A good reel to reel for Tape Delay?

[Lost on side]

I wanna use a reel to reel for tape delay, and wonder what are some good models (cheep) to pursue. Is there an advantage to using a machine with more than 2 tracks? Can I just use a small portable type? What features should I look for?

[drumsound]

YOu might get cool results using one that is not so good...

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Anything with 3 heads will work. If it's got varispeed even better. Even a 3 head cassette deck sounds cool.

[the velour fog]

Anything with 3 heads will work. If it's got varispeed even better. Even a 3 head cassette deck sounds cool.

those are the only two rules.

1. Anything with 3 heads
2. If it's got varispeed, give yourself a pat on the back.

[joel hamilton]

Anything with 3 heads will work. If it's got varispeed even better. Even a 3 head cassette deck sounds cool.

those are the only two rules.

1. Anything with 3 heads
2. If it's got varispeed, give yourself a pat on the back.

all truth.

Also, if the machine uses AC motors, you can use a variac to get even more precise with the timing of the slap. usually if you find something with 7.5 and 15 IPS (since we are talking cheap, maybe no 30ips) but then with the variac you can make your own vari-speed. Even a light dimmer would do the trick. poorly, with tons of wow and flutter, but that is what makes it chorus a little, and makes tape slap awesome. With a console, you can use the aux on the return channel that is sending to the tape machine for more repeats... to " feed back" the delayed signal to the tape machine... sound familiar? yes, like a delay unit. you can get some incredibly awesome selay tails this way, as the repeats dont get 50 million times louder than the original if you run it hot to begin with, which why wouldnt you run your tape slap really hot? less noise in the mix, more HF squeeze... all the goodness.

Have fun. Get anything with 3 heads and get fun.

[Lost on side]

Thanx for the info. I have used this technique before on my friends Otari 5050?, but wondered if I could get a nice effect from some of the portable units I see all the time. Using a variac, now that's a great idea! It really increases my options.
I am just starting to build up a home studio, and really want to have real tape delay.

[themagicmanmdt]

i'd say unless you're really die over doing the varispeed route, why not just space echo it?

[Lost on side]

Varispeed is definitely important to me, and those Space Echos would cost a bit more than a small reel to reel