Reel to Reel Audiophile Tape Deck: Buyers Guide

[@waltwimer2551]

I fell in love with electronics as a kid during the 1970s, then audio in particular during the late '70s. I acquired my first open reel tape machine in 1980 when I was 13 years old: a 1961 vacuum tube Voice of Music 722. After high school, I earned a degree in electrical/computer engineering. Professionally, I work in the industrial automation industry writing embedded software/firmware. My hobby at home is electronics, electronic test equipment, vintage computers, and vintage hifi. In particular, since 2019, I've gone off the deep end collecting open reel tape machines, from 1950s vacuum tube machines, to '80s upper-end consumer decks, to Revox, TASCAM, and Otari. And now I'm breaking into vintage Studer and AMPEX pro machines. (Oh BTW, my collection also happens to include one of these Akai GX-4000D machines. I love all my machines for all kinds of different reasons.) All the best to all the other enthusiasts out there!

[@carlstow2076]

Excellent. I’m ‘Reel’ curious so looking forward to this new adventure 😊

[@warp2600]

Congratulations! I wish you many hours of enjoyment. I can imagine how great it sounds through tube amps.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

I have a couple of pre-recorded tapes now of some classical music and finally understand the enjoyment of that type of music! The clarity is unreal.

[@christopherredfern6472]

4000d was my first step into R2R, im lucky in that I have a super R2R technician to look after my Tascam, I actually px my akai with him for my Tascam 32, I wanted a tape greedy 2 track machine ! It will not produce any cross talk in silent passages that annoyed me with 4 track Akai , and yes of course it's a big show piece which I love , so I realise this is a new toy for you , avoid at all cost ampex tape and some tdk as they suffer sticky shed syndrome, 2nd hand maxell are normally excellent and safe purchase, rtm and atr both great, skunkie your gonna get bitten by R2R I guarantee it and I will put money on it you get a 10.5 machine, it's what we do with this hobby eh 😉 😊 , this R2R stuff is a huge welcome to the channel, enjoy !! Pink floyd dsotm simply superb with the saturation of tape !! 😊

[@peterlundskow4061]

Thanks for the additional info that I hadn't considered in my searching so far! I will check the fellow out as well, I look forward to your tape comparisons.

[@rajoconnor]

I found one for $11! Just Kidding! Congratulations on your purchase. Eye Candy is half the enjoyment. Looks very cool.

[@adaboy4z]

I have this same deck. I recapped it, new belts and changed the transistors. Its a great sounding deck and makes good recordings.

[@wanderlustjohn]

I absolutely loved this deck...so many mix tapes were made as a kid. You cannot deny the amazing sound quality and dynamic range of magnetic tape. I have been patiently looking for a 10.5" RTR (Otari/Teac/Revox) so I can have the option to run 15 ips. I think its awesome you are revisiting magnetic tape. Nice video Stephe.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Glad you enjoyed it! I know I am :)

[@insurrectionindustries1706]

That is my fun deck of choice. It’s a great a reliable unit and has really great sound given its price. The pre-amp boards are also discrete components and can be rebuilt with modern transistors if desired or needed. Should be able to keep it going for the long haul

[@ThePerkri]

That was a lot of talk about 7 inch and 10.5 inch decks wearing out heads :) Love your excitement about diving into this new format! Almost pulled the trigger on a Tandberg TD20A a couple of years ago, but quickly realized the format was too time consuming and expensive. If I had unlimited resources, I would love to have a 15ips unit, listening to pre recorded tapes. Just not an option…. I did pick up a Sony TC500A unit a little while ago. But it lasted maybe 20 min after it arrived? I stripped it down immediately and harvested the Coral Holey Basket drivers - which is why I bought the unit - and only discovered after I stripped it down, there were some amazing transformers in the unit. They, were harvested for my soon to be built Type 45 amp. Enjoy your new piece of kit!!!

[@nevillegoddard4966]

Very nice unit Stephe! Your selection criteria for this model makes sense. It's a different & interesting field to get into, & there's something fascinating about watching those big ole reels spinning round as the tape winds off one reel to the other! - A far cry from the invisible operations of thumbdrives & bluetooth! Years ago I managed to transcribe some 50 year-old reel-to-reel 7" tapes to cassette tape. I had to lubricate & service the vacuum tube r-t-r machine first, but in the end, I just had to make up a direct shielded cable between the r-t-r & the cassette recorder! The r-t-r even had a 'magic eye' level display tube! It was pretty cool.

