RU recording LPs on Reel to Reel ?

While we are @ it are there any brands of tape that are considered to be of higher quality?

Good sources for pre-recorded tapes (LA area) are the county library book sales. Though they have not been rotated many look to have never been checked out (played) and @ the least they have been stored in a climate controlled environment (power outages aside).

The last blank tapes I picked up were 7" reels of Memorex promo/gift packs for non-commercial use. Not certain if they are 1200' or 1800' (they run to within 1/2" of the outside of the reel and still have the sponge holders intact). If it were not for the Inter'l Orange boxes I would have passed them by (mixed in with a pile of old magazines @ a local thrift).

what about cassettes
I have several Nakamichi tape decks that mke quite good tapes with that analog quality all over them

Tom

Hey Kublakhan. Great thread.While I don't have much experience in the digital format,I still record on a vacuum tubed Studer Revox G36 2 track recorder, and have for close to 30 years.It is imperative to record at 15 ips for top quality recordings and... no, I do not use any dolby on my machine.The majority of my tapes recorded from vinyl will stomp all over my digital of that same recording.Some of these tapes were recorded more than 25 years ago! Many years ago I owned a DJ company and had 7 crews out there in wedding halls and parties most every weekend. We used mostly Revox and Tanberg machines.They are precision semi-pro decks that will mirror the input signal without the digititis found in the digital formats.They can be a little frustrating to operate at first but they do not take a rocket scientist to figure out.There are many pro recording studios out there dumping some fabulous analogue recorders for next to peanuts.The Otari 550 pro deck for example. Some of their pro decks that use the 1/2 inch and 1 inch tapes are superb sounding machines and some can be run at 30 ips.Keep in mind the liabilties that go along with the territory...Quality tape reels are hard to find and getting even harder all the time.Proper maintenance is also a must. Revox still has service depots through out North America for all their tape recorders.Here is an even better deal and should cost you less than $100!!.There are thousands of Beta video recorders out there in basements collecting dust.This is the perfect format for recording any medium and the sound quality is absolutely top shelf.Trust me on this one guys,you won't believe your listening to a tape,its great for your treasured vinyl....simpy record and label the tape.Some of the early CD's[blahhh]will be "almost" listenable sitting down[you know what I mean]The better recorded CD's will knock your socks off.Great for parties and casual listening.Just make sure the deck has variable record inputs in 2 channels.I have both a VHS machine and a Sony beta machine and the beta just kills the vhs machine for audio. IT certainly is an inexpensive way to store music, the source could be vinyl,digital or a live band in a local pub. Enjoy.

thanks for the info ecclectique,
the beta idea is an interesting idea but the sex appeal isn't there for me. so now i'm thinking i might as well buy a reel to reel just for the lust-factor and have some fun. i'm looking for the recommendations you offered.

anybody else have ideas on good decks?

Hi Dennis,
As a lifelong R/R fan, you must remember that A tape deck is basically a Transport and a preamp. The better the electronics in the preamp section, the better your recordings will sound. For this reason, the fellow above loves his Revox G-36. The tubed electronics make all the difference. The battleship like Revox A-700 with 2 track heads, looks better, is built better, handles tape better, but sounds lousy in comparison. Early solid state was the reason.
The Tandbergs had the best sound,(for consumer decks) but had an almost 100% failure rate. They WILL break.
Pioneer had a series of good machines in the 74-78 era, with great construction and very decent sound.
Stay away from the Revox B-77, the best solid state Revox was the A-77Mk4.
The Pro scene was much better, but you need money and a good setup man for the infinitely superior AMPEX ATR series and 440 series.
The blank tape scene has all but disappeared. The big rocks began to fall when 3M discontinued all Analog Reel production in 95 or 96. The giant of the industry spelled it out. We are headed for a tapeless world. Only Quantegy and BASF remain.
A recording on a great Ampex or Studer machine at 30 ips, can actually sound better than your LP, that you recorded it from. A coloration maybe, but I always welcome a larger soundstage and larger images.
Dennis I dont tune in to this station much anymore, but when I saw you pop up after a few years absense, I had to post one. Good luck.........Frank