A cool little-known story about TEAC: One of their first major projects was a commissioned prototype flight data recorder for the new at the time US Space Shuttle Program. One of the biggest challenges the US government specified was that the unit had to survive a 9g impact and not completely disintegrate, so the data could be recovered. The TEAC engineers went to task, but misunderstood the instructions due to the language barrier. On demonstration day, NASA and other competitors were dumbfounded after the impact test. Not only could the TEAC recorder withstand the immense impact, it also kept functioning perfectly. "See, still works!" The Japanese engineers said proudly, while everyone's mouths were agape. "It survive 9g impact." Needless to say, TEAC won the Space Shuttle contract. Cheers! EDIT : 9g not 5g
@@cameronbrown8288 I learned this cool part of their history when I was offered a job at TEAC in Los Angeles. I'm pretty sure RU-vid won't let people post hyperlinks, but here's a quote from the TEAC website: "The transport on the DA-88 is the same as the one used on NASA space shuttles. NASA was shocked by the fact that it could survive a 9g impact, exclaiming “My God we only needed to be able to salvage the data from it, we didn’t expect it to still work!.” - Source: TASCAM 30 years of recording evolution, Randy Alberts; Hal Leonard Corp, (2003).
... and years later, when Columbia burnt up, it was one of these "prototype" flight recorders (the so-called OEX unit) that hadn't ever been removed or deactivated that was recovered and in good enough condition they could pull data from it... which is how they figured exactly which part of the leading edge was breached and allowed for the test that proved what actually caused the disaster to happen.
Your initial Reel to Reel video years ago got me to go down the reel to reel journey. I bought a Teac X1000R Black. I replaced all the caps and totally restored it. It is absolutely beautiful spinning those black reels. Thanks for influencing me. When I got it it was ~500. Now you cant touch one for less than $2000 in the condition of mine. Also I ran the tape the wrong way on mine as well. I shared a pic of it running on a Teac forum and was summarily executed for being a noob.
What else was someone going to use for serious recording in the early 90s? That's too early for digital recording. The only other choice was cassettes, which work fine for listening, but were never great for people focussed on production.
@@steveunderwood3683 At the time I used a HiFi S-VHS deck which had manual recording level controls. Recording music on VHS tapes was a perfectly usable solution for home recording until digital alternatives become widely available. Then, in the early noughties, I transferred the tapes to digital form. (VHS was of course not a good option for production, but for home recording it was generally a bit better for me than my Technics cassette recorder with metal tapes and DBX noise reduction.)
@@steveunderwood3683 There were many digital PCM recording devices, Tech Moan covers one such VHS device, there was a PCM add on for some betamax recorders and the 8mm Video format also had a few machines which were sold for this very purpose, advertised to music professionals. Not knocking reel to reel at all but there were digital recording alternatives available at the time.
I had to use a reel to reel as late as 2008 in the military. It was used for data storage, the weapon system it was integrated with was a big frankenstein mash up of old and new hardware, new and old computers, even a modern desktop computer. Every time I used one of these things, I felt like I was in a 1950s sci fi movie. just needed to light up a pipe and wear a lab coat.
🤣 Pretty cool story. That’s no surprise there. From what I understand, punch tape is still used for certain “things”. It was definitely used in those titan II missile systems. There is a really great video here on RU-vid explaining how it was used. Of course you probably already know this being in the military.
@Dixie Paste sometimes lol. miles of toggle switches that are very satisfying to use and a big fire switch with a red spring loaded safety cover over it. love the battle flag pic, btw.
In 1979 I convinced my high school music teacher to pop for a 4-track TEAC reel to reel machine and an ARP-2600 synthesiser. I made a few experimental recordings with that, but never forgot the beauty of a R2R machine.
Always nice to see some TEAC love. Thanks, Mat. My part-time job in high school allowed me to buy a shiny new TEAC A-1230 in 1972. These decks were built to last. With only three trips to TEAC specialists for routine maintenance and one head replacement, it still works flawlessly. I'd say I got my money's worth with 52 years of use. Back in 1971 the naming convention was a little different. The A-1230 was the non-auto-reverse model and the A-1250 was the auto reverse model. I couldn't afford the A-1250 when I was only paid minimum wage, which was $1.60/hour! One of the keys to the longevity of my deck may be the auxiliary fan I have blowing in the back of the unit. At 3-3/4 IPS the internal fan ran too slow on this deck and it ran hot. I run the auxiliary fan for 30 minutes or longer after powering off the deck to remove all the heat that these generated while in use.