[@TheRudydog1]

Had to Subscribe because you make so much sense. I have several medium to higher end "consumer 4-track tape decks" which sound great into my McIntosh 75 Mono Block amps and Klipsch speakers. Your practical advice is right on.

[@stephensams709]

Congratulations on your deck. I have an Akai GX-635D (black version) that I bought new in 1981. It sounds awesome and has been relatively trouble free.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Yeah, those are next level decks!

[@Dave-er2pn]

I went down this rabbit hole a few years ago, and among my 7"reel to reels I have the exact same deck as yours. I also have its big brother the Akai GX-630D which is a 10 1/2" deck. They are both fantastic machines, but my GX-4000D and other 7" machines are not used much now. The big machine has the same two speeds as the 7" machines, no 15 ips, so all my 7" tapes play great on it. Once you get into your machine you may eventually want a 10 1/2, those big alloy reels spinning look even cooler than the 7's.

[@bob-s-bit-s]

hi there was a full track stereo in the akai 4000 that run at 15 ips

[@mddawson1]

I use to work in my states government archives. We had a couple of R2R tapes of early state assembly meetings recorded in 1989 but no machine to play them on. I then found our Heritage Library had a R2R machine only to discover that their machine had recording/playback speed options different to what our tapes were recorded at. Never did get to hear them, they would likely have been the cure to insomnia.

[@markmurante3609]

LOL you are tempting me. lately I have been into high end cassette decks and they sound pretty damn good. I get what you are saying about recording records to tape how it takes the edge off some music. Thanks.

[@Stelios.Posantzis]

Excellent review of a reel-to-reel deck! I admit this is the first review I've come across that highlights and goes over the mechanical aspects of the design rather than simply go over specs and electronics. This has been very elucidating as I never knew of the advantages of a purely mechanical operation nor that the GX-4000D was of this breed. I was always partial to this deck as it is the most budget deck of the later (but not last) range of decks made by AKAI - and I am partial to AKAI for both design and sentimental reasons as well as the fact that they were big on the consumer tape deck market in many ways but mainly because the robustness of the glass heads. I also appreciated the points about Dolby Noise Reduction. Of course, I would like to have the option to run a noise reduction unit as a separate external device since these ancient decks usually come with either no Dolby or a really early, inferior version of it. The analysis given about tape speed, tape thicknesses and head wear is very useful as it highlights some very important aspects of owning such decks, maybe the most important aspects in my opinion as owning such a deck without having tapes is tantamount to owning an industrial ornament. I wonder with all these retrophile items getting popularity in the consumer world, how long it will take until we have affordable open reel tapes again. Then the real question will be of course whether these new tapes will last as long as the old ones. Having watched this, I wonder whether the earlier, older looking 4000 series is of the same calibre. I also wonder whether the similarly budget range GX-215D, with slightly more features, is similarly robust. I'd like to look into that. But the GX-4000D is both neat, gets tucked away into the system without taking up a huge amount of space, and has reasonably good specs.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Your last sentence sums it up well!

[@jimfarrell4635]

Another brief idea. I just got hold of the Parks Audio Waxwing phono DSP. The Waxwing allows you to digitise your turntable output and in real time manipulate it in multiple ways to get the sound precisely how you want and, crucially, almost completely eliminate clicks, pops and surface noise without losing anything in terms of sound quality (yep, I didn't believe it either but it works). You can then output analogue to your Reel to reel, or digitally via a DAC first. This potentially allows you to make noise free recordings from vinyl to reel to reel, manipulated to get the perfect sound you want. The Waxwing is, I think, $499 in the US from Parks Audio or Amazon and, believe me, it's worth every penny. I haven't used it to make recordings yet, but as a listener it works flawlessly.

[@KeritechElectronics]

Things are getting reel! Akai is nice and good, but if you're keen on taking it to the next level and can afford it, try Technics RS-1500 series. It's a real thing of beauty and a joy for ever.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

yeah, those are for sure "next level"!

[@KeritechElectronics]

@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics oh yes... The most expensive type of audio media nowadays, both for the scarcity of tapes and historically expensive gear. BTW, stereo hi-fi VHS recorders and tapes offer very good sound quality (on par with 1/4" tapes) and are ridiculously cheap, the cassettes are still around. Underrated tech - though it has drawbacks too, these cassettes take a lot of shelf space.

