Let's talk: Analog Reel-to-Reel, Revox B77

Today I talk analog reel to reel, with a Revox B77 and install a brand new Recording the Masters RTM 35 tape onto an original Revox reel. services.exactc... You can support my work at: / renerebe github.com/spo...
exactcode.com t2sde.org rene.rebe.de

[@renerebe]

you may also like the follow up vide - look inside and counter belt service: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmaUg6F3pZiLedU

[@showstopperrob1097]

I did, and to be honest I can dream Revox from the inside out.. As I wrote beneath your other video, my brother in law does own my old B77 and last year I did a complete rebuild. All caps and transistors to low noise ones. I even did a re spray. Now working at his B710 MK II. Revox is poisin once you start you can't stop. All my fathers fault who bought Revox allready in the '60s ♫♫♪♪

[@thallrudedjentstorm1756]

Seriously.. if someone buys a tape machine to have a sterile sound is gonna have a bad time. A tape machine colours, distorts and is noisy. Sometime it has drop outs and artifacts. And all this, in my opinion, is what makes a tape machine soo lovely :) And I mean it.. most people from the "modern time" don't know all these problems. I got to know some people who bought tape machinses and were very dissapointed. Weird.. I know haha What ever.. cheers, Have fun with your tape machines y'all!

[@yforgeau]

Thank you very for all those useful informations, I had exactly the same problems ( capacitor burning & sticky revox tapes ) . I thought MY B77 was destroyed after the burning and on the verge of dumping it ! So I bought an old schlumberger digitec F500 from french radio ( preco f500 at the BBC ) and I can use both now .

[@Narwaro]

Wow I didnt knew you had a B77 or was any interested in analog audio, brilliant! :D

[@renerebe]

It's my father's though ;-) always interesting to took at how things worked and keep them working;-)

[@dereksewkumar07]

"Great information ..also my self being new to the vintage reel to reel audio club! ..if the tape are not the very high quality black magnetic oxide 10.5 1/4 tapes ( 80's Maxell) one's if you can get them that is with out paying mad high prices ..other tapes cause dirty audio- heads ( constant cleaning up!?!?) ...but the sound is worth the effort!!💜💜. By the way I use a ( Dac on to reel to reel) to my Dolby atmos A.V. unit! d 🤕

[@s.lindland]

Everything about tape is tedious and expensive, and i think the hype in general is dying down now. I have about 4 machines and i love the format, but i'm not gonna go around pretending it's better than anything. I really love these machines for their ballsy preamps, and the thick, muddy sound you get from them. The one advantage i have found with analog is, unlike digital, there is no delay, and no cpu to overload, so it's more predictable in a way for recording music. And varispeed is something digital just can't get right, so i'm glad i have one of these revox b77's in the half track version. It's not better, it's just different.

[@vinylcity1599]

I've noticed since 44.1k/16bit audio has an abrupt cutoff at 20k, when you record it (or cut it) to an analog format! The sound is still of course cutoff at 20k, but less harshly! It's a smoother edge!

[@renerebe]

well, yeah …, but your ears can not hear such high frequencies anyways, ... and what do you record onto the tape? 44.1kHZ FLAC? Well, I also got some 88.2, 96 and even 192 kHz FLACs (I think the 192 was Alanis Morissette), but then you also need the matching digital output equipment to qualitatively copy it onto the analog, and then, … it's just an analog copy of the digital …∞

[@showstopperrob1097]

Hi there, next time when you use the machine, be sure you use the empty reel is allso metal. The plastic ones are lighter so if your unlucky you could end up with a tapesalade. So allway's use a full plastic to an empty plastic reel and a metal to metal.

[@renerebe]

thanks, for the tips, it's at my father's so I'm only get to use (and service) it one or twice a year or so :-/

[@showstopperrob1097]

@@renerebe Did bought allso a B77 in 1978 great machine. Now my brother in law does own it because I bought later a PR99 actualy the same machine but with some featers I needed.I Now own a Studer A810 and that machine sty's with me untill my death, which I hope it's a long time ☺☺ ♫♫

[@waldemarpierzchalski]

The motor that actually takes tape from left reel is beside playing head, right reel only collect what is first taken by this motor.

