TEAC A3340S reel to reel , new to forum, what should I know about TEAC A3340S

[taylortapes]

Hello, I just joined this tape forum...why?  My neighbor gave me his father's large collection of 7 inch and 10.5 inch tapes, the father passed away a few weeks ao; i have a sony 7 inch reel to reel and have been going through the 7 inch tapes.

I am about to buy the neighbors father's TEAC A3340S reel to reel tape deck; what should I know about this machine?   I assume that it will play the 10.5 in tapes...indeed it was probably used to record the music on the tapes.

I have a sony stereo amplifier and know what to do re connect to the tape deck and the speakers....what should I pay for the TEAC A3340S?

Does the TEAC A3340S, probably sold in the 60s-70s, need maintenance....there is a highly regarded guy in our town who does tape recorder repairs...he recently repaired our sony 7 inch tape recorder, bought in ~1967....it works great..

Thanks....taylortapes

[ironbut]

Hi Taylor,

Welcome to the forum.

Regarding the 3340s, it was a very popular 4 track machine in it's day. The feature that made it such a hit was the ability to record each track in sync with each of the other track or tracks that had already been recorded.
If you notice, on your Sony machine (which I assume is 1/4 track), there is probably 3 heads. Using the direction of tape movement in play as a reference, the first head is almost always the erase head (so whatever was recorded on the tape before is first erased), then a record head (to imprint the tape with the new sound), and then the playback head (so you can listen to what was recorded onto the tape by the preceding record head,.. monitoring the tape).
Because of the distance between the record head and the playback head, there's a time delay between recording and playback. As you can imagine, this would make it very difficult to say sing and keep time with a guitar track that is already on the tape (you'd have to anticipate the beat).

Enter the 3340s. This was the first consumer reel to reel to solve this problem (of course, studio machines had been doing this for years). The record head is able to double as a playback head and each of the four tracks can be switched to either record or playback.
Musicians were now able to afford a multitrack machine and home studios sprang up everywhere. Given the talent and training, a fellow could produce music with many instruments and vocals all by himself in the privacy of his own home.

Unfortunately, this isn't the way to get the best sound. But, when I say best, it really depend on what you wish to do with the machine.
If you want to play tapes that were made on this machine (4 track/4 channel) your choice is somewhat limited.
But, if you want to play commercially produced reel to reel tapes, this wouldn't be very high on my list of machines.  Also, bear in mind that the track configuration on this machine is different from your Sony (probably).

Regarding work that will need to be done, these old machines almost always need some work to get them running correctly. How much depends entirely on the particular machine.
Regarding a fair price, I've seen these machines nearly given away for free and unless you plan to use the "sync" recording facilities, I don't think I'd pay much for it (less than $100? but that's just a WAG).

You should probably take a little time and read the "Beginners Guide" that located in a sticky above the General Forum. Different track layouts can be confusing and toward the end is a nice post about this very thing.

[taylortapes]

Thanks, you provided a very good discussion (what I was looking for) on this unit. The owner (my neighbor) will bring it over tomorrow morning before he goes to work.  It is very likely that the tapes I have (the ones that were given to me) were recorded using this machine....

Note, I have been playing some of the 7 inch tapes on my akai tape deck...not the Sony I mentioned earlier. I bought the akai for 79$ a few weeks ago when I took in my Sony for repair...the akai has 4 heads...the music (mostly classical) sounds pretty good although not great. 

Years ago (beginning about 1967) while living in Nova Scotia we received tapes from my brother-in-law and at that time we bought the Sony so we could play the tape;...I believe the Sony  only has two heads...anyway after getting it back last week we played some of the old tapes (now >40 y old) which sounded pretty good after sitting in the closet for 40 y.

Back to TEAC A3340S: I will get it tomorrow morning--I am interested in the music on the 10.5 tapes...I've got a lot of these 10.5 tapes...probably >100...the neighbor's provided handwritten notes on the content of each tape--many of the tape date back to 60s.

Will give you report tomorrow. taylortapes.

Note: My next step is to digitize the music I really like...I may need some advice on this...I have the software/hardware to convert vhs to dvd...and in the instructions there is a section to convert tape to cd....

[ironbut]

Taylor,

You asked how you should connect the output jacks of the 3340s?

It all depends on how the particular tape that you wish to listen to was recorded.
The "map" of the outputs that you made on your other post is correct. If the tape you wish to listen to employed all 4 tracks/channels, you'll need to hook up all four channels somehow to listen to everything. I say "somehow" because some of these machines have built in mixers that you can route all 4 channels to and mix down to 2 channel.

You can check to see "how" the tape(s) you have were recorded by listening to each channel.
If the tape is recorded in 4 track/channel, the music that's on the "front" channels (1&3) and the rear (2&4) all go in the same direction and seem to be elements of the same music, it's 4 track. If the rear tracks are recorded in reverse, the tape was recorded in what's called 1/4 track.
Of course, it was up to the folks who recorded the tape on which tracks were employed and there's no reason that there couldn't be a total of just 1,2 or 3 tracks recorded.

