Resurrecting the Reel to Reel [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Resurrecting the Reel to Reel



squeegy200
01-15-2009, 12:45 PM
I encountered an estate sale that had a vast collection of vinyl and Reel tape. The previous owner must have had extensive library science skills as the vast collection was meticulously cataloged and organized.

I picked up several of his Reel to Reel recordings which unfortunately were done at the slower 3 3/4(?) speed. But the recording quality was better than I expected.

I had to dust off my R2R player (Akai 1710) and had to let the tubes warm up for a few hours before loading up a reel.

I had forgotten how much of a PITA those are to setup yet how much fun they are listening and watching.

Ill probably convert the recordings to Digital WAV files and store on disc considering the tape media is very well aged.

Rich-n-Texas
01-15-2009, 01:22 PM
Sounds like fun Squeegy. I have an Akai M9 R2R that needs some work, and someday I may just get it back in shape for my 2 channel retro setup.

emesbee
01-15-2009, 04:09 PM
My mother has some tape reels (only 3 of them) from the 60s which contain the voices of some long deceased relatives. Many years ago I copied them to cassette, but it was done on low quality basic equipment. As a result, a lot of noise was introduced, mainly motor noise. I'm about to copy these as wav files and attempt to clean them up, but it would be better to go back to the 'original masters' (so to speak) and copy them using a decent quality reel-to-reel tape deck (which I don't have).

Perhaps I should take them to a lab for copying, seeing as there are only 3 reels.

squeegy200
01-15-2009, 05:52 PM
I don't see many reel to reel rigs anymore.
Quantegy was the last supplier of magnetic tape and last I heard, they stopped production. I had not heard if they resumed operation.

I've been looking for replacement parts which are almost non-existent. Simple things like the small rubber plugs which keep the reels on the spindles.

Scouring eBay, I found that the aluminum take up reels are extremely expensive.
Unfortunately, magnetic tape does fade with age so its to our advantage to archive to another medium if you want to preserve memories.

I get mixed emotions hearing voices from the past. Definitely something that you wouldn't want to loose. It must have been an experience for Natalie Cole to sing a duet with her father from a track he recorded in the studio when she was only eight years old.

emesbee
01-15-2009, 08:36 PM
Those tapes were recorded by my uncle back in 1968 or 1969, presumably on a portable home tape recorder. I remember we used to have a tape recorder which doubled as a record player, believe it or not. To play records on it, you would take off the reels, fit the supplied turntable platter and tonearm, then adjust the speed. It was a really cheap and nasty bit of equipment. I remember that I used it to play back the tapes and record it onto a portable cassette player. I forget exactly when this was, but it would have been over 20 years ago. Needless to say, the quality of the cassette recording is not particularly good, with a lot of introduced noise.

I think I will digitise it from the cassette anyway, and clean it up the best I can, so at least I will have a digital backup copy, but for a better result I'll try and find someone who can play the original tapes.

emaidel
01-16-2009, 04:55 AM
I still have a functioning Akai GX-600DB 10 1/2" RTR. I use it very seldomly, mostly to listen to older recordings I made of separate cuts from dozens of LP's. When I bought a new house in Aurora, CO about 7 years ago, the builder, a young man in his 30's, saw the machine, and with a dumbfound expression asked, "What's THAT?" He had no idea...

mlsstl
01-17-2009, 06:23 AM
I'll report in as the owner of a Tandberg 9241X open reel that I bought in 1975. A couple of years ago I had to get the pinch and capstan flywheel rubber rollers replaced (Terry's Rubber Rollers - he recasts a new rubber roller on the existing metal hub) and all is fine again.

Open reel tapes have a sonic signature much different than LPs. They sound "richer" for a lack of a better phrase. I have some open reel copies of recording studio master tapes from the 1970s that are just a completely different experience.

Rich-n-Texas
01-17-2009, 06:36 AM
Not such a great picture but...

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/rich3fan/Home%20Theater%20photos/AkaiM9photo1.jpg

Rich-n-Texas
01-17-2009, 06:42 AM
The last time it saw active duty was in '85 during "Live Aid". I recorded the entire broadcast, using the R2R for the audio and an old VCR for the video. IIRC I recorded the audio from the local FM rock station. I don't have much if any video left, but if can have the recorder reconditioned cheap, I'm going to see if any of my tapes still contain the music. I'm hoping I still have remnants of Pink Floyd's reunion with Roger.

bubslewis
01-17-2009, 08:24 AM
My Akai 4000 DB reel to reel still works, I have 4 reels of various songs from the late 60's / early 70's. I have no blank reels and have been wondering for many years if anybody still manufactured reel to reel tape. From reading this thread it sure doesn't look like it.
:frown5:

Bill