[@michaelklein1311]

Super video and i use hand cloves on transferring tape to the Reel...(*;*)

[@klinkske]

i doubt it's a good thin to "clean" the rubber parts with that product. it might harden the rubber. Nice machine, i have one since last week.

[@meshplates]

You didn't have to turn the tape over. The is no wrong way. You could have just turned the tape over after reassembling the reel.

[@renerebe]

I probably meant without rewinding it first time ;-)

[@jonvincentmusic]

Sound quality doesn’t revolve entirely around just s/n ratio. A well serviced B77 will utterly lay to waste most laptop built in sound cards and most cheap outboard DACs.

[@renerebe]

Lol wishful dreaming

[@jonvincentmusic]

@@renerebe No. Facts. There's a reason why the DA and AD gear in pro studios isn't just made up of some cheap lowest common denominator gear from Behringer etc, it's because despite its paper specifications it sounds shite. Quality costs money, no matter whether you are analog or digital. It's OK to have a different opinion and think some $5 Matsui MP3 player from a flea market wastes a 15IPS studio master recorder just because it has a paper specification claiming S/N and F/R superiority. I'd chain myself to the gate to give you the right to free choice. But it doesn't make that opinion correct. Have a good day, and thanks for the video, I enjoyed it none the less.

[@renerebe]

@@jonvincentmusic modern DACs and built-in amplifiers have nothing in common with 1990s SoundBlaster stuff. Most computer gear nowadays has way better sound reproduction than any Analog Reel to Reel.

[@eternalsence3033]

​@@renerebe you are too obsessed with 1s and 0s man, nothing will ever beat analog tape, period. its not about sound reproduction, its about whats the nicest and most pleasurable to listen to, and that is tape... no vst or plugin will ever emulate the warmth and saturation of real tape.

[@renerebe]

@@eternalsence3033 😂

[@antigen4]

if you measure 'audio quality' by signal to noise ratio then yes i could say that a laptop can do better than a B77 but not really by any qualititative standard

[@renerebe]

what do you mean with "by any qualitative standard"? Not any laptop, but most higher quality ones today indeed have better audio than a Reel-to-Reel if you look at all the technical characteristics, Frequency response, Signal to noise ratio, Distortion, Crosstalk, Wow and flutter, Tape slip, Erase depth. Can you name any where a reel to real has better sound than a properly set up modern DAC? kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoWXh4uca8x6i6s

[@antigen4]

'qualitative standard' = using one's ears. a cheap audio card on a laptop may measure better but really you need to spend at least five thousand dollars on a DAC/ADC to come close to reel to reel.

[@renerebe]

Nope. Sorry not sorry: You fall for the want to believe snake oil voodoo trap.

[@antigen4]

not really. i understand how desirable it is to escape to the certain world of numbers - but the sad fact is there is really so little we understand or can quantify about the sonic world. For example - HOW do you measure clarity? transparency? how do you measure a signal that is far more detailed - that contains or conveys greater amounts of subtlety? don't be afraid to use your senses - this is how epistemology actually works and how we got to where we are today!

[@renerebe]

@@antigen4 actually you have this reversed, while I understand science, you try to except that into the wold of voodoo and wishful thinking. But I have good news, nothing sounds better than and Sgi Octane, and you can simply get one, too! ;-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYrQmHifqdN8bac

[@joebruhin2098]

Hello, mine was in storage many years and the right wheel isn't spinning..Frozen? Belt? Any help deeply appreciated.

[@renerebe]

Brake belt ?

[@Narwaro]

For people that are watching after me: The B77 cost about 10'500 Swiss francs in 1984, which is about CHF 18'000 in todays money. Back in the day that was about an average one YEAR'S SALARY, so more like CHF 78'000 today. Imagine buying a tape recorder or a brand new Porsche 911 for about 50% more. Its crazy to think about how much money that is for a recorder.

[@renerebe]

there is something wrong with the price, it was just some 1000 to 2000 DM or so when my farther brought it first hand on some discounted sale in 1983 or so. The 10k SFR price is probably for some other machine, maybe some studio version or so ;-)! My father is electrician, it was "only" about a month middle class salary in Germany.

