Stereo (prerecorded) Reels, mono, too

[cupboy]

I had a Donovan DCC and I thought the harmonica was quite unpleasant. There have been negative comments about stuff on his site, but it would get deleted. It is his attitude, that of some of followers, and the way his forum has been run that has done him no favours.

Very interesting. I always saw nothing but very positive comments regarding this disk on his forum. I was never tempted to open mine and eventually sold it.

I've always been very happy with the 7 1/2 IPS reel of Donovan's Greatest Hits. Still have that one.

 

[Franklin]

I've always been very happy with the 7 1/2 IPS reel of Donovan's Greatest Hits. Still have that one.

Nice. I never caught Reel to Reel as a playback medium - it wasn't big at all in the UK (or not for long if it was). Shame about the rerecordings of the PYE stuff. I think Catch The Wind in it's LP version (without the choir and sync issues of the single version) is beautiful.

 

[atrocity]

Nice. I never caught Reel to Reel as a playback medium - it wasn't big at all in the UK (or not for long if it was).

What's fascinating to me about the few UK reels I've seen (and I've only seen them in pictures, never in person) is that they've always been 5" reels of mono recordings. I don't think I've ever seen a 7" or stereo pre-recorded reel from your part of the world. Makes me wonder if portable reel machines were popular.

I've seen pre-recorded American 5" reels before, but I think they've all been some kind of demo material, not standard releases sold in stores. And I've never seen an American pre-recorded mono reel, though I imagine they must have existed.

 

[atrocity]

I've always been very happy with the 7 1/2 IPS reel of Donovan's Greatest Hits. Still have that one.

Wow! A CBS pop title at 7-1/2! You didn't see a lot of those...

My sentimental attachment to the format makes my knee jerk and say "I want that!"...but it's hardly practical!

 

[Quad Linda]

I got my first reel-to-reel deck in 1961, a 7" 2-track mono Bell & Howell. So, I do remember mono reels. Although there weren't many 7" mono reels, here is one:


2-track mono 5" reels:

 

[Quad Linda]

I own several 7 1/2 ips 2ch prerecorded reels, which IMHO sound better than their LP counterparts, often better than CD and even SACD, too.

Any Herb Alpert stuff sounds best on those 7 1/2 ips issues.

I bought Miles Davis Filles de Kilimanjaro, along with a bunch of others for $1 in '77 at the Musicland at the now-shuttered Northridge Mall in Milwaukee. Although I own that Miles title on CD & Japan SACD, the 7 1/2 ips reel still sounds best!

IMHO, 3 3/4 ips prerecorded reels sound like crap!

Wow! A CBS pop title at 7-1/2! You didn't see a lot of those...

My sentimental attachment to the format makes my knee jerk and say "I want that!"...but it's hardly practical!

 

[Quad Linda]

For anyone unfamiliar, two track mono tapes are NOT compatible with decks that play standard 4-track (NOT Quad) 2ch stereo reels. Two track mono takes up half the tape in each direction. 1/4 track, or 4 track stereo staggers the tracks. So, they aren't compatible. Still, any 4 track stereo reel deck can play mono tapes IF either one channel is shut off, or it has individual track selection, as some Akai models do, for example.

 

[inquadwetrust]

For anyone unfamiliar, two track mono tapes are NOT compatible with decks that play standard 4-track (NOT Quad) 2ch stereo reels. Two track mono takes up half the tape in each direction. 1/4 track, or 4 track stereo staggers the tracks. So, they aren't compatible. Still, any 4 track stereo reel deck can play mono tapes IF either one channel is shut off, or it has individual track selection, as some Akai models do, for example.

I'm looking to buy a reel to reel player - any names I should look for - AKAI? TEAC? I realize this is another world of gear pain but I'm ready!

 

[Circular Vibes]

Hey inquadwetrust, welcome to reel audio. Both brands are good. My preference is for Akai because I like the glass crystal heads that are almost impossible to wear out. The Teacs have decent heads and are replaceable by a competent technician and may have different features like 15 IPS playback. Sony makes a decent sounding tape deck too, but I have encountered major head wear on a number of them and most are fully mechanical single motor designs that are harder for today's techs to figger out. Be prepared for higher cost for blank media and pre-recorded material, especially in 4 channel. I think it is worth it, hope you do too.

 

[winopener]

The only European country that i'm aware it did prerecorded reel to reel, other than few titles in UK (never seen anything else but Beatles reels) is Germany. The Philips group did many reels, usually James Last and similar sounds, since their market target were people with big wallet = over 40's. Unfortunately all 3 3/4.

Here's some pictures for you to enjoy:

4 track stereo:







2 track stereo:

 

[winopener]

Linda, this one's for you and your next groooooovy party time

 

[winopener]

Intresting tech specification on the right:

 

[winopener]

Just one more, from Ariola; after the Polka you can go with something more... contemporary (at their time!)

