Yet more glorious bits of kit way above my (non)pay grade. I still love reel-to-reel tape and decks. These are the coolest analog audio tech ever. Keep these reports coming "Please, Please, Please".
When he opened the cassette compartment at the beginning of the video and the cover went flying, I fell down from the sofa laughing, specially when he continued talking like nothing has happened, it really made my day.
OK that may be the weak point of the Nakamichi ZX-9, but not having another box to buy in the form of a "tape head amp" made my day. Here we go again with a separate black box.
@Seventh Anubis I had a Sony 7" RTR with the speakers forming the cover, a very cool unit that eventually got tossed after being left in the hot attic along with a box of tapes. Nowadays I have Nakamichi ZX-9 and a lot of mostly Maxell UDXLII chrome tapes which have really gone up in price. Also picked up a very cool Nak 550 recently with original box and power supply and carrying strap. 350 bucks such a deal. A while back got a nice Nak DR-2 for 300 bucks. The ZX-9 was a bit more lol but the Willy Hermann rework was 750 bucks alone and they are rare as so called hens teeth now. Anyway I am cassette committed when it comes to tapes.
@Seventh Anubis nice. You obviously have technical skills I can only imagine. I'm lucky to replace a driver in a speaker for example. Trying to find a couple of drivers for my Polk 10As they soldered them and also have a plug for the driver kind of odd I guess soldering is better? Sure is nice to plug and play.
After checking the video description to be sure of whether a link was posted, I feel the need to address the elephant in this room: *Where* *can* *we* *get* *a* *copy* *of* *that* *digital* *transfer?!?* O_O
Hi Hare, good to see you again! 👍 Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say just when I saw your comment, I really wonder how it would sound like. So close to the original source *must* be better than some random release.
@@QoraxAudio Hi Qorax! Yes, I agree with you. I have the hybrid SACD of Dark Side of the Moon, in which they did a transfer of the original master tapes, and it sounds better by far than all other releases I have heard. There is a documentary about the making of this release on YT, in which it is explained that all other digital releases of the album are second or third generation copies. Even the anniversary editions. It makes a big difference.
@@HareDeLune Nice. I'll do a search for that. I have the first Dutch pressing ('73) of DSOTM, of which I posted a decent recording about a month ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5QrfwQ0VBJU.html It has been played with a waterbrush in the past, so it has quite some surface noise, despite that, it still sounds remarkably good. Especially the guitars in 'Money'.
@@QoraxAudio I have read on some forums that the original vinyl pressing on the Harvest label is also directly from the original masters, and is superior to all other vinyl pressings. It sounds like that may be what you have, in a localized version. 🙂 I have it on good authority that steam cleaning is the most effective and least harmful way to clean vinyl records when done properly. I know everyone has their favourite method, but it's worth a try. I also read long ago of a safe and effective way to remove warp from vinyl records. You must obtain two large pieces of plate glass. Large enough to sandwich the record in the middle of them. Make sure they are as clean as possible, with no dust or dirt that could contaminate the record. Then, set your oven to about 60° or 65°C. Let it warm up for about thirty minutes, then put the glass and vinyl sandwich in for fifteen minutes (here, my memory falters on the timing, but fifteen minutes seems reasonable). This will remove any warps without damaging the record. I read this years ago, but you may be able to find it archived somewhere if you want to know the precise timing. Timing and temperature here are, of course, critical to not damaging the record. I supose with these hot Summer days, one might be able to just leave it sitting in the glass for a day or two, and skip the oven altogether. 😆
@@HareDeLune Well, the good thing is, the record isn't warped, has no microscratches and no ring wear. It's just the surface noise of the waterbrush that has been used in the past (probably regular tap water, which contains a lot of calcium over here in the Netherlands). "I have it on good authority that steam cleaning is the most effective and least harmful way to clean vinyl records when done properly. I know everyone has their favourite method, but it's worth a try." - Steam cleaning, you have to be kidding right? 😅 You know that water turns into steam at about 100/212 C/F degrees? There are dedicated record flattener, which work very good, but are very expensive too, like the Orb DF-01iA+
Mark nailed it with reel to reel. With a good transport and upgraded electronics 2-tracks at 15 IPS is likely the best analog sound one will ever experience. The source media then becomes the weak link and he's right about bogus master tapes flooding the market. He's also right about the ridiculously high prices of 10.5 inch R2R decks currently. He's fortunate he got onboard before the market went way up.
