The soft plastic dust covers came with every machine back then. Often tossed out and very rare item. She’s a beauty for sure. Fun video to watch. Thanks for doing it!
This video answered a lingering question I have always had about my RS1700. I bought an unused (but displayed) RS1700 from a neighbors yard sale a couple years ago. He inherited the machine NOS, in the box. He never bought a tape to play on it, but took it out to display the machine in his living room. His wife encouraged him to toss the box out about a year before I bought the machine. In one of the reel boxes was two white cloth straps. I had no idea what they were. I thought they might have secured the vinyl cover or something. But here is the answer, they were used in the original packaging.
I grew up with my father having an Ampex reel to reel and a Tandberg. Both machines long gone sadly but happy memories watching this. What a super find .
I own the exact machine with the exception of I purchased the battery operated remote control, very rare and an additional four track head block. Purchased from Pacific Stereo in the day and still working today!
I owned that very unit in the early 80's while serving in the US Forces European theatre. Using high grade magnetic tape, recording at 15 inches per second, and recording on only one side of the tape was an extraordinary financial overkill on my part, but gosh ... it was so satisfying.
Wow I I just on un boxed a denon DP-62l turntable and a Akai GX-77 black with all the extras in the same day both pieces brought in Japan 1981 although they were only mothballed for 5 yrs. No issues both are working.
sorry but I can't agree with you using the word tape. Most people say a tape for the insert of a cassette deck player or cassette deck or even tape deck. I find it important to emphasize by saying a Real to Real Tape or a 7ies beside cassette tape tape
Jeff is a great guy. I purchased a RT 707 from him. Would love to have one of his Technic decks, but for how much I use tape, I cannot justify the cost.
OK, with the ID plate located near the headphone, mic jacks was added after the first generation was issued. I had one of each. Used to record in 15 IPS do post production to the second machine and then make copies at 7 1/2 IPS for purchase. Also made cassettes and 8 tracks. Weddings and local bands along with special shows and musicals. Did this for about 5 years. Then went into video with Beta video tapes.
So is this unit all direct drive or does it have belts are you concerned about the pinch rollers needing replaced just because of age or the belts. How about the grease for the metal levers and fulcrums and pivots wouldn't that need to be cleaned off and new put on, 40 years is 40 years in a box or out of a box. Just wondering. I'm still looking for akai 625 that's been properly gone through. Interesting video thanks.
I dont recall any belts in the drive system. perhaps on the tape counter. Pinch rollers were not hardened but certainly it would benefit from new ones if the plan was to use the machine. Yes if its going to go into use, a light service would be recommended.
@@SkyFiAudio 2 belts on the tape counter. All electrolytics MUST be changed, the purple Panasonic caps now leak like crazy even though the deck has never been used. Failure to do this on any Technics RTR results in an unreliable machine.
Did you get an Akai GX625? I managed to pick one up in almost mint condition a couple of weeks ago in the U.K. Still going to get it serviced, it’s a beautiful machine.
Watching you unpackage that machine brought back the memories of when I unboxed my Tandberg 64X deck which I bought new in 1968. Believe it or not, the Tandberg 64X had a better frequency response at 7 1/2 i.p.s than your machine has. For current use, it might be extremely expensive to buy 15" reels of tape unless you were doing the mastering for commercial use but why not do new recordings on digital? Great video. Thanks for posting.
15 inch reels! What?? The larger 1/4 inch tape reels are 10 1/2 inch. These are NAB reels, they have a large center hub. I remember these machines when they were new. I had two in the day, a single pass Studer-Revox, and my happy Pioneer RT-909. The Pioneer was a thing of beauty, fluorescent bar graph displays, computer controlled operation, and it worked in both directions for playback. The head stack on that beast had a beautiful aluminum face with access to all alignment positions for the heads.
Yes I have 2 Tandbergs too from the 70's! One is a tape deck n the other a tape recorder with built-in amp n 2 speakers on the left n right of the machine. At 7.5 ips they frequency response is as good the vinyl itself when played thru a hi fi system!
I still have one of these babies but it is a slightly different model I can record and play in both directions but it's too track stereo in both directions not four tracks.. A few years ago the logic circuits started having problems and now the transport controls no longer work. One day I'll get it fixed because the thing has the most beautiful sound of any tape machine that I've ever had.