Hi there, just wanted to say out of all the channels I watch on RU-vid yours is easily the best out of everything, your content is like a TV documentary! it's amazing! I suffer with mental health issues and your videos have helped me tremendously!I literally watch them over and over...please don't ever stop making videos lol
Never would have guessed I would be watching a Techmoan video about a piece of tech that I own! I have been the proud user of an X 300 R for half of my life!
I have a TEAC X-10 and I LOVE it. It was purchased from a guy who had it on a shelf for 20+ years and never used it so the heads are very nicely intact. Albums just sound better when recorded on tape even at the slower speed. My original stereo system was based around a Pioneer SX1050, a TEAC double deck cassette machine and JBL 65's picked up while stationed on Okinawa in the later 1970's and then I added a Bang and Olufsen Beogram 2400 turntable. I recently replaced the SX1050 with a Yamaha AS 3200 integrated amp and a CD/DAC also from Yamaha. Amazingly the Beogram with the original needle still works very nicely, though I sometimes wonder if it should be upgraded. I enjoy your videos very much. Nicely Done!
Thank you, we have lost so much styling as the years progress and I look at your component setup and say s "you are gong to have a great time playing and listening right here" A wonderful joy to see and hear
Teac made some very good machines, as did Tascam, I am sure you will be happy with the performance of the X3, but have to agree that the Pioneer is a very nice machine, hope the repair brings it back to it's former glory.
Not surprised at all, every TEAC component I have ever owned has never died, it has only required the most basic maintainance. People will always point to higher end examples of products from Pioneer or Sony that rarely work and 90% of the time are just plastic fantastic and tell you they are superior based on a nonsense feature set. Just like people recommending Direct Drive Walkmans with those god awful metal-on-plastic gears, purely because they sound better for the two weeks they work. TEAC always uses compenents that are easily serviceable, cheap, reliable and good value for money. I own a TEAC CRT and 6 head Hi-Fi VCR, and I am adament that I could throw them out the window now and they'd not only work, but work better. The only work I've ever had to do on my VCR was a pinch-roller replacement, the video quality is exceptional and I fully expect that it will outlive every other electronic device I own, aside from maybe my Game Boys and my Nokia 3310
Dad had a much cherished reel-to-reel that he would play (and record radio stations; don't ask me why) for years. Still, it's not a cheap hobby. lol Miss my Dad; don't recall the name of his system, but remember it being either light gray or greenish gray. :)
Teac's are like Hondas. They are very well built, easy to fix, and a boatload of fun. I have a tascam 8 track (tascam is the pro line of teac), and it is a ton of fun to track to.
I have a Akai GX 635D and I love it! Everyone that stops by wants to hear it and majority of them have never seen one. Love the sound, love all my cassette decks as well!!
People are divided into a ferrite world and a permalloy one. Ferrite sounds artificial. Plus so-so Akai’s amplifiers (loose some dynamics for some reason). If you tell us “I love my 4000D”, I’ll find it more exciting
I have never gotten into reel to reel but I still have and use Minidisc - a lot. My Tascam MD350 does a great job, and so does my Sony portable MD player. New and used MD discs are still plentiful available.
When you look closer and pay attention you will notice that the CORPORATE name is AKAI and not Akai - It is clearly written - So be sure to stay conscious - and see exactly what it is you are looking at - despite that you were programmed to be a ZOMBIE and you do not realize it Learn to pay attention to detail.
@@andrew_koala2974 Literally don’t care for your pedantry, Mr Andrew-Koala. 20 years of being a service engineer for consumer and professional A/V gear, and every brand is written on every report like any other proper noun - Capitalized first letter, the rest in lower case.
Thanks for putting this video together. I recently picked up an X300 and was unclear about the relationship with the X3 and all the different variants. It's a lovely machine to have around the place - great sound and a very pleasing (and relaxing) thing to watch....