Here's a link to a site that you can download a service manual. I'm not sure if the service manual includes operating instructions so, while you're there, you might want to download the operating instructions for the 3440 which should help with day to day use.

http://www.hifiengine.com/manuals.shtml

[steveidosound]

Perhaps my guide to tape track configurations here might help.
http://www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php/topic,595.msg4619.html#msg4619
You should hook front L/R up and listen to a tape then switch to rear L/R by running an additional stereo patch cord to another unused Aux/Tape type input (anything but phono) on your receiver or by just moving the existing cable to the other set of jacks at the recorder. If you hear tracks backwards it is because it is recorded in normal 1/4 track stereo format. (like a typical prerecorded R2R tape) With a stereo machine you would turn the tape reels over to hear the other side. If they were additional tracks for a multitrack  recording you will hear those tracks forwards. There is no good way to combine them for mixdown to stereo without some sort of small mixer. AFAIK all versions of the 3340 did not contain any internal track mixing features. If you switch to stereo mode only the "front"  part is active. Oh, BTW, if it is an actual 4 channel surround quadraphonic tape the "rear" really is the two rear channels of the quad mix and that is why it is marked that way.

[taylortapes]

steveidosound and ironbutt, great feedback, many thanks!!

I am learning a lot from you two.  Another friend, also a neighbor, is very knowledgeable in tape/tape decks came over to give me a hand with the TEAC A3340S; yes, I can hear some of the music playing backwards when I switching cables in the back of the tape deck...there are a lot of combinations, front, rear, and then buttons in the front. Slowly I will understand it al.

Ok, next question/issue....turns out that several of the tapes my neighbor gave me (really belonged to his late father) were recorded in 3.5 (or 3 3/4, anyway the "3" speed).  The TEAC A3340S I bought from my neighbor (originally owned by his father) a few days ago does not have the 3 speed; it has speeds of 7.5 (so called "slow" on the front of my machine) and 15 ips (fast speed)....It is curious that ~ half the tapes (about 10) I have tested so far were recorded at 3 (from handwritten notes in the tape box); thus because the TEAC A3340s does not have the 3 speed I can't play these tapes on that machine, but how did he record at 3 with the TEAC A3340s if its slowest speed on the TEAC is 7.5 ips? Possibly he was using another tape recorder, one with a 3 speed...is there any solution to this problem; can the TEAC A3340S  be reconfigured to also run at 3?  The reason is because I have many 10.5 tape recorded in the 3 speed.   

Now not all is lost because I  have an Akai reel to reel tape deck, 4 track (bought recently from the guy who was servicing our old SONY machine) that has speeds 3 and 7.5 ips....thus I can play his 7.5 inch reel tapes at 3 speed recorded tapes on the Akai.

But the more serious problem is the fact that I have lots of 10.5 tapes recorded at 3 ips...the 10.5 tapes obviously will not fit on the Akai machine.  The only solution, not a good one, is to cut the 10.5 tapes into segments to fit on 7.5 inch reels.   I really don't want to do this, but I did one yesterday as a trial.  On the web I found that technics tape recorder use to make aa a recorder that covered all three speeds....but the one I found for sale...price too high for me, about 1200$

Yet here is another issue: there are a few tapes that have written notes in the box saying that the speed is 1 or 1.5 ...in the "1" range...is that possible?...are there tape recorders that recorded/played at this speed.  Oh, I just solved that problem...I remembered that our old SONY TC252 (2 track) has three speeds: 1 7/8, 3 ?, and 7 ? and I just opened the case to discover it has these speeds...the SONY works great as I recently had it serviced.  I was told by my friend who came over yesterday that no music should be recorded using the 1 7/8 speed, correct?  Should only use this speed for recording talks/talking.

As you can see my "tape project" is a bit overwhelming...I am a novice, but I am going slow and steady however.

FYI the 10.5 reels that were given to me are with the following tape brands mainly; Irish and LR Audiotape and some other brands such as Scotch....on the notes with each 10.5 tape the dates are ~ 1960...this would make these tapes >50 y old.  I don?t know how they were stored before I got them...currently I have them in our garage (no AC), but will moving into the house where there is AC.

I should also mention that I have not even started with the cassette tape collection, numbering in the several hundred tapes...I have several big boxes in the garage filled with cassette tapes that he (the deceased father) recorded.

And it does not end there; he recorded a lot of TV on vhs?and I have those tapes too.  There is no priority on these recordings since the technology is more or less recent, and I have several vcrs in the house....along with computers, software for converting vhs to DVD...but of coudrse I need to be careful on this as most TV is copyright protected....thus I will probably not make any VHS>DVD conversions from TV...anyway I have a backlog of my own personal videoing VHS>DVD I must get too.