[@Narwaro]

Bits inside by René Rebe Yeah, the price is from an invoice which also lists a bunch of cables and supportive equipment and tapes and I only looked at the total sum, so you are right ;D But still, a lot of money, especially with everything you need to listen/record to the tape.

[@hsjfender]

there is no draw back to reel reel recorders. They need to bring them back and get rid of the digital stuff

[@renerebe]

Lol

[@thallrudedjentstorm1756]

Did you notice some smell when washed of the capacitor grime? Hat die Kondensatorgrütze irgendwie vielleicht komisch gerochen? Es gab mal igendwo Gerüchte von wegen, dass die PCB enthalten...

[@renerebe]

Explodierte Kondensatoren ricchen in der regelt nicht so gut

[@kolbenschieber]

Man setzt doch den NAB-Adapter auf den Bandteller und DARAUF die Spule, nicht umgekehrt. Umständlicher geht es ja kaum... Außerdem gehört bei einer Aluspule noch ein Reelspacer (eine 10 cm große Gummischeibe mit 1 mm Stärke) unter das Ganze, weil sonst das Band am oberen Spulenflansch schleift, wenn die Tellerhöhe korrekt (auf Kunststoffspulen) eingestellt ist. Aluspulen haben 1 mm Wandstärke, Novodurspulen knapp 2 mm!

[@michaelfegers4612]

Richtig. Wenn man Tascam Adapter hat, braucht man allerdings keine Spacer. Ist bei mir jedenfalls so. Bei den Revox Adaptern brauchte ich auch die Spacer.

[@kawmic7]

Ofc it will out-perform ANY DAC, it's analog man!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😎😎

[@renerebe]

Lol?

[@kawmic7]

If you don't use analog material, it's not gonna make much difference. Analog all the way.

[@renerebe]

Yeah well, ... sure 😉

[@bobjerome1205]

by the way zonal tapes are ace the white box ones

[@renerebe]

This RTM tapes have good reviews, too, apparently "based on the original AGFA and BASF specifications" - on a first look the Zonal tapes do not appear to be easier or cheaper to source here in Germany.

[@bblackdogg4352]

It is such a shame that Carlos Santana used a Crappy Mesa Boogie MK 1 tube amp with those lousy 12AX7 drivers and stone age 6L6 output tubes in the recording studio. Then he went and put his distorted inaccurate guitar sound directly on tape that used magnetically aligned particles. How ridiculous! It sounds like crap! If only he had used good digital recording equipment so we could now decode the audio information back to accurate zeros and ones for our ears to enjoy without analog distortion. I hope you enjoy your TECHNO RAVE MUSIC with your excellent digital systems..man that's AUDIO NIRVANA!

[@renerebe]

I'm not into techno rave, but thanks! Nirvana actually ain't too bad though ;-)

[@bobjerome1205]

hi you where talking about bad caps on the power unit. i got a akai X355 from someone it had ton's of bad caps the man i got it from had tested it and said it was working but the caps were bad when testing the unit went up the main transformer burned out there was no fuses in the 36v dc relay transport logic this whythe power transforner went up never plug any unit's in without doing checks i am very good with power unit and i have acc with rs i fixed the audio and the logic the older akai's best not to buy them you are right look into what you are buing akai 4000 are safe i worked on over 50 myself

[@yjwukt88]

I think B77 look better than brand new expensive Ballfinger M063.

[@renerebe]

Yeah, black Akai GX are also good looking, ..! ;-)

[@bobjerome5390]

there's just one format you analog fan miss out i tryed the betacam sp decks i was told they are super for audio YES they are alot of DB level try one you will be pleased alot of gain big time

[@audiofella1596]

I plugged in my a77 and it fizzled with smoke can you recommend a book or something to learn how to fix these?

[@renerebe]

Might be a bit tough to learn electronics just for that. Might be most efficient to have someone who already knows electronics look over and fix it... ps: if you are lucky might be just one capacitor or transformer ...

