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Reel to Reel Tape Recorders

post #1 of 6
12/21/09 at 12:32pm
Thread Starter 
I found 2 or 3 big boxes full of reel to reel tapes of my father's recordings from the fifties and sixties - various local concerts, stuff recorded off the radio, etc. I am dying to see what's on there but I don't have a reel to reel recorder. Does anyone know how I can get my hands on a functioning one - ebay? What models should I look for?
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post #2 of 6
12/21/09 at 4:46pm
Try ebay or Audiogon. Reels have excellent sound quality when done right.
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post #3 of 6
12/21/09 at 7:05pm
I expect homemade reels from the '50s and the '60s were done at rather low speeds such as 3 3/4 IPS or at most 7 1/2 IPS so you'll need a machine with those speeds. Are they 7 inch reels?
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post #4 of 6
12/21/09 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, most of them are 7" reels. There are a few 5" reels as well.

BTW LK, I just clicked on your blog link and noticed that the latest entry was about a really nice looking reel-to-reel deck... Was that something you recently acquired, and if you don't mind my asking, how much did it set you back?
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post #5 of 6
12/21/09 at 10:09pm
The machine I have is a Teac A-3340S, which was a semi-pro consumer 4 track machine. It was designed so as to allow a musician to lay tracks down easily. It has 7.5 and 15 ips. I got it from a person whose husband had bought it new in the '70s, used it less than 10 times and then stored it away with the original box. The price? $100. The tapes are costing more than the machine itself actually.
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post #6 of 6
12/22/09 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, LK! I justed searched on Craigslist on a whim for reel to reel decks not really expecting anything, but lo and behold, saw a couple of decent decks being offered locally. I might go check them out tomorrow and with some luck, I might be listening to some tapes soon...
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