Really enjoyed this. A little caveat, which these guys know so well, is that just one pass of a priceless or high value tape over magnetized (or not properly demagnetized) heads will permanently damage the sound quality of that tape. *One pass.* I have a Pioneer RT 707 on the shelf which has been unused for several years. I know it worked back when. It was a gift from a retired military officer/friend, who brought it back from his Vietnam tour. I just have to find a good enough use for it to lift the overweight chunk of iron, copper, and aluminum to where it can connect up to my main music system. And my newer preamp, as is typical (for good reasons) doesn't have the uber-convenient "tape loop" that vintage preamps used to have. That'll need a workaround. *More darn cables!*
If I had one wish it would be that people didn't grow old. All that talent, humour, insight, knowledge, experience, achievement, judgement, taste, and too many other character facets I cannot put my finger on as I write this would not be lost to humanity. There is nothing that compares with talking with people who were there when things happen. Soon they won't be around. People who loved the song Leila when it came out and when it mattered most. This upsets me a little but the fact you have recorded this means it may be enjoyed by all who watch this for many years to come. Thank you.
EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT! (By far, the best vid ever on Guttenberg’s channel) LED ZEP ll - SWEET! Saw them the summer of 77- 6/23/77 to be exact- the night a VERY drunk Keith Moon took the stage with the band...to this day- THE BEST CONCERT I’VE EVER SEEN!!!
Very interesting. I am 65 and had not heard high fidelity until a retired electrical engineer played a 15 inch per second master tape on a professional machine 11 years ago. I was blown away by what I heard. He also had an LP of the same recording and the tape stood above the LP in quality. I never trust implicitly what people say which is probably a trait we all have that helps us survive to copy. However, so many people have inferred incorrectly the conclusions that can be stated regarding Shannon's work on Nyquist's conjectures that many actually think CD quality is Hi Fidelity. It's too bad they do. I think it hurts the availability of better quality music recordings. If they only knew what they were missing due to aliasing or misrepresentation under the CD scheme which can occur above 14.8 KHz maybe better fidelity would become common place thus affordable.
Loved this video. I feel so lucky that I worked in the recording studio business back in the analog tape and consoles (and everything!) days and not only heard all of this stuff but also worked on them. I did console installations and tape machine alignments and repairs of a very popular brand at the time from Florida called MCI which was ultimately bought by Sony. Those were the days!
I once got a 1965 Dean Martin reel to reel tape at a thrift store, played on an old Akai X-355, that sounded like he was in the room. The owner of the Local Stereo Store told me that it used to be that you would get a "Second or Third Generation" copy off of the original Master Tape - and it was almost as good as the Studio Copy. It was MUCH BETTER than a CD or LP - I got both of the same album and there was NO Comparison - Reel to Reel is KING! CC
In high school (1988) one of my dad's buddies gave me his Akai, open-reel deck. It was cool big an heavy. Uriah Heep, Hawkwind, UFO [first two], Mountain. Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat...my first experiences with the brutal sides of psychedelia all happened via 1/4 ---7.5 ips. Mostly BASF and Maxell. I used it regularly for a few years til started college, kept it with the vague desire to use it for recording bands I hung around with but the mics it came with were shit and it needed some capacitors replaced and some other stuff that...in the mid-late 90s where I lived there wasn't any easy was to get that work done. I eventually gave it (and a NAD integrated amp from the late 80s) to a guy who had a home studio set-up and worked as an Amp tech for a recording studio. So, yeah, I owned one for 15+ years, but only used it for about 3.
Here's a low end question. I remember seeing reel to reel tape promoted in record clubs in early 70s. When was the last year you could actually get reel to reel in a record club? How have they held up?
Glad to see you finally covering this. When are you gonna get a tape deck, Steve? (As for the availability of media, the very best 15 IPS states are pricey, but 7 1/2 IPS tapes are plentiful and affordable on ebay, and they often sound better than vinyl.)
