How many People own Working Reel to Reel Decks?

Gentleman,

Tonight Sue and I went to the first Presbyterian church in Richmond Va. to record the James River Singers. We took my Ampex 351-2 tape machine I bought new in 1958 and a pair of Peluso 2247 SE condenser mikes. The result was glorious. It all started because of The Tape Project.

I wasn't the only one recording tonight. A university music student had a pair of Neumann KM 84's, a Toshiba lap top, and a pair of Bose QC headphones. I'm sure the gear was provided by the university. He came over to see why I had so much gear. My words fell on deaf ears, --- the next generation of Best buy customers!

Until you hear what pure unadulterated music sounds like, no compressors , limiters, eq's or any of the other deleterious artifacts needed to make the MUSIC sound good on Ipods or ?????? you'll never experience what the engineer hears when the music is first recorded. The Tape Project will give you that experience.

Since I've enjoyed the sonic experience of listening to the first release from The Tape Project, a few tape machines have found their way into my shop. Four Scully 280 B's Two Studer A 810's, one A 80 VU, a pair of Technics 1500's, Four Ampex 440 B and C's both 1/4 and 1/2 inch machines. An ATR 102 on the way, and a collection of some of the cleanest RTR machines that are being GIVEN away on ebay. Sue thinks I have about 10 machines to play with when I retire,>*}{**

My cd player is collecting dust. Between Vinyl and RTR tape, there's nothing better than live music---- capture it on an analog RTR machine. They're still out there and good mikes are cheap. Spend a few bucks, take your wife out to hear live music and bring it back home, listen to it on whatever gear you have. It will amaze you how good music can sound.

Ken

Late to this party, but I love my reel to reel. I have a Technics 1520 with balanced and RCA out. I have a few tapes, maybe 200?

Well, let me join the club. I have a couple of Otaris and Revox hanging around and have been collecting prerecorded r2rs since the late 1970s. Don't know how many I got and am much too lazy to count. At the moment I am waiting for a Technics 1520, modded by the Tape Project folks together with the
Bottlehead dedicated tube electronics and can't wait to try them out.
Cheers,

I also have an old Revox A-77 mk??. I used it to record all my doo-wop oldies but I also have some master tapes of concerts from Carnegie Hall. He used to have a reel to reel in the basement (he was a stage crew member)and he recored concerts and events for some artists. Boy, got yo hunt for them!

Rick (RWD)

I use my Ampex for recording on location, recording as a mix-down deck from 8 channel to 2 channel, and playing the masters and pre-recorded tapes.

When doing direct recording I use a set of Neumann U-67s direct-in. I like to bypass my preamp when using the Ampex for playback- it has balanced outputs and drives long cables and the amps effortlessly. The results are really quite spectacular.

I used to have a pile of Magnacord machines, which were 10.5" capable and all-tube electronics. They worked beautifully. I had two that I had rebuilt- one for 1/4" tape and one for 1/2" tape. BTW, 1/2" master tapes are really something to hear... anyway, Magnacords are not as well-known as Ampex, so you can get them cheaper, and they are quite sturdy and competent.

I also have an Otari and a Studer. Between the two, although the Studer is older and somewhat more clunky in appearance, it is a better sounding machine overall. Recently I've also been using a professional grade Sony made about 15 years ago. It has a lot of nice features, but the Studer takes it to task also. Of course, sound-wise the Ampex is still the best I've heard, but its also the trickiest to use.