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Author Topic: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders  (Read 11482 times)

Offline Stern

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newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« on: February 13, 2008, 06:23:13 PM »
Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. I hope you don't mind me, as a newbee, asking for some probably obvious answers...

I'm looking into buying a 2 track reel to reel to master my homestudio recordings. I've purchased a Philips 4 track quite some time ago, thinking I'd upgrade when I liked the results. I like the results, so yeah... Upgrade time...

I'm not sure what I have to look for. All I know is I want a 2 track 1/4" that runs 15". I know of the Revox B77HS and Pr99, the Otari MX5050's and the Philips N4522, but I'd like to broaden my search a bit. I'm not looking for the holy grails perse, I'd love to see a Technics 1500 or Akai GX747 in my studio but I doubt I ever will ;) What other 15 ips 1/4" 2 tracks could I look for? Pro decks like the A810 are probably out of my league because of the budget, so I dunno...

Also, I'd like to know... the first Otari MX-5050 (BI if you will), is that worth a look? I can't find any info on it, I don't even know if it records 15 ips... All I see is MkII and III...

I was also thinking, would a 4 track Teac 3440 be worth to look at as a 2 track master recorder (I could theoretically double the stereo signal, no?)


« Last Edit: February 13, 2008, 06:26:01 PM by Stern »

Offline Tubes n tapes

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2008, 06:54:50 PM »
Hi 'Stern':

Welcome to the forum.

Here is my take on some of the machines you're mentioning.
Without any modifications the B77 will give you the best audio performance but make sure it is a MKII. If you need balanced inputs and outputs you can certainly consider the MX5050 or the PR99, but you will have to compromise in audio performance in comparison to the B77MKII. The RS1500 beats all of the above mechanically, but the standard audio electronics are an abomination. You will see many people raving about the RS1500 in this forum, but mainly in combination with modified or external electronics.
The GX747 is in my view all looks but no guts. You will pay a lot of money for a stunning looking machine with only mediocre performance. I played with the N4522 a looong time ago and I remember that I was pretty impressed at that time, but I don't know if that would still stand today.

Arian Jansen.

SonoruS Audio.
VP of technology of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS).
ESL/OTL builder and modest Studer/ReVox collector.

Offline vinyldavid

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2008, 07:06:57 PM »
The 3440 is like my A-3340S, and it is a quarter-track only deck.  You would be laying down 2 duplicate tracks, without any improvement.  Just 2 copies of the same thing.

Offline Stern

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2008, 04:23:51 AM »
Thanks guys, you're very helpful. Balanced inputs aren't necessary although it might be good since my mixer master outputs are balanced. I still wonder about that MX5050. It see one for sale now and it looks like this:



The B77mkII is certainly favorable, I only hear fairly good reviews on them and they seem to be easy to repair thanks to the availability of  spare parts. How would that be with the Otari?

There's also a Teac 32-2 for sale but has been standing still for 5 years. Maybe I should give that one a look as well...

ceved

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2008, 08:37:45 AM »
Look on ebay for bze47.
He is in Orlando Florida.
He sells a lot of 5050's very nicely refurbished; and other makes/models as well.
He is most helpful and has sold machines to several folks who frequent this forum (including me) with fine results.

Offline Stern

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2008, 03:31:19 PM »
Well thanks again.

I bought the Tascam 32-2 today, it came with a remote, without DBX unit... It was so cheap I couldn't leave it standing... When I brought it home I had to clean it first, but the heads, tension arms, motors and pinch rollers are a-okay and the test recordings I did sound good so far. Only the VU lights and the record mute lights don't work. And it seems the output pot is a bit scratchy... That's a bit of a concern. I hope it will prove to be a good choice and there will be no big surprises...
« Last Edit: February 14, 2008, 03:35:38 PM by Stern »

Offline finneybear

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2008, 05:49:36 PM »
Funny that I was about to recommend Tascam 32 or even better, a 42. Teac X-2000M is pretty good, too.

Offline ironbut

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2008, 07:32:08 PM »
Good going there newbee? Sounds like you've done some homework before you bought the unit which is great. The lights on some gear can be a pain to replace, as a result, you'll find perfectly good stuff with light that are out. I have an expensive preamp that I bought used a while ago and the lighted button on the power supply has never worked (and unless I sell it, it never will). If you ever get ambitious, you can probably get those bulbs from Antique Electric Supply for real cheap. I'd just buy some and if your ever in there for something else, replace them. http://www.tubesandmore.com/
Take Doc's advice though, the first thing to get is a service manual.
steve koto
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 HE Audio Jades

Offline Stern

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2008, 09:21:09 AM »
Thanks again. I am a newbee to the reel to reel recording so some homework goes without saying. I'm using a mostly all analog studio so I'm quite aware of the problems that come with old equipment. Especially when you are on a budget and looking for cheap stuff, some research will save a lot of head worries later on. Homework is why I signed up to this forum, it looked like a friendly place with plenty of knowledge.

I dared to put my money on the Tascam also because I know here in Holland there's a small company (www.hanexservice.nl) that still services Tascam/Teac (and Revox), and you can order spare parts from them for relatively reasonable prices and fast delivery. A good friend of mine uses a X1000r and he was very satisfied dealing with them. I paid 100 euro, which I thought was a cheap price for it (it came with a remote and 2 NAB hubs) and I figured that if a problem occurs, I can always spend the rest of my budget on having it serviced.

The Vu lights I don't mind so much. I can do without them, I'll probably just replace them when there's a more immediate need to open the machine. There's one little thing with those VU meters that strikes me as weird, tho. When I playback a recording recording which was leveled at 0dB, the Vu meters read out only -10dB, whilst at the same time my RTW peak meter continues to show 0dB... Is there an obvious reason for this?
« Last Edit: February 16, 2008, 09:25:48 AM by Stern »

Offline rbwtapeinterlink-Bob

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Re: newbee looking for direction on 15 ips recorders
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2008, 12:09:39 PM »
Sir, you have made a very wise choice especially when you look at the small amount of $$$ you spent. I have this tape recorder and it is a very fine deck. I will do what you want and much more. It was developed by tascam as a true mastering tape deck and lives up to that moniker. I believe this tape deck will bring you much joy.

Bob W.
Bob W. (African American) VPI, Ref Standard Grado, Denon 103r, Threshold, DecWare tube pre and Classe pre amp, Jolida tube phono pre amp, (Peter Gunn) modified Magnapan 1.6, Tascam 32-2B & 42B tape decks, Parasound belt drive CD transport, Pacific Valve tube DAC, VPI  TT, various upscale cables.