I think I see an evolution to the late father's music/tape interest...first, reel to reel...then cassette tapes...then cd...my neighbor kept the cd...presumably the person (who died) did electronic music, either created by him or copied from the radio or other sources.  Some of the reel-to-reel contain electronic music...must have been early stuff since computers did not appear as a consumer/hobby item before about 1975...

Overall so far most of the material I obtained from the late father I have listened is classical music.

Thanks for your continued feedback, talyortapes....I think you have probably figured out that the late father's last name was Taylor, but you can keep referring to me as Taylor or taylortapes.

[steveidosound]

Machines that take the 10.5" reels (rather than just the 7" ones) and that have 3 3/4 or 1 7/8  i.p.s. (inches per second) tape speed are pretty rare. Your neighbor is right. That slowest speed is / was almost always too low of quality for anything but voice recording.
BTW, there was even 15/16 i.p.s. below that and 30 i.p.s. above the 15 on some pro studio machines.
There were a bewildering array of tapes recorded in all combinations of track configurations and tape speeds throughout the years. Trying to figure it out and find a compatible machine today can be pretty daunting if you are not really "into" the technology.
Sounds as if you have made a good start. Perhaps Tandberg, Pioneer and Sony are your best brands to look for in a normal 1/4 track stereo machine that takes 10.5" reels and has 3 3/4 speed.

[ironbut]

For the most part, most folks don't use these slower speeds for music simply because the results are inferior to the higher speeds.
I'm not sure how many of the 10.5" 3 3/4 ips tapes you have, but an alternative to buying a machine for the sole purpose of listening to these tapes, would be to transfer them to digital at 7 1/2 ips and in some sort of audio editing software (there are several free programs such as Audacity) you can slow the speed down by 50% or more. You might also consider buying a digital audio interface for your computer. You could even get one that has 4 analog inputs so you could mix any 4 channel tapes to stereo. Just be sure the one you get is compatible with the computer you have.

Regarding the very slow speeds such as 1 7/8 ips, there's a very good chance that those tapes were also recorded in mono which means that either the entire width of the tape was recorded as a single mono track or the two halves of the tape width were recorded to mono, in two different directions.
Fortunately, the 3340s will be a good machine to explore these possible formats. The discussion of 4 track vs 1/4 track in the Beginners Guide will help you to understand. You need to be able to visualize the track format of the head and the tape.

[taylortapes]

steveidosound and ironbutt, again my thanks....

Good points in both your posts...in some of the notes written by Mr. Taylor there is mention Pioneer...thus guessing that he also had a pioneer tape deck at one time and that he recorded on it using the 3 3/4 speed.  I will ask his son.

I won't make much effort to hear the 1 7/8 speed on the 10.5 inch reels...in time if I run into someone who can play these tapes I will listen to few...just to learn about the content (classical music).

Because the vast majority of tapes that were given to me are the 7.5 reels I will focus on that set, using either my Sony player to listen to whatever 1 7/8 were made....and the Akai (or the Sony)  for the 3.5 speed tapes, or the Sony which will play both speeds.

I was hoping to make better use of the TEAC A3340s in listening to the 10.5 tapes...but since most 10.5 tapes were done at 3.5 speed (which is not available on the TEAC) I will have to deal with those tapes later.

However, ironbutt's suggestion on the use of software could solve that problem...but again, I will put the 10.5 tapes on the "back burner"...I have plenty to do with the  tapes on the 7.5 reels.

No more questions today...I will focus on group the 7.5 reels, 3.5 speed vs 7 3/4 speed...one little problem is that Mr. Taylor put different speeds recordings on the same tape, re his notes...and I also experienced when listening...as new music came on  it was recorded at a different speed than the previous piece.

Thanks again, taylortapes

[blam1]

I have a similar problem.  Several years ago, I purchased a TEAC X-20R.  My father gave me his collection of old tapes he made while in Vietnam, and most will play just fine.  However I have run into several old tapes that are at 1 7/8" ips, which this unit won't play.

So I broke down and purchased an Akai X-1810D, which will play not only the 1 7/8" tapes, but the 15 ips tapes I have as well.  I also needed something with a shorter tape path as I have a bunch of old "living letters" 3" reels that my mother and father passed back and forth when he was in Vietnam.

[ironbut]

Very cool blam1 (btw, we use our real names in our posts here),

One thing you might consider,.. with those small tapes (5" and under). If you plan to play them very often, it a good idea to put them on a larger reel and add lots of blank tape at the head and tail to act as leader.
Many times those shorter tapes are on a thinner base and age can make them pretty brittle. Those small reels have really small diameter hubs so the torque applied to the tape is higher.
I collect some really old tapes and some are on 5" reels. The first thing I do is transfer them to 7" reels with the large hubs (low torque). I put a little white leader directly on the head and tail of the tape and add a 1/4" or so of blank tape after the leader. Since I started doing that, I haven't had even the most fragile tapes break.

Of course, with those "living letters", you might think about transferring them to digital so you can share them with other members of your family. Talk about a unique gift!