Probably the scariest part of getting serious about tape recorders is finding a good local tech. Recently two local TP members recommended Angel Gentev, who lives in Fremont to service my tape recorders. Angel has also recently joined the TP Forum and posted in the general discussion about his business. He repairs machines and also reconditions and sells used machines. Last week I had Angel repair two of my machines, my Ampex ATR-700 and my Akai GX-747dbx. I had the Ampex bias set for the two types of tape I am using - RMGI SM468 (the stuff TP uses for our tapes) and NOS Emtec SM911. He alligned the heads and also worked a little on the internal mechanics, getting the machine lubed and cleaned up and the tape counter running and the motions very smooth. It is working very well and the copies of my 45 RPM Classic Records reissues are coming out very well. I even made a dub of the "California Snow" cut from the David Alvin album and it is very close to the TP - not quite there, but if I didn't have the TP, I would like the dub very much - 15ips 2 track, IEC Eq. He also worked on my Akai which is more than 20 years old - which I bought new in the early 80's as best i remember. He again fixed a few mechanical issues and got everything lined up and the the heads calibrated. Both the speed and price were great. I took the machines down on Wednesday, the 25th, and they were ready on Saturday, the 28th! He also had a couple of nice machines for sale which he has reconditioned- a Tascam BR-20 which looks nearly mint, and a more used but well running Studer A807. They are on ebay. I thought about getting one of them, but my Ampex is working so well, I've decided to keep it. I join my two other TP members in recommending Angel.
Here is Angel's contact info.
www.reelproaudio.com[email protected] and
[email protected].
Larry