[@daveyurkovich9459]

@@KeritechElectronicsused one myself for years. I still have it and had it serviced not too long ago, in case.

[@audiofrik]

Thanks for all the information. I really enjoyed your video.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

You bet! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@jukingeo]

@Skunkie. I was there and yes it certainly does look cool. I think you approached it well for a first deck and that you wanted to be sure you got a decent working unit. As for the brand, I would be definitely backing you up on that as perhaps the finest machines I had were Akai's. If I were to get back into it, I certainly would get another Akai. I had the primo model back in the day, the GX-747. Yeah, big boy with 10 inch reel capacity. I got it for practically nothing too since I worked for the company. It only had a small problem that I fixed. It was nearly a new machine. But, wow! I tell you, I had Teac, Tascam, Revox, and Pioneer and NONE of them sounded as good as the Akai. I also had an old Akai cross field head machine too and it outperformed many machines in it's class. The GX-747 was the king of them all. I had ended up selling the machine for under $1000 and now it sells for over $3000. It had the glass heads too and I wasn't sure if you knew about those, but almost every machine that I came across that had them sounded great. Those heads are definitely more resilient to wear and for a machine in a home environment, the heads will probably stay good for a very long time. I think your machine is a nice pick as it is a very good size too as some of these machines are monstrosities. The 10" reel machines have been commanding quite a price lately, but many of the smaller machines like this can be had for a very good price, especially for someone like myself that can go through the machine myself. One thing I did wish you would have chosen was auto reverse. I think you are going to find it very inconvenient to get up and flip the tape over. I know I did. The Tascam and Revox machines didn't have auto reverse, but they had 10" reels and I didn't like to get up to flip over and thread the reel again. The Akai GX-747 did have auto reverse and it was a godsend. The machine performed so well that I could record at 7.5ips on it and it sounded as good as 15ips would on another machine. So that machine had VERY long playing time with the 10" reels, recording at 7.5ips with the auto reverse. I think if I found a model that was about the size of yours with auto reverse, I MIGHT get back into it. I still do have blank 7" reels. Another reason why I got out of it was because Quantegy was going out of business, and the prices of blank reels was going steadily up. However, I am surprised to hear that you can still buy tape on Amazon. I have to check out the prices. Lots of luck with the new purchase and I do think that you went about it the right way. I know many might have pointed out that you could have gotten it cheaper, but if you don't know what you are doing in terms of doing your own repairs, and alignment, it can be a daunting task. Tapes do have a formulation when they make them, and it is usually best to have the machine biased to that formulation. Then there is alignment, which usually does come more into play if you intend to play your tapes on other machines. Otherwise they can sound 'off' on another machine if it isn't aligned right. All said and done, and as you probably found out already, the tape deck probably sounds nice on a tube amplifier :).

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

I'm amazed how GREAT classical music sounds on it. not a genre I normally listen to, but now will!

[@jukingeo]

@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics I am not a fan of classical music. I been trying to get into some jazz as I like the instrument placement and imaging, but it is hit and miss with me. I like Take 5 by Dave Brubeck. I was recommended Miles Davis, but I hadn't listened to anything by him yet. I did end up buying the Headhunters album by Herbie Hancock. It is a jazz / funk mix and I like that better than straight jazz. I like Steely Dan and some refer to that as rock jazz. Not sure about that, but I like it! As for reel to reel recorders, I am not sure if I want to go back down that rabbit hole. I know that I don't want a big deck again either. I had looked at the Akai GX-265 and the Teac X-7r. Both are auto reverse decks.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Try Kenny Burrell "Midnight Blue". I love that whole hollow body guitar Jazz style of music.

[@jukingeo]

@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Thanks, I will take a listen! I did listen to some of the Eva Cassidy recordings. I do like her covers of familiar songs as she does have a really nice voice. I doubt I would get a box record set, but getting her CD is warranted.

[@ianyates7742]

I have a akai 4000ds mk2 I have had for the last twenty years I’ve found it yo be pretty reliable. The only downside that they have cams which operates the play, rewind ,fast forward,. They are made for a very cheap metal which breaks down over the years. However, there is a seller out there that is remanufacturing 3d printing those parts so they are available as are the capstone roller rubbers. The sound reproduction is very good I will not be parting with it any time ever 😂😂

[@hugobloemers4425]

I have read on the internet that people complain about these cams. And that they are rubbish. I am happy that there are solutions to this problem, it would be a shame if units get scrapped for that reason. But I can not fault those parts. We are in 2024 and the newest Akai 4000 models are from the early 80's. After more than 40 years, is a part on a mechanical device allowed to fail?

