I saw your thread on Tapeheads and as you can see we have a long running thread here about the delightful faff and expense that is R2R.
I think @murrayjohnson has already kind of asked what I was going to ask you on THs, which is who do you think is your target market, how big do you estimate it to be, and what do you think they would like (and be willing to pay for most crucially).
I think 4T at 2 speeds is the most attractive if you’re looking to serve the market like me that wants to listen to pre-recorded tapes and make recordings of hi res digital and vinyl for playback.
I suspect 8T is what musicians and recording engineers ‘might’ want.
Depending on which market you’re after, you will have to probably have to answer a pretty basic question, which is why should I buy your product versus a vintage unit?
I agree whole heartedly on the flexibility of the RS1500 The question is what advantages might a modern equivalent have to make enough punters put their hands in their pockets for one.
Thanks everyone for your comments on what kind of recorder you’d like to see!! We take your opinions seriously.
To crimsondonkey:
Our target markets are 4 groups. The first two are obvious: tape aficionados and audiophiles. The second two we are hopeful, but not expectant, to interest: amateur musicians and a group we termed “virtual nostalgics” (people who love historical pieces like vinyl record players for their aesthetic and lure but who didn’t actually grow up with them.)
Market opportunity. My partners Gray, Al and I never wanted to just be creators or make money - we want to fill a need. From our research and interactions through our brand, we’ve definitely seen one. R2R needs new machines and innovations. We will be happy to sell 20 units but are more hoping this number is 2k or 20k
Right now, you’re helping us a lot in telling us how many tracks you want! Another big consideration for the number of tracks is their price- that’ll influence our final decision. More on that soon.
Good consideration. Why buy our product v. a vintage unit? While vintage recorders are beautiful and awesome, they can be costly to maintain and if you’re not a tape expert you’ll have to pay one to fix your old machine. Our units are not a substitute but an alternative; they have a different look (they’re vertical, check out our Instagram,) a few different parts (we might include an easy to use touch screen on the face,) are new (which may translate to less expensive since maintenance is less of an issue,) include a few improvements from old machines, and you won’t need to know about a unit’s innards to use it (referring to maintaining old machines that break.)
So, I’m most way through the first side of the tape. Liking the music very much. SQ is a bit variable to be honest, probably reflects the mix of studio vs live tracks. Also left-right stability wavers a bit on a few tracks. His voice sounds great on a couple of the tracks so far.
I’m gathering together the parts to go through the audio stages of the Teac & replace what appear to be some mediocre items (judging by the parts list in the service manual) Quite a few electrolytic caps in the signal path which could probably be improved upon. When I get to it I’ll put up some pics.
I’ve no idea what blank(ish) tape and spools are worth these days. But if anyone’s interested there are a couple of threads with some for sale over on the vintage wireless forum
The question is what advantages might a modern equivalent have to make enough punters put their hands in their pockets for one.
. Double album 
