A basic tutorial on reel-to-reel tape decks. Please like, subscribe, and comment! Help me grow my channel! redbankvintage... #vintageaudio #audiorepair #reeltoreel #hifi #audiophile #highendaudio
Boa noite! Melhor vídeo que assisti no RU-vid com respeito a gravadores de rolo! Parabéns pela excelente didática e explicação 😊. Suas palavras mostram que entende muito do assunto! Obrigado pela aula! Congratulações do Brasil 🇧🇷
Really enjoyed this video. Learnt a lot. You have a great concise way of presenting a lot of information in a way that is very understandable. Looking forward to Part Two (and Three?)
Thanks! Glad you liked it. There will be at least a part two, and perhaps a part three. Part two I hope to have up later this month, but I'm so busy trying to catch up on repairs I have little time for making videos.
You have a great way of presenting the infprmation.. I don't know if I will ever dip my toes into tape machines but enjoyed the video. Aso great channel!
I’m a Studio Musician and Im exited to use Analog Gear ,most Reel to Reel.I have Teac Cassette Deck and Yamaha Md4 for experimenting.Thanks for Share your Great Knowledge and simple Understanding facts for me and the World.Sorry my English is poor.🤗👍🙏
Something I should have said in this video: If you are buying your first reel-to-reel, sort of "dipping your toes into the water," look for a quarter-track machine that runs at 3.75 IPS and 7.5 IPS, and which supports 7-inch reels. This will be the most plentiful and least expensive variety of machine, and will allow you to play (relatively) inexpensive prerecorded tapes from the 60's-80's. You can find decent machines like this starting at about $150 on eBay, but as usual, caveat emptor!
@@ScottGrammer In our area I saw a technics 1500us(1200$) and Fostex model 20(650$) for sale, which one is a better option? I want to use these machines to record my playlists from Tidal.
@@stackoverflow8260 The Technics will be, in my opinion, the better machine by quite a margin. That said, the Technics, which uses 3M's Iso-Loop tape drive, is very critical when it comes to the adjustment of the transport and the condition of the pinch rollers. And being as it is 35-45 years old, it will likely need to be serviced. The Fostex is a good bargain at that price, if it's in fair shape. Check out the LED VU meters first, as Fostex has problems with those meters losing segments. And of course, check the heads on either machine for a wear groove. Worn heads can sometimes be relapped, but until that's done, the machine will not perform correctly.
@@ScottGrammer The owner of fostex says that all the LEDs function well and and the Technics guy says that it works but recommends servicing. Thank you very much for your response.
Hello! I just pulled the trigger on the Technics, it works but I can hear break rubbing on one side in ffwd mode...I will get it fully serviced soon. I was wondering if I can run 1/2 inch tapes on this? Is 2 track same as 1/2 track and 4 track same as 1/4 track? I know that it currently has a 1/4 inch reel on it.
2:45 oh absolutely, I thought 7 1/2 ips quarter track was mind blowing then got a master recorder, it's a fostex but still, that width makes such a difference, you can record something that sounds silent and barely moves the vu's and boost it up to a listenable level with acceptable noise, i'd not do it willingly but the noise performance is absolutely stunning, even compared to digital
9:22 eh, yeah the emphasis curves make a difference but also higher tape speeds push more hiss out of audible range, it effectively is reducing the hiss the higher speed you go, but yeah it's a lot of things adding up of course
10:02 my multitrack recorder is a 16 track 1/2 inch that I weirdly run at 30ips, it works absolutely stunningly in terms of distortion levels, using bog standard 456 I can print off the meters with no sound difference, though you'd hear it on 4 other tracks haha
14:04 can attest, even said weird 16 track 1/2 inch, possibly the worst setup imaginable for high frequency reproduction, absolutely demolishes 25khz sine tones stably, I can even phase cancel a 20khz with the original tone generator
OMG, in 5:45 now,i know why 15 years ago,i took reel from Radio /TV fono archive,into production studio -that was all digital,but still had, some old reel to reel,etc,to convert to digital,anyhow,when i threded the tape WE ONLY HEARD LEFT CH Ok,but the RIGHT CHANNEL was so quiet ,that it was allmost (read unusable),ok, we fixed it in comp,but ,i wondered to this day,-to this clip video that you posted-WHAT THE HECK was the problem?,...now i know the reason,,, :( , boy where were your advice then,i could search appropriate reel to reel machine to play it from........somehow,we maneged to "FIX" the RIGHT chaneel that was allmost inaudible,but,i should of knew WHAT is the reason..(and on the cover it only was typed 15 inch p/s , stereo,and NOTHING MORE-phisicly it looked like any normal 1/4 inch tape..i am ashaimed of myselfe now ,how come NO ONE KNEW or ASK itselfe out loud what might be the priblem/issue ?...and it was all happening in BIG PRODUCTION STUDIO that costed about Million $ in equipement,and with "PROFFESIONAL PODUCTION STUDIO WORKERS"... :( DAMN! Me feeling so sade and STUPID! :-o(
Don't feel bad. This is all fairly arcane stuff, and unless you have studied it or are trained in it, you have no way to know. The tape, coming from a studio, should have been labeled more fully, as in "1/2 track stereo." I'm glad I could answer this question for you.
There was a variant of the two track system that recorded three tracks to quarter inch tape, it was for use in three channel stereo recordings, and was sometimes used as an early form of multitrack. The third track went into that wide guard band in the middle. As an example, check out the 1958 Dave Brubeck Quartet album, "Take Five." It was originally recorded in three track, and was mixed down to two tracks. Later, a third track was inserted into this guard band for time code, which was used to synchronize the tape to video. There is also a slightly different two track standard, which you'll see on machines that feature what are called butterfly heads. In these machines, the tracks are wider and the guard band is narrower. You get better signals noise ratio and fewer dropouts, with a very slight drop in separation. Tapes recorded in this manner can be played back on normal two track machines, with only a slight bottom end boost on playback from fringing. I'll talk about fringing in the next video. EDIT: To clarify, when I said, " Later, a third track was inserted into this guard band for time code, which was used to synchronize the tape to video," I was not talking about the Brubeck tape. I meant that the two-track format later was given the option of a time code track in the guard band, for synchronization to video.
This is a very misleading video title. There was no tutorial about how to use a reel to reel machine, and the title made me expect to find that. “Tutorial” is a loaded word here. I would say “information” instead. Otherwise, good video with useful information
When I titled the video, it was intended to be part one of a two-part set. The second part was to be an actual tutorial on how to use a machine. I just never got around to making it. My apologies if the current title led you to believe the video was other than what it is. Hopefully, I will get to make that second part before I leave this planet!
Yes. I use a Presonus Audiobox USB 96 audio interface connected between my stereo and my computer. I can stream from Spotify (set to highest audio quality) and record to reel-to-reel or cassette, or both. You don't have to use that particular interface, it's just the one I happen to use. It's about $100 new or $40-$50 used.
It's in the works, I'm just so busy repairing stereos and doing other things I haven't had time to finish it. Be sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you'll know when it comes out.