I would loved to heard a two second sample of them. I have several reel to reel decks but know that mine aren't this good but they do sound better than all my other formats. I have two multi track machines and five stereo machines. One is a two track but only goes to 7.5 is. That needs an azimuth adjustment. The one tape that I own is called Blood and Thunder Classics and is from 1957. The tape is extremely brittle but there are no splices or breaks in it and sounds so good. It's so dynamic. I digitized that a few years ago. The digital transfer sounds extremely detailed too. Thank you for sharing.
I bought this, (Description below) and it sounds great! I listen to it on my Tascam DA-300 in DSD using my Audio Technica ATH-RD70x headphones plugged straight into the Tascam DA-3000. I highly recommend both! (A little background on myself. I've been recording and playing music for 25 years and have been paid to master audio over a decade now. I have been selling professional recording equipment for over a decade now as well). The DSD file below is certainly the most analog sounding digital file I've ever heard. High resolution DSD sounds great if done properly and it doesn't have to cost a fortune! Bossa Nova Jazz Samba - Bud Shank & Clare Fischer - DSD128 Direct Stream Digital Download Enjoy your Purchase High Definition Tape Transfers
I can still recall, 1974 and I'm 15 years old. Standing in my bedroom with my hockey stick imagining I'm playing guitar to 'Key To The Highway' What a great jam! Then my Dad banged on the door and told me to TURN IT DOWN!
Rick Beato (RU-vid - channel) mentioned months ago; That a few years ago, there was a Fire on a "back lot" of Universal Studios in LA. But recently, Universal finally owned up to the fact; That Tens of Thousands 'Master Tapes', were also lost in the same fire. ... sad.
@@amazoidal Ok, I get thatpart. It's incredible just how many Fires, are truly caused by Blow Torches. The Problem is, that Universal; DIDN'T Bother to put That MUSIC, in a more Secure Set Up. e.g. Some type of Vault.
Yes, as the article says, Universal treated storage as an expense, not an investment. They should have used sectioned concrete or block vaults . Metal roofs. Old acetate is like gasoline.
An audio cassette can sound good, but you need a good desk, like a nakamichi dragon, using a metal cassette like a tdk ma-xg, if you record a audiophile record onto a ma-xg it can sound outstanding, another great topic, well done steve.
I'm from Sweden myself, so it's nice to see our neighbours featured on the channel. Jens clearly has a deep love and respect for music and it is always great to see someone pushing the boundaries.
I am loving this, been a long time purchaser of HDTT products and they are incredible! This is one of the best things you have put up Steve, thank you!
My friend the bass player Paul Wheeler and I eagerly awaited the arrival of my copy of Layla from the UK. No world-wide release in those dim and distant days. When we got back to my flat (apt) one of the LPs fell from the cover and shattered on the concrete steps. I handed the album to Paul to hold while I fumbled with the door keys, and watched the second LP fall from the cover and break on the ground. It was another wait of several weeks before the local release and we finally got to hear the album. My first-born’s middle name is Duane as a consequence of my being so impressed by Duane Allman’s slide work on that record.
I’m not a fan of reel to reel. Flashbacks of being forced to record duets with my bullying older sister of Elton John’s and Kiki Dee’s ‘Don’t go breaking my heart’ lol
In a previous video I loved your cap. Now I love your car. And your work. I definitely love your work. By the way, my name is also Jens, and I am also Danish. Although you wouldn't know it to hear me speak unless I was impersonating my late father...
Wow I'll be checking out that taoe transfer site. If i had the money i would get into reel to reel listening. My "step" father has a reel to reel but its mid level player. Well next best thing is vinyl which i have a good collection of records and still buying.
Back in the day, my teens would have called this “Dad humor,” with a mixture of admiration and disparagement that is hard to proportion. Long live Dad humor! A fine example here and great factual content on top of that. Thank you!