Excellent, love these reel to reels. The Akai 4000 range can be bought for as little as £50 on eBay for collection and are nice easy machines to work on as shown on my channel
When I saw the TEAC name on this video, I had to watch it. You see I had a Teac Reel to Reel with built in amplifier in my hooch in Vietnam. Bought it from a GI who was going home, don't recall the price but it had the auto reveres as well as all the bells and whistles. I also purchased a small receiver so I could run the music through the speakers I got from another rotating GI. Since I sent the majority of my money home, I always purchased my stuff used. This was in 1970
My first "serious" open reel deck was a Realistic TR-3000 that I purchased brand new in 1981 when I was 14 years old. (I cut a lot of lawns and saved my money!) I still have that same machine and I will be restoring it one of these days. Funny, unlike Techmoan, I prefer the styling of the TR-3000 over the X-3. But I would gladly take an X-3 (or any of its variants) as well. Today my collection of open reel machines includes a TEAC X-700R, TEAC X-1000R, TEAC/TASCAM 25-2 (essentially the TEAC A-7300-2T), Pioneer RT-707, Revox B77 MkII half-track standard speed, 1968 vacuum tube Roberts 770X, Akai GX-221D, and an Otari MX-5050BII-2. I love all my machines!
the late 70's the US NAVY base in Subic had TEAC players and an incredible library. I spent hours there as they were set up to transfer to cassette tape. Fond memories.
That wooden case was an option. You just need to remove the wooden case and plastic feet with the screws. Then you will be left with the factory installed plastic case. Take the screws and you should be able to install the plastic feet on the bottom of the plastic case. ( you may need to find suitable shorter screws for the sides of the case, as the pre existing screws may be too long) The wooden has been like this on all X series decks. 😊 I've worked on them all...And I've never seen a metal cover for them. Always plastic. (And always installed, with either the wooden case or not)
On the X-3 series was there a case under the wooden case option like the X-7/700/1000 and 2000? My x-300R has the metal U like case (top and sides)-I bought it new around 1992 (it was severely discounted and they threw in the deal with another deck I bought) at that time the wooden case for the X-3 had vanished as an option but the large deck x-2000R still had it.
The video I've been longing to see. I bought my X7R used in 1993, mostly for live recordings and to mix down my 1st 3 albums (recorded on a Foster 4 track cassette recorder). I love this machine! Thanks for all you do.
Always look forward to a Techmoan video, especially if R2R. I have 3 old ones but they all require an expert overhaul and that is going to cost. Already had my 3 decent cassette decks overhauled so justifying the R2R's as well is going to be tricky. Great video as always.
I can't see myself ever getting a reel to reel.... but you do make it oh so tenpting with your enthusiasm for it. I can see how it would very much be the centerpiece of a hi-fi setup.
TEAC made some solid devices and the X3 reel to reel device platform is the longest supported device platform since its inception. You'll love the X3 its a solid and reliable device.
I know the levers on the Akai looked a bit outdated back then when the TEAC X-3 came out, but I'm really happy with my GX-215D. Not only because it's black/anthracite like the rest of my equipment (are there any black X-3's? The "Pulp Fiction" recorder was black), but it has a less complicated auto reverse system. Not 2 pins (big and small) on the TEAC, but a grooved tension arm on the left side, and a grooved pin (fixed, under the head cover) on the right. A very small piece of foil will do the job to get the tape in another direction (back side of the tape for A -> B, tape side for B -> A) as it only has to bridge te groove on the pins. But as usual: thanks for the very informative video (again).
I used to drool over these Teac X series machines as a high schooler/college student! Of course I couldn't afford them. A glorious thing hanppened, a Pioneer RT-909 like his showed up in a used stereo shop in town, it cost me $300 in the mid 80's. It was barely in my budget, but I bought it along with all the tapes that came with it. I was broke for a while, but I still have this machine today. It was worth every penny, and it will always be in my system.
I have had an X10R for the last 7 years, has worked flawlessly since i replaced belt and re greased and calibrated it. Nothing looks better than a R2R in the setup
Reel 2 Reel is the best music format when it comes to look & feel. Like vinyl but with the ability to make your own recordings. Also the machines look so damn good.
