Reel to reel , is it real the hype!

Not hype. Reality. I had open reel back in the 70's and 80's. Dumbest thing I ever did in audio was sell the RT. Back then I would dub my records to tape and do almost all my listening off tape. Playing records was a special occasion. Although honestly the dubs were so close.....   

But that was then. Now there are really superb tapes you can buy, and master tape dubs will blow you away. If your system is up to it anyway. The ones I heard at Mike Lavigne's, if I had that the turntable would be gathering dust, let me tell you!   

Rather than research the deck I would suggest research the tapes first. Because no point buying a deck if it sucks you dry for buying tapes. But if you can swing it then brother, swing for the fences! We heard some Pink Floyd that made time stand still. Then some Led Zep, and I don't even like most of it but damn, this was something else! Not hype. Not even. 

If you enjoy spending $100's per album go for it.
Otari parts are gone.   
Have at it.

Yup have a plan, because it's not a poor mans toy. Doing your own stuff is just about the only good option, prices are just NUTS and what's available really sucks for the most part.  35 years ago it was bad, it's a whole lot worse now.. There were a lot of good DIY 1/4 7.5" and 15" back then.

Unless your going to record your own.. and 1/2" tape..

Otari, some are surely better than others.. I've used them close to 40 years off more than on... Still a lot of good parts and a few techs to keep them going.. They have good maintenance manual too, if you want to learn.. All of the wear parts are still around and quite a few upgrades, just depends on what you're doing. 

1/2" tape? You better check and see if there is a source first..

Regards

@billwojo275@millercarbon@fuzztone
yes I did look at the source material.
source material is limited.
I see there are very few reliable sources for original master tape copies.
My friend says he can help me get authentic copies for a price of course.
price seems to be around 200-500$ per copy.

@oldhvymec    Thank you. I am looking for specific information on this deck the otari mtr10. Typical price etc.
1/2 “ I hear is of better quality than 1/4 “.
I have been told making a copy from 1/4 to 1/2 inch may improve the quality of sound. Something similar to upsampling.
He says he can change the head block to a 1/4 “ extended range but recommends against it .
Blank tape for 1/2” is going to be more expensive. 1/4” blank I see is around 110-150$ on a metal spool. Do you know how expensive 1/2” tape is .