Nice interview and general video. I am from Danmark myself. Now living in NYC and PA. As a guitar player, blues, jazz, classical, etc. I always loved the tape deck. But in the late 80s and into the 90s it went to digital. I lost my connection. Now I have set up my home studio with a 16 track mixer and are getting back into anolog recording. The sound is just so much cleaner and "original" which you do not get in digital. Nice. I need an 8 track reel to reel. Know anybody? Thanks
Yet another excellent reason to subscribe to your channel. I started with tape recorders back in the mid-sixties. I think my first good (not great) tape deck was a TEAC A6010 in 1969-70 From there I was hooked. I owned other later model TEAC's, Pioneer, and Sony 10.5 inch I bought a later model TEAC from eBay over 10 years ago. The person shipped it packed with crumpled newspapers in a single cardboard box. It was beat up six ways to Sunday. I never hunted down the parts to repair it. I was crushed by other personal events around the same time. So it sits in a box in storage. This is an excellent revitalization of the joys I once had with R-R tapes. Clearly the electronics have improved. We used to think 60-65 dB S/N was great. NAB calibration tapes were only made from 50 to 15000 Hz. Any 20 to 20 Khz claims had to be taken with a grain of salt. I look forward to the 2nd installment of these interviews.
@ Michael Livingston - That Sony 10.5 reel model ; was It a "850" series ? I ask, as once owned a Sony TC-651 (the regular 4 track stereo version of the " 50 " series) It was my all time personal favorite Open Reel machine ... Meanwhile, Try to "stay" Cool ! ;-)
Man.... Where did you get this.... how can i get it in flac or wav audio... If i knew you man, I'd bring my steinburg ur 22 daw and record it at 192khz 24bit in wav audio...
Interesting coaxial B&K recorder starting at 6:02. Considering the electronics below the deck itself, this recorder was intended for the instrumentation market, priced way out of range for audio enthusiasts when new. Similar coaxial reel machines but with 1" wide tape and 28 tracks were used on sub-chaser aircraft like the P3 Orions. The joke 40 years ago was you could buy a good used car for the price of the heads. Most tracks on them were FM, out to 31kHz at 7.5ips and 125kHz direct. Regarding the HP reel-to-reel recorders described after, HP sold a lot of them.
I own a Tandberg TD 20A reel-reel tape deck from the late 70s. I had it refurbished about 12 years ago. I went thru most of the Tandberg tape decks models over the years, although not the Tandberg model 6000x that Mark mentioned here in the video, for It was not that good. Tandberg quit making tape decks with the model 20 TD A SE, which I did not migrate to due to the cost and with very little difference. This tape deck model was able (and still is) able to make the recordings sound exactly the same as the source. I also still have all my 100+ 7" reel-reel tapes which I recorded all myself, mainly from LPs, which are now are 40-45 years old. Most are recorded at 3 3/4 IPS and with the DBX 124 noise suppression device. But I do not think I would ever pay hundreds of dollars for any prerecorded tape! Vincent (09-29-2020)
I used a reel to reel recorder in the late 50’s to record an afternoon DJ in Cleveland, Bill “Smoochie” Gordon who played the best music. There was one problem, Bill liked to talk over the first several seconds of the record. Also used to record radio shows when I would be away wiring up a clock radio to start the tape recorder at the right time. It was TIVO for radio!!!
Electrical Engineer Here Worst mistakes made by open reel to reel audio tape recorder manufacturers. Since all reel to reel manufacturers excluding Ampex were pretty much the same specifications with a speed limit of 15IPS. Technological improvements on compact cassettes such as Dolby noise reduction and Dolby HX Pro “Dolby Headroom Extension Professional”, metal evaporated tapes should have been incorporated into open reel to reel quarter inch audio tape recorders. Keep in mind metal evaporated tapes have far lower tape head wear that results in lower maintenance costs. If such improvements were incorporated into open reel to reel audio tape recorders such as using halftrack non-reversable quarter inch metal evaporated tape with Dolby HX Pro “Dolby Headroom Extension Professional”, the signal to noise ratio without Dolby noise reduction and frequency response would equal to first generation audiophile digital audio. First generation audiophile digital audio is defined as the Soundstream digital audio system 16bit 50,000 hertz sampling rates. Tape speed beyond 15IPS are not necessary keep in mind higher tape speeds greater than 15IPS results in poorer low frequency response. Ballfinger the newest open reel to reel quarter inch audio tape recorder manufacturer should incorporate these technological improvements that compact cassettes have enjoyed for years. The signal to noise ratio of Ballfinger M 063 H5 open reel to reel quarter inch audio tape recorder is 68 decibels 20-20Khz frequency response, using Dolby HX Pro “Dolby Headroom Extension Professional”, metal evaporated tapes the signal to noise ratio without noise reduction would be greater 96 decibels and a frequency response of 20-30Khz clearly equal to first generation digital audio. It would have gotten analog open reel to reel audio tape recorders a new lease on life, but manufacturers were looking at greater short-term profits, so they discontinued manufacturing open reel to reel audio tape recorders. Ballfinger M 063 H5 open reel to reel quarter inch audio tape recorder should use a peak reading LED bar graph display for their VU meters. Peak reading LED bar graph display with peak hold are much more accurate.