[@unclereg7713]

You can buy ready upgraded boards and complete cap replacements kits ready to go for a/ b77s there are some on eBay. I’ve just had my a77 serviced it was a three hour time on the bench, replaced belts, a large amount of capacitors and various electrolytic replacement, lamps, cleaning, head adjustments, brakes cleaned and adjusted, both tape guides replaced with rollers, lubrication etc You can get so far yourself but you will need to bias the tape and for that you need the super rare tone tape itself and an oscilloscope to gauge the biasing, a big outlay for occasional use. There are lots of little tweaks and upgrades that only a certified tech would know, mine cost me £220 Oct 8 2020 a fortuitous time as it would have been J Lennons 80th... and I talked to the tech about servicing and that would be an average cost for your service and parts considering the amount of components that need to be replaced and I sat and chatted to the guy as he worked for three hours. Myself am ok with an iron but gauging what needs to be replaced off the bat I couldn’t know without experience. I now have a deck ready to roll for another ten years. If you can sit in with the tech you can pick up a lot of info... Rule no 1 in relation to reel to reel make sure your pockets are deep there’s no place for skinflints...

[@modgrip805]

That is most likely the 0.47 Rifa capacitors. Easily replaced 👍

[@andreasurban6795]

Haha. Hab mir gerade genau das Geraet gekauft bei ner Auktion und jetzt weiss ich nich mehr ob ich mich darauf freuen oder weinen soll! Interessant wars auf jeden Fall! Mein anders Geraet hatte naemlich genau dieselben Probleme, naemlich nicht faehig das Band richtig zu loeschen. Mal sehen ob ich Diese Revox bereuen werde oder nicht. war nicht billing.

[@renerebe]

analoge Technik braucht halt Service. Ggf. ist das durch eine Überholung, d.h. Service, Kondensatortausch, Einmessen behebbar. Ggf. auch ein neuer Löschkopf ;-)

[@newtronix]

It's pretty obvious your a digital guy!

[@renerebe]

I'm a scientist and musician. Not falling for snake oil ;-)

[@bepli6751]

Sehr gutes Video! Freue mich auf Neues! Hast auf jeden Fall ein Abo von mir!

[@guillenrossi]

I need to ask you something since u got the same tape model I have, when you route audio signal. the one of the rev inputs when you compare the switch "input" and "monitor tape" do you hear time difference, seems like the tape takes time to process audio and doesn't record signal in real time but it delays a bit, is that normal or do i have to send it for calibration or something ? or should I need 15 ips instead ?

[@renerebe]

palmerico house yes this is normal, als the record and play head are 1 or 2 cm apart. This is the delay of the tape passing under the record to play head. This can not be “calibrated” away, but will be shorter the faster your tape speed is.

[@guillenrossi]

thank you! that's what I wanted to know, then I might need a 15 IPS tape recorder instead of 7 1/2, ok now that's clear to me. nice video great review

[@uncle-dj5701]

No need too calibrate this is normal... the slower the speed the longer the delay..

[@bobjerome5390]

hi techmeon is not god of all audio he's just a one man wish he do real life reel to reel about what doe's go bad he was one of the first to do deep video's

[@winzdayjohnson8044]

If i wanted to sell 1, where would i begin?

[@renerebe]

sell one what? reel-to-reel, tape? or do you mean buy?

[@winzdayjohnson8044]

Ki have 1. I dont think its the same model... Im waiting RIGHT THIS MINUTE for my neighbor to see if he has a power cord for it. The # on it is PR4A122740

[@renerebe]

Well, I guess ebay - that is what I'm usually using. Most Revox at the time used a stupidly special power cord connectors :-/ Feel free to later post an update or sales link here ;-)

[@winzdayjohnson8044]

Any idea what it could possibly sell for.? (ball park figure) its definitly used but not tore up...just very old

[@renerebe]

what model do you even have? PR4A122740 does not really "google" - maybe that is a serial number? Is it Revox, Akai, Pioneer, Sony? And model, ... like B77 GX620 or whatever ;-)?

[@robprupe]

How many minutes could you rcord on to each side of the reel?