[@ianyates7742]

@@hugobloemers4425 hi just thought that the info wold be useful for all to know including your self 😎🇬🇧

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Might be a good point to add a little grease :)

[@ianyates7742]

@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics It’s the metal it’s self that disintegrates with age but a little grease can’t help slow things down and for the life take care yours, Ian from England

[@hugobloemers4425]

@@ianyates7742 Oh, I agree on that. And also that has now become a weak spot. But I do not agree with those others who say this was a design flaw.

[@juanchapa71]

So cool!! I have a 4 track Teac A3340. They sound amazing! Thanks for the heads up on that local eBay guy.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Was it there when I came over???

[@juanchapa71]

It was upstairs I use it more to record s friend that is singer songwriter. I haven’t tried recording vinyl

[@alanperry1846]

Love reel to reels, I got three of them,but I like the solenoid control ones,had Sony switch modes ones and they seemed to drift more. Also make sure the the the reel spindles are not bent from being dropped on there face,and old tapes seem to shed alot of iron oxide so frequentic cleaning for some brands of old tapes.

[@Stelios.Posantzis]

I was really tempted to get one or two of these when some came up for 100-200€. I'd just get a couple of empty tapes and have them there to gaze at them spinning. They would complete my '70s Akai system. Beats watching a washing machine cycling or getting dumbed down in front of the telly any day! What I'm really after though, is finding a way to record 78rpm or higher shellacs on them at, say, half speed in the hope of recovering the maximum amplitude excursions and frequency out of the records without incurring additional wear. What I need though is a record player that can play at 39 or 40 rpm. Technics decks only go up to +/-10% so that enables playing back at 36 2/3 rpm or 40.5 rpm which won't do for most shellacs. Assuming the recording bias at half speed recording does not have a massive impact on the playback at full speed (this remains to be tried but I've been warned it won't work well), then one could get a dozen or more shellacs transcribed onto tape and potentially have the best sound possible out of shellac (bar a purely acoustic playback with a cactus needle). That would be something! If only Technics went up to +/- 12%! What were they thinking? One could always get a Lenco of course but somehow I don't fancy playing shellacs on a Lenco. That's probably due to some irrational part of me though.

[@bobcooke4402]

Great! I always wanted one. Saw some direct to tape head preamps which also looked cool. Reasonable use case for a bunch of multi side albums, vs streaming. Mixtapes!

[@vonster22]

akai had a great reputation for tape machines

[@Drackleyrva]

I remember when the hifi store I used to go to back in the 80s carried Tandberg reel to reels. I've never seen them again. That Akai looks great!

[@Stelios.Posantzis]

17:03 There was just such a GX-636 last week on ebay that sold for about 800$ with exactly this issue. What a shame! I wonder/hope how mechanically adept (and deep pocketed) the buyer is or (more likely) whether it was bought for the value of its parts only.

[@billdang3953]

I have an allegiance to the Technics RS 1500/1700 decks since it has selectable 2-trck and 4-track playback and it is relatively simple to modify for direct tape playback head output (to an outboard tape reproduce pre-amp stage).

[@audiononsense1611]

30 sec in and I agree(simple is good)!! Drink the KoolAid, best format for Analog especially on UD-90... 1. Wobble is usually from the reel being bent or the locking pin that's worn out. 2. The fact that tape loops (the RCA in/out) can be used for Dolby / EQ and the built preamps gives the user direct connection to phono stages is a feature not to be overlooked (got a mixer++)... The faster the speed the less noise (Dolby B/C/S is an inferior EQ better to use dbx 128). If your going to buy a Tape Deck be ready to spend $$$$ on getting a Tech to go over the entire unit as there are complicated electro/mechs that make this device function (Note: a new "Play Only" R2R deck will set you back $50k MSRP)... Steph~ I too use my deck for the same reasons (Kool factor, 45RMP transfers). Note: most tape decks have a freq resp max of 18k brightness, as you know, is from 1000-2000Hz (it's the hiss that makes it sound better)

[@jerlewis4291]

My dad had a 4 track 4 channel reel to reel deck and he used it to record albums. He had worked as an engineer at WABC in NY. He would record it at the fastest speed, then transfer it to cassettes. It got rid of a lot of the tape hiss doing that.

