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Topics - sound signal

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / More Revox mods
« on: November 08, 2008, 05:41:03 AM »

I also just received today a high speed Revox B77 with half track heads, which appears to be in decent shape, although the heads could use a relapping.  Other than it being an NAB deck, it's set up correctly for TP tapes.  I also found some spare B77 audio boards on fleaBay which should be readily modifiable for IEC 15ips (the PCBs are the same per the service manual, so all I have to do is swap out a few resistors and caps).  Is the reason you haven't been recommending Revox just that the high speed half track configuration is hard to find, or is that only part of it?


Hi bobschneider,

As far as Revox B77 PCB's go, the playback amps are all the same and you can change components for IEC 15ips.  But of all the record amp PCB's, the only one which isn't the same is the NAB 7 1/2 - 15ips board.  You can't make the mod to IEC without cutting up tracks.  This is a pity - the NAB high-speed record amp board is rare, I wouldn't cut it up.  I would rather find a secondhand 3 3/4 - 7 1/2ips NAB record amp board and modify that to IEC.

Most B77's sold were NAB 3 3/4 - 7 1/2 ips 1/4 track machines as this had become the de facto consumer standard in the 1970's.  It's easy enough to modify a B77 to 1/2 track by changing heads - but nowadays that's expensive.  It's also easy to modify the electronics to 7 1/2 - 15ips IEC.

But it's much less easy to modify the mechanicals from 3 3/4 to 7 1/2 ips.  To do it the Revox way, you need a different capstan shaft and a different support casting that shifts the motor so the tape path geometry stays the same with the thicker capstan shaft.  That casting is the heart of the machine.  The capstan motor, pinch roller arm and head block all bolt to it.  Replacing it would be a big job, even if you could get the part from Revox, which I doubt - it's not a wearing item so it's unlikely they still stock it.

There is also Arian Jansen's published method for modifying a B77, which spins the motor at double speed by modifying the motor control electronics.  I haven't tried that myself.  Both the B77 Mk.II's we have here are original high-speed machines, they only needed the mod from NAB to IEC.  I am curious to try it, though, and I do have a wow and flutter meter so I could easily check its performance against a factory high-speed machine.  All I need is a standard-speed B77 to try it on.  If I do try it and test it I will of course let the forum know.

With best regards,

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Hi,

I would like to wish all the best to everyone concerned with The Tape Project.  Here at The Sound Signal Company we have been working towards doing something similar, but with our own recordings of music by local artists here in Cyprus.  It gives us great courage to see the open reel medium flourishing, especially after the panic of 2005 when, for a while, no tape was being manufactured anywhere and it seemed likely that no more would ever be manufactured.  That would leave us with several Revoxes and a couple of Nagra IV's we couldn't use, and force us to feed the output from our lovely Schoeps mikes into digital recorders...

I would like to subscribe to The Tape Project and would appreciate some clarification.  My apologies if the questions have been answered elsewhere, I have searched but have not been able to find the answers.  The first question is a technical one, the others are about international deliveries.

First off, I understand that The Tape Project releases on 1/4" tape recorded at 15ips in two-track format with IEC equalisation (35uS).  But there are two 1/4" two-track formats - the more consumer-oriented one with a 2mm track separation (so the tracks could be used separately for mono without crosstalk) and the wide-track stereo format with a 0.75mm track separation.  I suspect The Tape Project uses the former but would appreciate confirmation.

Second, the selective subscription for international subscribers is rated at $1500 rather than $1200.  Is that to cover the difference in shipping costs?

I also understand that international deliveries are sent via the United States Postal Service.  Is the type of service used one which provides a possibility of tracking the package?

Lastly, if anyone would like tips on how to make great recordings with a Revox G36, A700 or B77, or a Nagra IV, do ask, I would be more than happy to help.  I also have experience of modifying all these to IEC eq for both recording and playback.  I realised since the 1980's that IEC eq is quite preferable to NAB and we standardised on it here from the beginning.  It was, after all, the standard in European and British studios for decades so it wasn't an exotic choice.  It's just that most Revoxes were sold to domestic consumers so most, including ours, were built with NAB, though they could be ordered with IEC.  Also most Nagra IV's sold in the States feature NAB recording preamps.  It's a bitch to modify them to IEC, though it can be done.  We got lucky and found some IEC recording preamp cards which saved us a lot of soldering...

I beg to differ with the idea that NAB is better for 7 1/2ips though - I prefer IEC for the lower speed too.  But I concede that is a much closer thing at 7 1/2ips, and much more a matter of personal preference or the music to be recorded, than at 15ips where the NAB standard is really compromised.  So if anyone needs help modifying the EQ standard of their Revox or Nagra, do let me know which machine you have and what you want to do and I'll do my best to try and help.

Sorry for the long post.  I am just overjoyed to see a vibrant open reel community beginning to form.  I have loved this medium since I got my first very secondhand Revox G36 as a teenager in the mid 80's...

With best regards,

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