Reel-To-Reel Recording: Reel Talk

[CBA]

Hey friends.

I've started quite a few threads at ILF on recording... DAWs, cassette 4-tracks, etc. I'm moving into a different house with the potential for me to have my own music room, and I'm going to be getting a reel-to-reel and a mixer and teaching myself all that ass. I could give you my recording history, but I'll spare you.

I'm just wondering who, if anyone, does any reel-to-reel analog recording on ILF. I'm set on getting an 8-track, which I think is the perfect amount of tracks for what I'm doing (and for anyone else). A 4-track would be great for a band, but I'm doing a solo record.

So yeah... anyone have a fun Otari or Tascam or anything? I'm pretty set on getting an Otari mx5050 8-track, or an mx-70 if I can find one.

I've posted on other forums, but I know all of you better, so I wanted to chat here too.

C

[space6oy]

i just have a stereo 7" reel to reel but i freaking love that thing. good luck with your move & the otari hunt!

[grege]

I've used an Otari mx5050 for several sessions. Very usable and awesome machine! Otari is a super killer buy as they don't seem to have the crazy prestige associated with Studer/Ampex/MCI.

For my ears they sound great, very usable & accurate transport which was quite good for punching in/out. Ours had a varispeed which made for a lot of fun as well, recording a bit fast and slowing it down to give guitars and vocals a little more depth was interesting.

[zRobertez]

I would like to! All of John Frusciante's stuff is recorded on tape and you can tell it! It has this special little sound to it.

[Derelict78]

I have used a lot of tascams and they were all easy to use and sounded great. SLAM drums onto that shit FTW.

[D.o.S.]

SLAM everything onto that shit FTW.

[rustywire]

AVOID Otari & Studer machines.
Parts are simply unavailable at this point, which is a tragedy considering how incredible they were in their day.
Ampex to a lesser extent...
I recommend doing some serious research legwork into userbase/support communities on the respective models before pulling the trigger.


The safest bet is to go with MCI/Sony, Teac/Tascam...or Fostex...even 3M which have plenty of parts available, as well as people who can service them if need be.

Open reel tape sounds awesome....even on the old consumer grade decks.

Good luck.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

i have like 5 or 6 reel 2 reels and a shit load of tape. they are alot of fun. i got them off a dude on CL who was moving cross country and was a bit of a pack rat (as his roommate told me when he went inside to grab some shit).

i've got a bunch of regular ones, an akai 4 track, and an otari mastering one. used to have a sony one w/ a tape echo on it, but the motor was busted so i sold it to a guy to use as a preamp.
love watching the reels spin round and round.

[CBA]

One brand I have not looked at is MCI. I've seen those mentioned, but I kept forgetting about them.

I'm still set on an Otari, despite the above warning. I know a few people who can do repairs. Plus as far as quality, it's also been recommended to me to stay away from Fostex and Tascam... though I do have a few Tascam Portastudios and would love to have a 388.

C

[rustywire]

One brand I have not looked at is MCI. I've seen those mentioned, but I kept forgetting about them.

I'm still set on an Otari, despite the above warning. I know a few people who can do repairs. Plus as far as quality, it's also been recommended to me to stay away from Fostex and Tascam... though I do have a few Tascam Portastudios and would love to have a 388.

C

In that case I'd recommend buying 2 identical tape machines together, so you can parts out the 2nd to keep one running.
Parts wear out, it's the cost of doing business; and even with the internet, sourcing [them] for Otari machines is going to be a challenge...even if you know Japanese.
I'd also suggest making friends with a master metalsmith and 3d printing enthusiast.


When you say "as far as quality" what are you speaking of...quality of sound or the machine's reliability and integrity, itself? Or something else?

And is your goal to record at 15 or 30ips...? And on what size tape? Lots of back-end costs involved...keep doing your research.

In any event, good luck.

[grege]

AVOID Otari & Studer machines.
Parts are simply unavailable at this point, which is a tragedy considering how incredible they were in their day.
Ampex to a lesser extent...
I recommend doing some serious research legwork into userbase/support communities on the respective models before pulling the trigger.


The safest bet is to go with MCI/Sony, Teac/Tascam...or Fostex...even 3M which have plenty of parts available, as well as people who can service them if need be.

Open reel tape sounds awesome....even on the old consumer grade decks.

Good luck.

I'd say this is pretty location dependant. We're running a Studer 2" machine, and the local tech (Roger Ginsley) makes a lot of parts available locally from machines. Not currently produced, but a good tech in town can make your search easier.

[rustywire]

Yeah that is a crucial point...YMMV

[CBA]

One brand I have not looked at is MCI. I've seen those mentioned, but I kept forgetting about them.

I'm still set on an Otari, despite the above warning. I know a few people who can do repairs. Plus as far as quality, it's also been recommended to me to stay away from Fostex and Tascam... though I do have a few Tascam Portastudios and would love to have a 388.

C

In that case I'd recommend buying 2 identical tape machines together, so you can parts out the 2nd to keep one running.
Parts wear out, it's the cost of doing business; and even with the internet, sourcing [them] for Otari machines is going to be a challenge...even if you know Japanese.
I'd also suggest making friends with a master metalsmith and 3d printing enthusiast.


When you say "as far as quality" what are you speaking of...quality of sound or the machine's reliability and integrity, itself? Or something else?

And is your goal to record at 15 or 30ips...? And on what size tape? Lots of back-end costs involved...keep doing your research.

In any event, good luck.

"As far as quality"... I'm pretty much talking reliability and build. Consistancy. I've been told by recordists that I know that Otaris don't produce a "magic" tape sound, but they do capture things very clearly, and are for the most part super-dependable.

I plan on running at 15 ips, on either 1/2" or 1" tape, depending on what I can find. No interest in more than 8 tracks or 2".

C

[grege]

I'd suggest 1" if you can make it work. Getting the extra track width with lower your noise floor considerably. 15 ips is awesome sounding too - great head bump which really helps out the bottom end.

Any time you hit tape, there will be a 'tape' sound. Sometimes it's just the tape choice that you use. If you can score some new old stock Quantegy tape from Ebay, it'll sound significantly different than newer ATR/RMG formulations. It'll also depend on how the bias works on your machine. You'll have to align the biasing different depending on what era/output tape you use.

If you've got any questions in regards to that, I'll try and dig out the alignment procedure description for our studer machine. It'll be kind of impractical for an Otari machine, but it'll explain to you how the bias works with different tape types. It's super important and has a huge effect on the tonal qualities!

[misterstomach]

i've done some recording on a 388. i fucking love that machine. it's one where you have to work with it's strengths rather than against it's limitations, but i guess that's true with everything.