Thank you Steveidosound,
You can never provide me with too much information. Early on I had an Otari 5050-ll which I gave to a friend of mine. That machine could play 2 and 4 track tapes of course. My Tascam 42B should be delivered tomorrow (Tuesday). It's a beast of a tape deck and is suppose to be superior to my
Tascam 32-2B. I think it's suppose to be made more substantial and of course it has several features my 32-2B does not have to include a spooling option which I wanted.
The 42B was produced as a NAB machine, I guess, due to the music and recording scene of the 70's and 80's. I still can't imagine why they could not have made that machine switchable as is the 32-2B. I read somewhere that I can still play IEC recorded tapes but if I cut back on the treble a db or 2. That being the case what about the low freq end? What adjustment would have to be made there? Actually, this seems to be too simple a process. If that were the case the Tape Project leaders would not have advised tape machines that has the IEC eq. OH Well!
My first order of business is to take a good look at the condition and cleanliness of the machine. The Audiogoner who sold me the 42B notes that he has an audio system that cost well over $100,000 dollars. So, I hope that means he took great care of the machine he sold me. He will also be sending me receipts showing how he has maintained the deck over time. I do hope that's a good sign. Thanks for all comments and imput.
bob w.