Mark, buddy, I'm from Jersey too. I also like Bimmers and owned a 2005 M3 (god I loved that car). Hook a brother up with some 1/4" dubs of Jens' collection of master tapes and virgin vinyl dubs. I will ship the tape to you. At the very least I hope you have a plan to save all that stuff when your friend passes. It would be a shame to lose it to stupid family members throwing it in the trash. Sorry to talk about your friend dying like that, just being pragmatic.
Mark !! Still enjoying my Heresy 3s I bought from you !! Led Zep 2...cool. Jens...smoking a good cigar...my kinda guy...i dig a pony. Excellent video...waiting for part 2. Tall Richard
No one really talks about the fact that these (expensive) reels don’t last long! About 50 plays is about all you can get. So you buy a ~$500+ album on reel to reel and can only play it about 50 times.
bad cassettes destroy the best decks ever assembled, but reels still today even with 50 years deliver a better sound than any cassette deck allthough i enjoy very much my deck from pioneer the CT-93
i have a problem ,i own 2 reel to reels sony tc377 and akai 4000d wanting to record from laptop ,but only comes out of one channel ,but comes out of both channels on the lap top no matter what track position i use on the tape decks ,using proper Rca leads
i´ve always had problems about the first led zeppelin album ,i even recentelly bought a new copy in vinil ,because there´s a distortion in the sound of the record ,i´ve always had access to a vinil copy maybe first edition who i thought maybe it was caused by the use of older type of stylus not diamond tip on the record and also when the compilation remasters doble cd came out in early 90´s or late 80´s i notice that the sound had that characteristic ,it seems to be recorded that way allthough if one has a minimum quality system it sounds good but one notices always that distortion in the record ,once i recorded to a cassette and with dolby c it made that distortion disappear but i never use dolby i prefer taking advantage of the deck sound when recording and dolby cuts the lower parts of the song,people complsin about the hum on tapes (ferric ones)but since i started recording cassettes i notice that some records had very low highs and as several people i know use to record with dolby, not to use it while playing but to increase the high frequencies on the tape sound but that´s when the hiss appears, i have a lot of old albums and between well recorded or badly recorded theres no distortion, i have lot´s of 60´s records that today they sound incredible good and i remenber always since i was 12 to clean the records before playing them, store them on a place with no humidity that where i live there was none in the air ,maybe a litle in the winter , the other day i connect my 74 pioneer es-2000 system and played a joan baez compilation bought in 1969 ,it´s only guitar and voice and almost no noise one listens in the record this inbetween tracks ,also i have older records than the first led zeppelin album and they sound incredible good ,later in mid 70´s i bought a lp from the animals the "before we were so rudlly interrupted" or similar ,it has a very well defined sound in what concerns the sound of each instrument and voice and i notice that the loudness on my pioneer receiver is very strong i used to listen always with the loudness on, so the sound would feel more rich quality wise ,it as 7w+7w 8ohms but i once conected some big pioneer speakers that said to have 180 watts each but when conected to this amplifier they have more bass boost and also the treble seems more high but not hurtfull to the ears, when conected them to a receiver also from pioneer but close to the 90´s it gives a more poor sound and it said to have 64w+64w 8ohms ,it can be put at a higher volume but the regular volume to me is always a bit less than half , this to ask if it´s a original recording characteristic ,the album you refer is one of those that came out with a good sound at the time and i don´t notice more than it´s original distortion made by instruments not the whole song having a certain degree of distortion, also i give up putting all my Lp´s in digital format ,one can have a simple problem and loose everything after the work of digitalize thousands of records, i have a friends who plays in a heavy rock band that because of it´s age he has stored all his music ,this regarding is Lp´s and cd not refering to his band muisc ,he´s job is reparing computers and because of those problems he uses 3 diferent external disks to do not loose it´s files ,this with the same music, i have two external disks one with 500Gb other with 1 Tb, but with diferent files till today i never had problems with them ,i only use two brands Iomega and western digital and they have worked since