Reel 2 Reel - bottomless pit of faff, expense and hisssssssss

Yeah I wouldn’t pay that for any tape.

They should sell genesis tape by the pound

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:+1: being prog, by the foot would get very expensive.

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I get that Guy, was a serious question though. I remember seeing banks of cassette decks recording to produce the vast quantities needed, I suspect reel was a less intensive affair as the sales volumes didn’t demand it. Is there an equivalent to a first press with reel tape with prices to match? Be interesting to have listen at Lopwell, I’m sure I have that Hayes LP😀

I genuinely don’t know the answer. It’d be interesting to find out. I’m also interested in what would have caused certain recordings to be released at 7.5 IPS ( ie much classical) and yet other more popular items only ever be released at 3 3/4 ips. I get that they’d have taken more time & tape and that there’d have been a premium on the higher quality.

Most affordable domestic R2Rs, like those built into radiogram sideboard things, were 3 3/4 ips, so popular music was released in that format.

It was assumed that classical music fans were more discerning and well off and would therefore have higher end kit capable of playing at 7 1/2 ips, so they had a higher tier release, a bit like the way a lot of classical is available on SACD, but not so much rock or pop.

Either that or they just thought “it’s only jazz”…

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In the early 60’s the wisdom was that tape was the coming thing. It was simply going to wipe vinyl out, both because the quality could be better and because it allowed people to record their own stuff. What stopped it happening was that not enough people wanted to record their own stuff and there was no cheap way of mass-producing (I mean really mass-producing) the pre-recorded product. It did indeed require huge banks of recorders, which took a lot of maintenance. Each copy took a considerable time to make. And master tapes (probably more like sub-sub-masters) did wear too fast. Whereas vinyl presses weren’t so technically fragile, the dies didn’t wear so fast and the process could deliver a complete disc very quickly indeed.

VB

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Received an update on the big Sony deck this morning - the mechanicals have been overhauled and it works properly now :slight_smile:

New oak sides will be fitted today, replacing the veneer and plastic handles as per the previous picture.

The Pioneer deck’s problem appears to be a worn/ rounded pinch roller which was causing the tape to move around fore and aft across the heads - so I’m hopeful this will be a straightforward service once replaced.

So on one hand its good news in that both decks will be ready and in perfect working order for Lopwell, however I do have a big logistical problem in finding time to pick them up next week which I’ll need to solve whilst juggling work commitments, fingers crossed.

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Nice film although I’m surprised by how much oxide shit he’s leaving on the pinch roller while doing it.

AA Post of the week

Just got an update on the decks, both the Sony and Pioneer are fully sorted and working well, ready for collection :slight_smile:

Just have to find time next week to skive off for a day to collect them

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Ugh, got distracted labouring in the garden and missed out on a few uk reels on eBay :confounded:

Did you managed to nab any @murrayjohnson

No he is still driving

You’d have been home 2 hours ago in the Astra

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Worth it for the pens

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Nice shot, sunset was a peach last night

I was following them but they all went a bit higher than I expected they would. I’d have liked the Blondie one.

Same seller has a few more up so we’ll have to discuss strategy. I bought a couple of tapes from him a month or so back. Good seller.

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