Hi folks,
As I get into the world of recording with 10.5 in reels, I am learning about pancakes, flanges, NAB hubs, etc. This is only about 10.5 in 1/4 in tape and reels. A few observations. It looks like metal reels cost close to as much as the pancakes - close to $20 including the flanges, hardware and empty box. Used metal reels on ebay look like they are about the same price as brand new ones from US Recording Media. I can't find plastic reels anywhere on the internet, new or used - only from US Media Recording if you buy the tape on them. A few questions. Is there any advantage to metal over plastic reels, if you keeping tape on the same reel? Is there a place to buy plastic reels? Do people record something with tape and a metal reel, and then take off the flanges and store the pancake - it would seem to be a lot cheaper, but somewhat inconvenient. I guess a pancake could come apart and there would be a real (reel?) mess. Finally, do pancakes come in boxes like the tape on reels, so one could use the pancake box to store the tape after putting on the flanges or moving the tape to a plastic reel, or do you have to buy an empty box? In the past i've only done recording using the old 7" reels and they only came with tape and reel together. The blank reels were also fairly cheap compared to the tape.
Thanks for helping a newbie in this area. Larry