I'm looking to spend about $1,000 on a r2r that is the apsolute best (edited) looking and most reliable tube transport so I don't wear out my brand new vinyls and instead wear out my tapes, I have a strong preference to tube based units.
Can I please have some suggestions on what I should be looking for, the obvious are too expensive and transistor based, but if someone can direct me to some tube based models that would help me out a great degree.
Thank you for your time.
Can I please have some suggestions on what I should be looking for, the obvious are too expensive and transistor based, but if someone can direct me to some tube based models that would help me out a great degree.
Thank you for your time.
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El Dorado and the Fountain of Youth.
Drop another zero at the end of your cost target and you MIGHT get something which works 95% as well as a $200 sound card.
OK, once you're up to five figures, you can start looking at a rebuilt Ampex (I have restored several 350/351s over the years). A half-track 15 or 30 ips transport with heads in good condition (or replace with something like an ATR800 headstack) can be bought for ~$4-5k, then rebuild the electronics (which were nothing special). If you want something reasonably transparent, don't even consider lower speeds or 1/4 track.
Tape cost will also be staggering. I sold off my last tube RTR over twenty years ago and never looked back. No way I'd even consider one today.
Tape cost will also be staggering. I sold off my last tube RTR over twenty years ago and never looked back. No way I'd even consider one today.
Somehow I'd expect tape wear to be conciderably higher than the wear of the vinyl, using a HQ TT and PU, of course.....
Add to that, the fact that tape is going the way of the dodo, and what is left may be of dubious quality from improper storage..........
or is there still any production left???
Instrumentation tape is no more, I think..... we still have one large 14 track B&H left in our lab..... mostly for nostalgic reasons IMO......
Add to that, the fact that tape is going the way of the dodo, and what is left may be of dubious quality from improper storage..........
or is there still any production left???
Instrumentation tape is no more, I think..... we still have one large 14 track B&H left in our lab..... mostly for nostalgic reasons IMO......
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I've got a Roberts RtR from very early sixties, that is so heavy it has to be tubes. You need one of those, then rebuild the electronics to eliminate the compromises. Of course, it is probably only 1/2 track 1/4" tape. I picked it up at the flea market, $25.
There are some 1" and 1/2" x 12" reels of tape going surplus out of Nashville, TN on craigslist, but who knows how many passes across the head those had. In 1/4" I found a shrink wrapped AFEES price tagged 7" reel of Scotch black box at Goodwill, last month, $2. With the rarety of that media, I think I will reserve it for arranging of music, where I record it at 7 1/2" and play back at 3 3/4" so I can figure out what the artist on the record is doing. Liz Story"s Greensleeves on Windham Hill is my next project, for next winter.
Then there is the guy on Bowling Green, KY Craigslist, trying to sell an entire studio: wide reel to reel, hundreds of boxes of tape, preamps, mikes etc. All obsolete stuff; I think the price was $38000 no guarentee.
There are some 1" and 1/2" x 12" reels of tape going surplus out of Nashville, TN on craigslist, but who knows how many passes across the head those had. In 1/4" I found a shrink wrapped AFEES price tagged 7" reel of Scotch black box at Goodwill, last month, $2. With the rarety of that media, I think I will reserve it for arranging of music, where I record it at 7 1/2" and play back at 3 3/4" so I can figure out what the artist on the record is doing. Liz Story"s Greensleeves on Windham Hill is my next project, for next winter.
Then there is the guy on Bowling Green, KY Craigslist, trying to sell an entire studio: wide reel to reel, hundreds of boxes of tape, preamps, mikes etc. All obsolete stuff; I think the price was $38000 no guarentee.
For $1K
for a tube deck, you are probably limited to an purchasing an Ampex 350 and then having it restored by someone. However, it doesn't handle tape too kindly (don't try shuttling tape back and forth - let it play straight thru).
More modern (transistorized) decks do a MUCH better job handling tape BUT their electronics (especially reproduction) leave a LOT to be desired. Technics 1500 (series), Otari MX5050 do a great handling job.
Charles
for a tube deck, you are probably limited to an purchasing an Ampex 350 and then having it restored by someone. However, it doesn't handle tape too kindly (don't try shuttling tape back and forth - let it play straight thru).
More modern (transistorized) decks do a MUCH better job handling tape BUT their electronics (especially reproduction) leave a LOT to be desired. Technics 1500 (series), Otari MX5050 do a great handling job.
Charles
Thanks guys.
I can see that its going to be like paddling up a fast flowing river when everyone else has already gone over the waterfall.
Was kind of hoping that I could preserve that beautiful analog sound that I can get from vinyl so I can have a set of mix tapes and not wear out the vinyl and Ortofon OM10.
I am experimenting again with cassette tape in the form of a Nikko ND-390 II and Cr02 TDK SA-C90.
I recorded a couple of my best flawless vinyls onto TDK SA-C90 from 1979 that had a talk by some guy about mother teresa on it.
I will have to wait until tomorrow to find out if what I wanted to copy made the trip and was preserved onto the tape, probably not.
I can see that its going to be like paddling up a fast flowing river when everyone else has already gone over the waterfall.
Was kind of hoping that I could preserve that beautiful analog sound that I can get from vinyl so I can have a set of mix tapes and not wear out the vinyl and Ortofon OM10.
I am experimenting again with cassette tape in the form of a Nikko ND-390 II and Cr02 TDK SA-C90.
I recorded a couple of my best flawless vinyls onto TDK SA-C90 from 1979 that had a talk by some guy about mother teresa on it.
I will have to wait until tomorrow to find out if what I wanted to copy made the trip and was preserved onto the tape, probably not.
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TBH, your best bet will be to get a modern deck, maybe one that needs work to get it running correctly. That way you get good tape handling. Otari MX5050, Technics 1500 come to mind for prosumer decks.
For the repro there are several DIY possibiliies, Salas has shown a tape head PB version of his Simplistic NJFET RIAA. For tube, there are the bottlehead phono amps that can be modifired for NAB or IEC PB curve. Almost any RIAA circuit can be modified to use the IEC or NAB curve.
Record is a different animal. I have not seen anyone propse new record circuits.
You could ask at the Tape project forum, as well as tapeheads, Audio Asylum, home recording, and the Steve Hoffman place if anyone there has built new record circuits.
Someone else touched on this, what size tape are you going to run? What speed? half or quarter track? Even used, good tape is not cheap.
P.S. if you keep your rig clean, you will not wear out your records
For the repro there are several DIY possibiliies, Salas has shown a tape head PB version of his Simplistic NJFET RIAA. For tube, there are the bottlehead phono amps that can be modifired for NAB or IEC PB curve. Almost any RIAA circuit can be modified to use the IEC or NAB curve.
Record is a different animal. I have not seen anyone propse new record circuits.
You could ask at the Tape project forum, as well as tapeheads, Audio Asylum, home recording, and the Steve Hoffman place if anyone there has built new record circuits.
Someone else touched on this, what size tape are you going to run? What speed? half or quarter track? Even used, good tape is not cheap.
P.S. if you keep your rig clean, you will not wear out your records
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