what with Google finagling their filters but if you use one of the less manipulated search engines like DuckDuckGo it should be a snap to find.

I had a 10.5" open reel deck for years back when it seemed smart to make tapes to avoid wearing out my precious vinyl. Nowadays that seems silly but that’s what we did back then. You can buy it just like I did back then in boxes of 10 which at 7.5ips is a whole lotta music.

The question isn’t availability, its all that and more. The question is why? And what? And how good? Unlike back in the day when we had few choices today you have everything from preserved or restored vintage to new to heavily modded high end boutique to pro decks.

Think carefully and do a lot of research because while open reel is awesome its also really heavily mechanical and maintenance is much more an issue than even with turntables. Not that its not worth it. Its hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t had one how great they are. But use one a lot and it is a fairly high maintenance piece of gear so think it through.
luvrockin's avatar
luvrockin OP
208 posts
 
@millercarbon, thanks for the info. Sounds like you and I may be from the same era lol! Back in 5he day that’s exactly what I did with my vinyl as well many moons ago. That’s one of the things I’d like to do today. I owned (2) reel to reel decks at different times. I owned a Pioneer RT-707 and a Teac X-2000R. In my opinion, neither were high end decks but I thought they both sounded pretty sweet. In fact, I’m leaning towards another 707 that I can get a good deal on which is a 7” machine. The other is a Teac 3300 which is a 10.5”. I don’t want to spend tons on a deck, at least not at this time. I also remember buying a Maxells or TDK 7” for about $8 and a  10” for around $20. That’s the biggest hurdle besides the fact I bought a brand new with warranty RT-707 in the 80’s for $250 and the  X-2000R if memory serves around $600. Anyway, now I’m looking at 40yr old decks that are getting more money than paid new. This is a crazy hobby lol!
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