early 2000´S with diferent computers ,but i think that all the work envolved and the probality of loosing all ,and digital today evolved a lot , there´s formats that are not in use because of the price but cd is a 80´s thing poorly developed and have some cds from the mid 80´s that are more resistant and remenber when they changed the material the cds were made because the first materials were expensive almost nobody was buying cds , i myself have only 7 cds bought in the 80´s, i could buy two records with the price of one cd, only in 93 i start to buy cds and stoped buying records but the first thing i notice ios that a litle scratch and part of the cd can´t be heard while the older ones were cleaned with a regular dish cleaner and they lost all brightness but not one song skips or jumps to another point, i remenber going to a litle store in Lisbon ,Portugal where the owner received albums from england who only after a month or more would be released in Portugal and i was already buying cds and asked for one album and the guy tells me i have something new from that band but i9 didn´t open the card box yet ,for my surprise he already had the bands album that would only be released two monthes later in my country and again because of the price i bought two imported albums with the price of one cd. i´m getting out of the topic ,all mof this to saynthat i ended up buying a box with all led zeppelin albums in cd remastered by jimmy page and other guy, the sound was worse than my old albums and two singles one with whola lot of love and another with black dog, this belonging to my father, i only have the singles he bought and they sound real good, when younger i never notice any of this ,only now i´m paying attention to the details or with age, i remenber a friend buying a dat deck from sony the only one available and it gave a much better sound than the other formats, only too expensive , other detail is once i bought a live doble album from a band that had real good songs but others that i never listen to ,but the live album sound incredible good with only two guitars , bass and drums , one day i notice that in the back cover said and says "directelly recorded into dat" so original recording is digital but some years after i saw the cd and bought it because of two songs that i liked a lot not available on the vinil version, when playing it , the sound was not even good ,this to say the end format i think it´s the problem, regards
Ah! I see what you are doing Steve... experimenting with a purer Documentary Stylisation. All those Films 3 to 5 times a day could give you a PHD in the 10,000 Hr Category.
Ya know, if it was getting "air play" on the radio, it must have already had quite a following or popularity. Now if you're talking about the 20's, 30's, 40's & 50's, I don't think black man blues was being played on the ray day oh!!!!
Tape sounds better than vinyl cuuuuuuz the sound on vinyl comes from a master tape, but vinyl does not have the capability of reproducing that quality of sound. Only really cared for Zeps 1st album. It had more of the electric blues POWER I crave. 'YOU SHOOK ME' really DID shake me. Whole lotta love is a whole lotta splutz, IMO.
I agree... R2R can be the single greatest source material in existence if you have the right chain. It crushes everything including vinyl IMO. The problem I have with it is getting good quality source/reference material is near impossible and what it is available it tends to cost a fortune. Take one of my favorite records Folk Singer by Muddy Waters. You can get flac cd reference material used for ~ $5, you can get VG+ vinyl for $15 - $20 or $450 for R2R 1/4 IPS tape.
The reel-to-reel thing reminds me of something which is REALLY underrated as an audio format - HiFi VHS! On a good VCR it has a really great analog sound and is simply perfect for making long and elaborate mixtapes. I love to transfer CD or other digital audio to HiFi VHS.
*** UPDATE*** I'd be most interested in getting together with Other Collectors of Music, of Reel to Reel Tape. I'm hoping for more access to some Great Music of All Genres. I Don't have much. But, I do have an 7 inch Open Reel Recording of "Billy Joel at the Bottom Line" from His NYC "comeback" in 1977, broadcast "Live" on WNEW - FM. Some of the Songs include; tracks from His "Turnstiles" album - to include an extended version of "New York State of Mind", with Richie Canata, on the Sax Solo. It's of pretty decent quality - It was recorded at 7.5 I.P.S. on a SONY TC-651 ( 7 inch reel - 4- track "Stereo" - Auto Reverse version of the "Day of the Dolphin" Sony - TC-850 series !). When I was in Retail Audio; That Recording, sold a lot of speakers. I'd certainly be willing to share to this Gem, If We can come to a clear understanding. Is Anyone Interested ???
