Reel to Reel information, user tips and tricks...

You can get tape of all sorts (cassette, 1/4", 1/2", 1") from ATR Magnetics, the last remaining US supplier of audio tape
www.atrtape.com

When storing tape, its better in the attic than the basement! Get some packets of SilicaGel, and put a couple in the plastic bag with the reel of tape when you store it. This will help to prevent shedding.

You can use a toaster oven to bake tape that is shedding if its not too far gone. Generally set on the lowest setting (about 140 degrees F) for about 2-3 hours, and if that did the trick the tape won't need baking again for months.

You know I sure appreciate, chiming in.. It has been a LONG time. I forgot about that, the baking part. I've never had to do it.  BUT I've not used what's left of my system for over 20 years.

I left off with vinyl, cassettes, and the early part of CDs.  4X was a VERY fast CD..SCSI was where I was at. HUGE footprint hard drives. Priam, Maxtor and Seagate, certified series for Novel. 300 meg not gig, drives.  7 of them and a few CD drives... pretty fancy.. 

Old stuff like me... I kept a majority of it in the shop, the rest in a basement. The shop got nicked, the basement flooded 30 years ago AND still has 300-400 LP in it.. I take out 20 30 clean, listen re slip...
Thats been going on for the last 5 years or so.. 9/10 of the way done..

My wife was the vinyl person, I was the tape, and CD guy.. Go figure..
Now, it's all good....

Retirement... collecting STUFF.. Yup.. best job I ever had..

Again thanks for the tips. 

Regards

if you are handy with a soldering iron and can run the EQ curves, you can also use one of the tube phono stages as a tape head preamp......I have done it with an EAR 834 as well as the Marantz 7 clone phono stage.
Amazing how much better it sounds.

I think it is more attractive if the manufacture could make a tape preamp with 4 inputs like some phono stage preamp. Someone would hook up 4 R2R machines at the same time.

johnss439 posts11-24-2020 4:55am

if you are handy with a soldering iron and can run the EQ curves, you can also use one of the tube phono stages as a tape head preamp......I have done it with an EAR 834 as well as the Marantz 7 clone phono stage.
Amazing how much better it sounds.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm

Look under "Tape options"..  This is all valve, PtP 5 valves, tube rectified. This is the (second) model, with a few improvement over the first.. I owned the first with Decware's M60. Nice.. had a couple of issues, seemed it took a super quiet valve, it would get noisy... I love valves, I don't like noise...

Above is the phono stage I’m having built, for my RtR and the TT. I still haven't received and ETA. 4-16 week lead time..

I’ve seen MX110z phono stages all tricked out for tape, with the ability to change the bias on the fly... Magic, come to mind..

I always wondered where he got the phono stages, something had to be gutted to do it.. Might have been 110Ms. The late 70s and early 80s

I’m a Mac guy, I’ve used their phono stage for a long time. A guy named Samra, tricks them out.. Red sock, green sock guy..

I love a GOOD valve pre. Noisy.... YUK..

The EQ curves your speaking of, I’m not following. For mixing,
recording?

Appreciate the information.. A little Reel to Reel action..:-)

Regards