[@StrangeBrewReviews]

Have fun with that tape deck. Hope you can find some pre recorded reels for a good price.

[@richsherman3673]

In 1996 I purchased my friends TEAC X-20R and Tape Collection. The X-20R needed maintenance, belts and calibration. I plan to enjoy until I start to fade away, then sell to a person who will be able to maintain the unit.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Sounds like a fun project!

[@318ishonk]

looks very fancy 👍

[@ibdam1]

Great information. New subscriber and thank you for sharing.

[@turokforever007]

I have a AKAI 4000DB My older brother got it new many moons ago.

[@peterlundskow4061]

I have one other question you didn't mention. There are a fair amount of tapes recorded by the major labels of albums at 7.5ips. I am wondering what their quality is like? Will you possibly buy one to see how they sound compared to a good condition LP of same recording? I do realize that age & conditionof the tape would be a factor. Thanks again.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Sadly the popular titles are $$$$$ for example Abbey Road pre-recorded copies go for $250 and up. I have listened to a classical orchestra tape that was pre-recorded at 7.5isp and it sounds amazing!

[@Agent2006-2]

It’s a hit and miss, as these tapes are very old and sometimes kept in very bad environments. I recommend you to buy great BASF tape, I have bout a lot of reels from different makes and the BASF and the Maxell has always being great. Sony, Agfa, Ampex and Scotch is just garbage due to the oxide and Sticky-Shed Syndrome.

[@jimfarrell4635]

I have a basic Sony TC 377 deck from the early 70s and it sounds fantastic. I make recordings from hi res files fed through a Denafrips Terminator Plus Dac and the results are lovely. I do lust after a 10.5 inch 15ips deck, but that gets very pricy and there are few people who can calibrate and service them. My deck, serviced, cost just under £300 in the UK and was a great way of getting into the format. Also, a slight correction. Not all 10.5 inch machines do 15 ips, many are still limited to 7.5. 15ips tend to be the prosumer decks. You need to carefully check all the specs before you buy.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Thanks for the correction! And from what I read, the 2 track 15ips machines are more finicky about head alignment? And not sure if the physical size of a 10.5" deck makes sense for me. Think I'm gonna just be happy with this one!

[@jimfarrell4635]

I think you're right about the alignment and setup and calibration generally in the high end machines. 10.5 inch reels do look super cool though.

[@Pootycat8359]

Here's tip concerning head replacement, about what we used to do, at the shop where I worked. You probably wouldn't do this to a high-end deck, but.... You remove the old head, and if it's spot-welded on, use a wood chisel or knife blade. File it flat, and polish it with fine emery paper. Attach an EIGHT TRACK CARTRIDGE head to the plate, with SUPER GLUE! You'll probably have to do an alignment, but it WORKS!

[@stevewilki7910]

am rebuilding a Revox b77mk2 at the moment

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Awesome!!! Somehow I knew many of my viewers would likely be into reel to reel decks!

[@CollectingRetro]

I dabbled a little with consumer decks, but wasn't super impressed. I wonder on the quality of the preamp built into decks like these. Maybe the recording and playback quality can be significantly improved. If I could get the same quality as my tube phono, I'd be more likely to make mix tapes. Putting the 45rpm on tape sound like a great idea!

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

There is a way to do this. Maybe in the far away future I will dig into that!

[@sanolivo6867]

On my experience Rebuilding Reel to Reel machines, I never had one Akai that needed Head relapping or replace, never. But 5 out of 10. Teac, pioneer, Tascam, Otari, they need Relapsing. When you replace all the Transistors, capacitors, and any other components that's out of tolerance, and the output signals you put in, not coming out the tape the same. You need heads.

[@charlesnr]

Old school type decks pre stereo records, were 1/2 track. Two tracks have a gap in the middle. Many old reel to reel tapes made out of plastic material can become sticky and will not run properly. Tape decks are biased for one brand of tape for flat frequency response.