I've seen these pop up on ebay for sale and I have thought of picking one because who doesn't need a 5th R2R tape deck. But I do remember growing up that if I were going to a stereo store and looking at a reel to reel it was a very high probability of being a Teac. They were everywhere. Thanks for the excellent trip down memory lane!
Honestly, I think the wooden case looks lovely, especially seeing that it matches the shelf it‘s on. Purely visually speaking imho the whole set-up looks much more pleasing and way cleaner than it did before and it‘s all down the wooden casing. Oh, well, tastes differ. I hope you find a way to make it look the way you prefer.
You would be surprised how many of these machines soldiered on into the 21st century at various radio stations throughout the US. They saw a lot of rough usage. They only met their demise when affordable computer digital recorders and editors became available around 2000.
I worked for Quality Sound and Video in North Carolina several years ago. I know you could get it repaired there. Just in America though. The guys that work there have worked there since the 70’s. I’ve had them do some work recently rebuilding a few speakers and recapping my realistic receiver.
My Grandfather had an Akai open reel machine. It never missed a beat. Very mechanical, with the big levers and all, but it just never died and kept a rock steady speed.
I love my Teac A330 SX. I had one of the Akai GX models and I think one of the reasons they lasted so well and are common nowadays still is the GX Models have glass coated heads and we’re guaranteed to last something like 18 years.
Always good to get a thorough review from you. I've had my eye on the Akai 400DS for a while. After watching your video I bought a battered pair of Uher Reports mkll. Not the gorgeous new old stock but some from the early 70's. They have the same mechanism, as far as I can tell, but only one playback head. They work just fine for sound design and looping and the extra high top speed gives great fidelity and allows for doing the half soeed/drop an octave multiple times. Keep up the good work.
Hi Techmoan. Just a note on your X3. The tension arms on each side of the tape path should not be at the top of their slots when running, this indicates that the the reel tension is set to high, and could mean that you are stretching the tape when playing. They should be in the middle of the slots and if you have the service manual this will tell you how to adjust them.
Great information Techmoan. I remember those X series when they were new. I would have bought it or the RS version but it was entirely out of my price range back then. At times I was too broke to even pay attention at times. I settled for a $50 used ReVox A77 four track from a car boot sale. I still have it. It too still works well but I have renewed it over the years. One of those A77s would have fit well into your system too. I hope the Pioneer returns soon, ready for another twenty years.Cheers
I think about that a lot. All of the reel-to-reel and other vintage techs seem to be far and few in-between these days, but these dude/dudettes are only in their 60's/70's at this point. It's not like the Boomer gen just disappeared. Why aren't more of the folks who worked the line and literally made these chiming in? I mean granted most (if not all) were Japanese, so... maybe that's part of it. But still! Lol
I still have my X3 going strong after approximately 40 years. Bought from Uxbridge Audio long since defunct! A work colleague borrowed it from me some years ago and needed to replace the various drive belts and I will probably need to do the same now. I have many old tapes that I need to copy onto CD and HDDs/SSDs. I haven't used it for several years but it still sits amongst my everyday HIFI rack. My father's old Philips Stellaphone machine has lived on top of a wardrobe since the TEAC came into the house. One of these was seen in a Compare the Market adverticements with the meerkats a while ago. Nice video.
In the 1970s open reel recorders were the coolest thing and despite the popularity of cassettes the allure of those big spinning reels was too hard to resist. Most folks who owed open reel decks rarely used them as prerecorded music on reel tape was both expensive and hard to find. Recording music you already had on vinyl was kind of redundant, it took a long time and tape costs added up quickly. The idea was just to set one of these objects of beauty on the shelf and turn it on to impress your friends and yourself for having the good taste to buy one. Teac, Akai, Philips, Pioneer and Toshiba made inexpensive open reel decks and some of them were surprisingly good and fun to use.
Reel-to-reel machines seem to be a neat throwback about as much as videos with a commentary puppet-skit at the end of them. Have to go through old stuff to find one.
I bought an X-10R at the Ramstein Audio/Photo club when I was stationed in Germany in the late 70's. Massive and very solid machine, weighed a ton, but had unparalleled sound quality. Was totally heartbroken when it got stolen in a burglary around 1990 when I was living in NYC. Never got the opportunity to replace it.