 

[atrocity]

Here's some pictures for you to enjoy:

Are those 5 inch reels in a cassette-style box? That's fascinating, thank you for posting those!

 

[winopener]

Question for the older fart than me... Ariola reel, what do you think of the dress of the girl in the far right? Were commons these kind of dress?

 

[Quad Linda]

I've owned and sold most brands of reel-to-reel decks.

STAY AWAY FROM DOKORDER!! We were a Dokorder dealer for about a month in '73. Nearly every deck we opened as a store demo or sold had a problem right out of the box. We returned them all, and never sold Dokorder again!

I've owned and sold more Teac's than any others. Great build quality and sound. I've also owned Tandberg, Sony and Akai, all very good, as well.

Although you will pay more $$$, I'd recommend a deck with 10 1/2" reel capability. That way, you can play 10 1/2", and 7" reels, as well as the less common 5" and 3" reels.

IF you buy an older Teac 10 1/2" capable machine (usually without an "A" prefix or "S" suffix on the model #), it would have come with small disc adapters to play 10 1/2" reels. If you go that way, invest in a pair of Teac TZ-612 NAB adapters, which will allow you to twist the adapters while still on the deck's reel hubs without any hassles:

I'm looking to buy a reel to reel player - any names I should look for - AKAI? TEAC? I realize this is another world of gear pain but I'm ready!

 

[inquadwetrust]

I've owned and sold most brands of reel-to-reel decks.

STAY AWAY FROM DOKORDER!! We were a Dokorder dealer for about a month in '73. Nearly every deck we opened as a store demo or sold had a problem right out of the box. We returned them all, and never sold Dokorder again!

I've owned and sold more Teac's than any others. Great build quality and sound. I've also owned Tandberg, Sony and Akai, all very good, as well.

Although you will pay more $$$, I'd recommend a deck with 10 1/2" reel capability. That way, you can play 10 1/2", and 7" reels, as well as the less common 5" and 3" reels.

IF you buy an older Teac 10 1/2" capable machine (usually without an "A" prefix or "S" suffix on the model #), it would have come with small disc adapters to play smaller reels (7", etc.) If you go that way, invest in a pair of Teac TZ-612 NAB adapters, which will allow you to twist the adapters while still on the deck's reel hubs without any hassles:

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Thank you so much! That is great information and very gratefully received. I like your approach to introducing more reel compatibility; this quad habit has a hold of me pretty bad but I am also seeing there are a bunch of amazing stereo reels out there that I would love to get. The technical advice on the adapters is something I would never have known without your help.

Once again my grateful thanks to you Linda, and to all QQers who step up with solid advice to help others. I love this place so much and the hard work of the moderators is amazing.

 

[Quad Linda]

I was calling on the Schaak Electronics store in Northridge when I found those sealed $1 bargains at Musicland. Besides Miles, I recall getting Melanie, Hendrix, Jim Kweskin Jug Band w/Maria Muldaur, American Breed, Nick Gravenites w/Michael Bloomfield (My Labors - GREAT!), and lots more. Although I was in that mall, as well as most other malls with Musiclands in the midwest once a month, I never saw another $1 reel blowout again. And, believe me, I checked all the time.

I've bought a few used reels, and were bequeathed a few by a late friend. Used reels kind of scare me, because there is so much physical and magnetic damage that they could have. I've heard a few that were pretty sorry.

...I bought Miles Davis Filles de Kilimanjaro, along with a bunch of others for $1 in '77 at the Musicland at the now-shuttered Northridge Mall in Milwaukee. Although I own that Miles title on CD & Japan SACD, the 7 1/2 ips reel still sounds best!...

 

[Quad Linda]

Thanks so much, inquadwetrust!

BTW: I usually proooofread my posts. Still, I wrote that the NAB adapters are for smaller reels. WRONG! They will allow you to play 10 1/2" reels with NAB hubs, like ALL the 10 1/2" reels of tape I've ever seen. The decks come with standard "twist lock" post (hub), which work for all 7" & smaller reels. So, I changed my original post and think it now says what I meant. What the hell do you expect from a 61 y.o woman?

Are blank reels very expensive these days? I haven't bought any at retail in over 20 years. In '01, a client of mine was getting out of reels. He sold me three cases (10 tapes ea.) of sealed Maxell 10 1/2" reels, and a couple dozen tapes he had used for $50 bucks total. Besides the hundreds of reels I own, I should never need to buy another reel.

Blank reels do come in many tape formulations and quality levels. For any critical project, I prefer back-coated. The tape has a layer of lubrication on it's back, just as an 8-track cartridge's tape has. The tapes I bought in the 80's/90's were TDK and Maxelll XL-I back coated.

 

[Franklin]

I don't think I've ever seen a 7" or stereo pre-recorded reel from your part of the world.

I've only seen 5" reels over here, but I've seen at least one stereo one. (I don't recall it making a fuss about being stereo though.)