Consumer 1/4" reel to reel recommendation

kinger · Post by **kinger** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 4:13 pm

Hullo all, I did a quick search and didn't really find any info, so sorry if this has been discussed in a previous post. I'm looking for a consumer grade 1/4" reel to reel and am hoping for some recommendations. I've read that the Akai GX series are pretty robust and easy to maintain (glass/ferrite heads and direct-drive capstan) but am wondering what people have had luck with? Thanks!

getreel · Post by **getreel** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:33 pm

Teac? There were certain models that could run at 15 ips and might have even been 1/2 track. I think the A 7300 was the one I'm thinking of. There was a 2T version that was 15ips 1/2 track I think.

kinger · Post by **kinger** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:15 am

Thanks for that. 15 ips would be nice but you don't see them popping up around these parts very often. Anyone else had any luck with other consumer stuff, like Sony or Pioneer?

red cross · Post by **red cross** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:23 am

Pioneer RT707 and RT909 are excellent sounding for 1/2 track 1/4" machines. Probably both are cheaper than a plugin bundle nowadays.

kuene · Post by **kuene** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:09 am

i have a Sony TC-337 and an Akai GX-280D-SS

the sony is an impeccable machine in terms of sound and condition, and it was cheap.

the akai is in rougher shape, still cheap, and has the added bonus of being able to record in standard stereo pairs on the flip sides of a reel - or all 4 tracks in one direction. so basically, its a 1/4 4 track - but without the ability to arm individual tracks - it's all or none.

i'm using the sony tc-337 as a mixdown deck for fun, and it has a really warm beautiful clean sound.

llmonty · Post by **llmonty** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:49 am

I like my Teac 4010S alot. Pretty clean sounding in terms of vibe. Decent preamps on it. Easy to maintain, and there is a buy with an ebay store that sells lots of parts and manuals. Super cheap.

kinger · Post by **kinger** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:46 pm

Thanks everybody; I've seen the odd Pioneer come up for sale but had no idea if they were decent decks. There's plenty for sale on evilBay but the shipping on something that large cross-border is usually half the price of the deck itself, so I'm biding my time for someone to find one in their basement and stick it in the local paper.

adadan · Post by **adadan** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:39 pm

I've never owned one, so this is based on hearsay, but I've heard nothing but raves about the Technics RS1500/1506/1700 series.

A lot of people seem to consider those to have one of the best transports of any RTR, pro or consumer, for 1/4" tape. It's an isoloop, like the 3M pro studio machines, and direct drive.

On the other hand, they seem to sell for the price of pro studio machines as well, so that might defeat the purpose, depending on why you're looking for a consumer machine.

skywavebe · Post by **skywavebe** » Wed May 13, 2009 2:53 pm

Hi Kinger;
I am forced in the direction of Teac but have worked on many decks such as Teac, Sony, Otari, Studer, Scully, and Tascam. I have no problems with the previos brands but have found when I did address the Akai or Dokorder brand that they were sadly lacking. Akai has a lot of face but nothing great underneath. I would avoid those things. There are plenty of good machines on Fleabay but they seem to be getting more expensive all the time. I don't know why as many of them have not really been serviced yet.
There is a Tape Technician in Canada named Leon Ament who is someone you might want to contact to get a good deck from. He knows his stuff.
Leon(The Audiomayvin, Montreal(514)739-5403)
This is a guy you can trust and I have talked to him on a number of occasions. He also repairs Studer and Revox units. Just a thought.
Good Luck!

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed May 13, 2009 3:14 pm

I have extensively used the Otari MX 5050 series back in the day. Might not be what you are looking for. I have been combing ebay for one off and on. I'd love to have it as a possible mixdown deck, but most likely just for weird saturation stuff interfaced with the Apple G5.

Anyway, seems like you can grab one for under $400 if you are patient: ebay completed listings for MX 5050

Not sure what the difference is between all models, but I know that the mkIII is still made. I'm pretty sure that I worked on the MKII version. Loved those machines. We had six or seven at my old voice talent job and I did routine service on them (demag, cleaned heads) for the 14 months that I was there. Every now and again we would have to have one professionally serviced if a motor went bad, etc, but most of the ones that had major problems were used by voice talent and abused to shit by quickly punching in for dialog, etc, recorded by the voice talent unmonitored by us in booths.

Anyway, they do 15ips and sound really great. This is what I would look into if you only want 2-tracks for mixdown.

Jeff

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Fri May 15, 2009 4:22 pm

The 5050 is a solid deck for messing with tape.

This is my 8000th post.

Thats all.

kinger · Post by **kinger** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:32 pm

joel hamilton wrote:This is my 8000th post.

Boy, that's a lot of posts; must be hard to find time to record...

Thanks for all the tips! I said "tips".

skywavebe · Post by **skywavebe** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:01 pm

Hi Kinger;
Once again I chime in. It depends what you are looking for in a format.
2 tracks, 8 tracks, 1/4" tape, 1/2" tape , 1/4 track or 1/2 track.
Teac/Tascam made many machines that were a good value and in the used market if you get one in good shape you can really get a deal. The trouble with E bay is that people seem to have a higher demand for Reel decks now and this has caused the price to go up regardless of condition. I have 6 Otari decks sitting in the basement all 1/2 track. I work in Radio so what do you expect. I am sure that all of these will go out eventually after I check them out and replace some buttons that are missing. Have you contacted Leon as he would be your best bet as well as if you had any trouble- he could also help you without coming to the US. He is a great person to deal with- I can tell you that.

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Consumer 1/4" reel to reel recommendation

Consumer 1/4" reel to reel recommendation

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