Hi Fernando. Such a find NOS! I was stationed in England in 1980 and bought this same RTR at the Base Exchange for $700.00 new. Amazing how it has appreciated since then. No longer have it but It was an impressive machine. Greg
I'm sorry for the new owner. Rite off the bat you will need it brought up on a variac then about $600 to $800 dollars work needs to be done on it. It's been idle for 40 years. The box has not been sitting in a museum with constant humidity and temperature controlled environment most likely. Over all it's a good deal depending on the price and how many times it has a problem. If I owned it I would use it every other day and have it checked every year for a check. Good unit nice to find nos.
Dude.. they are not even going to test it. Here's from their website "Based on the build quality and experience with this model it will likely work right out of the box" I'm not lying, and they want 19K for it!
I play withis machines for a long time around sixty years or more. Now I have four machines. This Techniics is a beautiful machine and you will enjoy it for couple of months, and then it will be hassle to put the tape because you have to take the leader tape all the way down then passing to many rollers. It will be fun at beginnig but not very practical.
I would love to find a Technics RS-1800 with the seperate bottom record/playback circuitry box. To me, this is the Holy Grail of Audiophile Reel to Reel machines. The notable aspect is its eq'able 30 ips record and playback half track stereo capability. The sweetness and clarity of the high end and low end frequencies is only topped by my other dream machine - The Nagra IV-S TC (Time Code) portable reel to reel with the QGB 10 1/2 inch reel extension kit. The Nagra QGB is completely superior, of course, to the Chinese made knock - off copy. The Nagra reel extension kit has built in servo tension circuitry, which needs to be plugged into the 4-S's Cue input, and the power is pugged into directly to the power input on the QGB which needs the ATN-2 Power Supply direct current, which is then bumped up and fed out to the power in socket on the Nagra from the QGB box -not the other way around.
Beautiful machine . Just one question , wouldn't be more logical to power the machine , and even check it for leaking capacitors before selling it ? I know is a collectable , but is now out of the box anyway . I do find it more logical to sell new old stock as revised due to age than the opposite
this era of Technics are plagued with bad caps on not just Reel to reel equipment but pretty much all HIFI they made. Wouldn't sell it and ask premium used car pricing without doing a full re-cap.
hi have a 1700 rs myself it is used some times i use a otari mtr 12 for the real work sorry they were made to work not to sit about looking nice it's a 1/2 tape deck pro model i am a reel to reel nut never seen one so nice out of the box
If I were you, I would offer the new owner, for a fee, to go through the unit, replacing power supply electrolytics, and checking the operation of the deck in all modes. A full resto would require replacing all of the electrolytics in the unit (it's 42 years old now), and checking the rubber parts and belts (if there are any), as well as checking/replacing all of the lubrication. It is highly doubtful that the machine will work as new after 42 years in the box. I used to unbox these decks for display and sale at the store that I worked, back in the 70's.
Wonderful machine, and very nice video. But why on earth do some people insist on pronouncing the brand name "Tek-neeks"? In their own old commercials from back in the day you can hear it pronounced "Tecknicks".
Some folks want to preserve a time capsule. Not use it. I assume they are leaving the option open. You can find restorable units any day. NOS, not so much. It might be one of the last.
@@guitarcheology Dumbass rich folk.. must be nice to burn money. Nothing impressive about staring at a piece of gear that isn't use. Like Guitars on a wall.. only Asshats do that.
@@SkyFiAudio $19,000 LMAO...How's it going, got any suckers, I mean takers?? LOL.. BTW, what's your warranty when they turn it on, and the leaky caps inside pop? LMAO!!!
@@SkyFiAudio You pussies never did. I quote: "Based on the build quality and experience with this model it will likely work right out of the box" LMAO... $19,000, how do you even sleep at night.. LOL!
Both pronunciations are acceptable. In Japan, it's "tech-u-neeks" (Tekunikusu). The common pronunciation in the US is "tech-neeks" with equal emphasis on the syllables. Advertising for the brand in the US used that pronunciation, so its generally accepted as preferred, but you still hear it both ways.
no it's not and stop spreading that hipster BS, see Vandal's comment to reiterate. And really, Anglos miss pronounce most things.. making your comment even more redic.