[@renerebe]

so the new tape was advertised as 1100 meters, you can choose from two speeds on this machine: 7½ or 3¾ inch (19 or 9.5 cm) per second: 1100m * 100 / 19 cm/s apparently makes for 5789 seconds, divided by 60 that is a little over 96 minutes per playback direction (side). You can double that for the slower speed, which results in less audio quality due degraded frequency response range and noise floor, etc.

[@ianz9916]

@@renerebe If you are recording in mono you can double it again as you can record individual channels and also playback the two independently as well as together.

[@renerebe]

@@ianz9916 eh, yeah, but which audiophile wants mono recordings?

[@ianz9916]

@@renerebe 1960's recordings tend to be mono so artificially making them stereo makes no sense.

[@renerebe]

@@ianz9916 to store quality recordings from that time. one could also use an mp3 recorder and not waste tape on them ;-)

[@michaelfegers4612]

Wieso machste den NAB ab und machst so die Spule drauf. Umständlicher geht kaum und ist gegen den praktischen Sinn der NAB's. Wenn du jetzt noch ein Klaband zwischen Tonband und Vorspannband setzt, schaltet die Revox sogar ab ohne das daß Band abläuft.

[@renerebe]

verstehe deine NAB Kritik nicht wirklich, erstens sage ich im Video "others put it directly on the machine, but I like this way more", ich habe es sowieso das letzte Mal vor 15+ Jahren gemacht und nur für das YT Video bei meinem Vater abgestaubt, ... Deine Klebeband Kritik erschließt sich mir genauso wenig, die Machine soll doch beim Vorspanband abschalten, und die werden doch geklebt, ..? Wo genau ist da das Problem?

[@kolbenschieber]

Du meinst "Klarband".

[@renerebe]

kolbenschieber Vorlaufband?

[@michaelfegers4612]

Yep Klarband. Das Klarband ist auch ein Vorlaufband. Ist aber durchsichtig. Wenn deine Maschine mit dem roten Vorlaufband abschaltet, haste Glück das es genug Licht durchlässt. Das ist aber selten, weshalb es eben die Klarbänder gibt die dann dazwischen geklebt werden. Was ich mich aber noch frage, wieso es du dir so schwer machst das Band anzukleben. Das kannste auch easy an der Revox-Klebeschere erledigen. Das Band kannste da einlegen und zusammen führen. Klebestreifen drauf und fertig. Das man Schnellspanner so benutzt ist gegen jeden Sinn der Teile.

[@renerebe]

Ich dachte das ist bei dieser Revox Maschine ein Magnet-Sensor, nein? Wir benutzen die Maschine leider nicht täglich, und hatten bisher keine Bänder geschnitten, werde ich mir nochmals ansehen.

[@user-ro1cc8tz6d]

flac has a compression but i think waw not, i prefer to store original music cd songs that way, than compress with xz for extra space

[@renerebe]

flac compresses lossless, like zip (or XZ) just specialized for audio. It yields bit identical results and typically saves some 50 to 60% or so on compared to the original WAV … It should actually compress better than XZ. At least that is what it was designed for, … and is directly playable.

[@user-ro1cc8tz6d]

RenéRebe sorry for my wrong knowledge, thanks for the information

[@renerebe]

no problem, education is what I make those YT videos for ;-)

[@bobjerome5390]

hi if you can fix the decks you have you can get some super ace deals out there i got hold of a soundcraft 381-8 i was very very lucky man i some 1 inch zonal tape wow after a super fix up i got a super deck the 1/4 inch is not allway the best deck 1/2 1 inch are the best one out there to get as there's alot of good low cost used tape zonal are good i know people love the sound of ampex tape zonal is my tape

[@victorhugenay7343]

Bitte sprich einfach deutsch. Dein englisch ist furchtbar und ich bin mir auch nicht sicher ob dich alle native speakers verstehen.

[@renerebe]

Lol, der war gut ;-)!

[@fickfehler3866]

A time when W.Germany fabricated the best electromechanical product. Since Berlin wall came down, Germany can't even make reliable car anymore !

[@Dickleder]

Reinigung zu tun besonders nicht das Produkt von KChemie

[@renerebe]

Was genau meinen Sie?