[@hugobloemers4425]

I remember recording LP records on tape decks and it would sound better afterwards. It is not only the tape saturation that does magic but it also seems to be more dynamic. BTW, tape speed only improves the upper frequency range. It has to do with the resolution of the tape head in relation with the analog magnetic signal on the tape, i.e the tape quality and recording quality on that tape. Cassette decks came very close to tape decks for the frequency because of all the R&D that went in the tape heads. They got ever narrower gabs in the iron, that is where the head picks up the signal. The dynamic range depends on the height of the tape. That is why cassette decks can never match a reel to reel deck. Regarding the pricing, a serviced deck, ready to go, should easily cost $500,- more than a "Garage sale" one. I buy unrestored automatic turntables and service them because I like them as a (electro) mechanical puzzle. Getting one unit serviced and adjusted will take me easily 10 hours. And that is without the parts. So in my view if the price of an unrestored unit is anywhere from $0,- to $200,- that is almost irrelevant. At that point the cosmetic state of the equipment becomes far more decisive. If you do this as a business (I am not) someone has to pay for that effort. A tape deck is not going to be different.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Yeah, it doesn't make sense for a copy to sound better but... I think it might!

[@bob-s-bit-s]

they are tanks i have had alot over the years i love otari - teac pro decks 44 80-8 hard to find now tascam 30 line allway playing up the best audio recorder is a liner audio in betacam decks

[@paulgood2218]

Fun video ! Thank you

[@animalcorvair]

me an my boys have teacs ..they are a pain to work on i like my akias the best ,,ac motors run forever ,,weak spots are 458 trans,,,i have a 635d a 255 ,,,stay with the ones with one pinch rollers lol working on a x7r that wants to roll the tape ,,

[@animalcorvair]

oh you have very good tape too

[@pablobaldomir9430]

Es mui lindo ese akai, saludos desde Argentina

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

It is!!

[@toddd7444]

great videoooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@toddd7444]

the voice of reason hugs from Vegas 'Merry Christmas wheelchair larry

[@toddd7444]

@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics hugs from Vegas everyone's a winner wheelchair larry Merry Christmas ho ho ho smile

[@Stelios.Posantzis]

15:57 550$ for a 7" 7.5ips and 1200$ for a 10.5" deck! Boy have prices picked up!

[@hugobloemers4425]

Well, Thorens makes them new again. Prices start at $15000,- (but that is play back only) that means a second hand 10.5" unit starts at less than 10% of a new one. Everything is relative.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

10-20 years ago, there was zero interest in analog. Same with film cameras, you could buy a Hasselblad for a few hundred bucks.

[@Stelios.Posantzis]

@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics You can still buy a studio camera nowadays for a few bucks. Hasselblads, Rolleis and Leicas were always expensive though, even back in the '90s. There was a time, 10-15 years back when you could get a Nikon FM2 or an FM3 at a push for 2-3 hundred bucks.

[@krwd]

yes, the really don't make them anymore so what is out there that works have gone up in value

[@taurniloronar1516]

Now you need a good degausser/tape cleaning machine.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

Great point! And on the way :)

[@Agent2006-2]

If you want very good sound quality , built like a tank and great reliability get a Pioneer or an Otari deck. If you want Top of the line sound quality get a Revox, Teac/Tascam, Technics, Nagra, Studer or Tandberg.

[@davegleeful]

That is so cool. From a design point I love simple solutions like the speed control. Why make stuff more complicated than it needs to be.

[@Pootycat8359]

A further comment... SOME tape is "dirty," it gums up the heads. It probably causes increased head wear, as well. Maybe I shouldn't "name names," to avoid being sued, but the name of one brand (in the 1970s, at least), that was especially BAD, began with an "M" & ended with an "x." 🤗

[@Pootycat8359]

The BEST tape is 1.5 mil ACETATE. The thicker tape has thicker oxide, which means deeper penetration of the magnetic field, and therefore, fewer "drop-outs." And acetate doesn't stretch, mylar does. It CAN break, but if it does, you just splice it back together.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

I plan to play with it in the future.

[@bob-s-bit-s]

zonal tapes are very good i have pick up alot of 1/2 1 inch i find they have alot of out put alot were used in the bbc in the uk ampex are bad new i am finding if you are a newbee beware of the ill tapes on the used market place

[@GiancarloBenzina]

There‘s no Master Tape being sold, ever for any normal people without the specific network to get hold of one from a 10th tier band for a few minutes just to have to return it. Why? It‘s their lifeline, their blood. It‘s not for sale or rent or give-away. What you buy at the very very very best is a 3rd gen copy of a master tape, for minimum 400usd. Or you record other sources for yourself, which is what they‘re made for.

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

And yes, there are a lot of fake ones out there for sale. Buyer beware.

[@m13579k]

Going down the reel-to-reel rabbit hole eh? Good speed, rip your wallet.

[@keeper1855]

This is too much for me....

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

I can see why for many people it would be.