We used to drool over the TEAC 144 cassette portastudio .... then a drummer friend of mine bought an 8 track reel-to reel machine with 8 out mixer .. we were all sooo jealous.
The last models Teac/Tascam cassette recorders are used in radio stations. I have one and it records and sounds good. The mechanism is very reliable and easy to change belts and do other routine service. I use it to record and play broadcasts on Shortwave and Ham radio.
At different times I have owned the X3, the radio shack version, and the 22-2. They really were good machines, and still hold up well over time. All were purchased used and I still whish I had not sold them back in the late 90s. but I still have my teac 3300sx.
Anytime you have to send in analog equipment for repair can be a bit of a scare. I feel that every time I send in a guitar amp for a fix. Good luck, sir. Wish you the best of luck! Love the channel.
I own an X3R, X1000R, X700R. They’re great units. Each of them has the optional dust cover. The X1000R has the optional wood case. Been happy with them over the years.
I have this same deck in my system. Like you I don't use it often since I have digitized most of my reels anyway, but it does look good and makes a statement to the rest of my 80's stereo gear that I have had since the early 80's.
I had an X-300R as my first reel to reel. I eventually “upgraded” back to an A-4300SX which fit in with the aesthetics of my system better. It was a good machine though.
I still have a working TEAC A-2300S 7 inch reel to reel. I believe they were sold in the mid 1970's, and mine has the wood panels on either side, but not the top and bottom. It was thrown into the deal for free when I bought a used TEAC 4 track 10 inch reel to reel machine in the late 80's/early 90's from a private seller. Long ago I traded in the 4 track 10 inch machine for a Tascam TSR-8 reel to reel professional 8 track machine which was working fine until a couple of years ago when I messed something up trying to install a new capstan belt. It's fun to see you review old technology.
Those grey, red, and blue control buttons resembles studio equipment, or at least most the TV studio stuff I've seen from the 80s and 90s were coloured like that.
Good job with the researches as always. I’ll pull my Sony out of the closet probably after the summer when I finally have space for it in the living room. Right now the whole stereo is packed up.
I have a nice X-300R that was probably one of the last ones built,, it's a very good machine. It had an IC chip take a dump on one of the channels many years ago and that was repaired by a pro and then some years later the belts were done by me and that's it. It's been an excellent unit...
I also had to change that IC in my X3, a HA11122W, it is responsible for the tape-head amplification, the recording amplification and the headphone amplifier.... it was also used in cassette tape decks
@@florianm3170 That's probably what it was,, the tech was old school and asked if I'd find the chip online and have it sent to him which is what I did... This was 20 years ago..
I purchased an Teac A2300sr (4track,reverse 7in reel) from an charity auction, $60US. Works great.. 1970's machine. built like a tank..I pulled off the back and it was immaculate inside. The internal steel frame is massive. Its weight is about 42lbs!!
I have two Teac X300R reel to reel recorders and they sound and perform as well as they did when they were new. Extremely quiet mechanisms and no belt noise. The only thing I have had to do to either of them was to replace the main drive belts just once on each. The one major benefit to my having dropped my two A2300 series Teacs off at a thrift store was they always seemed to have a really bad problem with noisy slide switches and were all but impossible to get to in order to clean them. With the switches on the X300R's there have been no such problems. Why do I own matched decks? Well, one it's for editing tapes but the biggest reason is that if one is down for maintenance and I'm having to wait on belts, etc., the other is ready to play and I don't loose the use of my tape library.
People have a tendency to think that old sound equipment, like tapes and vinyls sounds bad compared to modern digital streaming and mp3/flac and what not. But if you have quality equipment, that is really not the case, which is clearly shown here. That recording of the RU-vid library sounded really crisp and nice. And there is just something about using this to play music, aesthetically its just so much nicer.
Totally agree, i record hi-res files to reel to reel tape, it really sounds better, more "round" and on top of it i use an analogue dynamic expander from DBX, a 3BX to de-brickwall recent recordings. I compare it with driving an ordinary car or a vintage old-timer. Both get you from A-to B but the experience is different.
