which reel to reel recorder to buy?

[Sikkis]

hello,
I dont know much about analog sound
I intend to buy(about 400-600 euros)a reel to reel recorder for a good quality homerecording,but i dont know which one?(akai,tascam,revox,pioneer,teac)
I will not record any drums,just 2 guitars ,vocals and percussions ,so i think a 2 channel 4 track recorder or even 2 channel 2 track recorder would be ok.
I will try also to send any individual track ,to pc 's interface,for editing or whatever......
So....what is the best sond quality and quiet reel to reel recorder for under 600 euros?
thanks

[dodgeaspen]

I use a Tascam 38 that is an 8 channel reel to reel and have very little knowledge about other brands. With that said, I have been told good things about the Tascam 34 The 34 is noted to be of good sound quality and reliably. Junkbay has them from time to time.

[Bguzaldo]

It's hard to commit a reel to reel to a price range because most of em you're gonna have to buy second hand seeing as most(if not all) aren't manufactured anymore so you have to be willing to be flexible with the price. If I were you I'd post this in the Free ad forum and see what people around here have to offer.

Hope this helps,
-Barrett

[vostok88]

- sorry, but 'how much' is roughly '400-600 euros' in American money?


('no', I don't get out much)

[Sikkis]

its about 800 $........is the OTARI MX-5050 mkII 2 track recorder the best
for recording
What about
A) TEAC X-2000R 4 TRACK RECORDER
B) TEAC 7300 4 TRACK RECORDER
C)AKAI GX-747 4 TRACK RECORDER
or a
D)TASCAM 22-4 4 TRACK RECORDER
E) TASCAM 34B 4 TRACK RECORDER

Is the sound recording quality equal to the OTARI'S sound?

If i go finnaly to a 2 track OTARI MX-5050,would it be easy to find used old parts?
thanks a lot

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by Sikkis

its about 800 $........is the OTARI MX-5050 mkII 2 track recorder the best
for recording
What about
A) TEAC X-2000R 4 TRACK RECORDER
B) TEAC 7300 4 TRACK RECORDER
C)AKAI GX-747 4 TRACK RECORDER
or a
D)TASCAM 22-4 4 TRACK RECORDER
E) TASCAM 34B 4 TRACK RECORDER

Is the sound recording quality equal to the OTARI'S sound?

If i go finnaly to a 2 track OTARI MX-5050,would it be easy to find used old parts?
thanks a lot

To the best of my knowledge:

TEAC X-2000R is a 2-channel - 1/4 track - self reversing consumer machine not intended for serious audio production. Support will be difficult at best.
Most TEAC 7300's were 1/2 track with a top speed of 15 ips. Very good machine for production but parts, especially motors, no longer made or in stock.
Otari MX-5050 is a good machine for audio production but again, no more motors are available.

No experience with the others mentioned.

[jjones1700]

Originally Posted by Sikkis

its about 800 $........is the OTARI MX-5050 mkII 2 track recorder the best
for recording
What about
A) TEAC X-2000R 4 TRACK RECORDER
B) TEAC 7300 4 TRACK RECORDER
C)AKAI GX-747 4 TRACK RECORDER
or a
D)TASCAM 22-4 4 TRACK RECORDER
E) TASCAM 34B 4 TRACK RECORDER

Is the sound recording quality equal to the OTARI'S sound?

If i go finnaly to a 2 track OTARI MX-5050,would it be easy to find used old parts?
thanks a lot

Let me at least say to stay away from the Akai. That is just a consumer level record/playback deck. Otari and Tascam are going to be your best bet. I would go with a Tascam 34 or 38 if I could get my hands on one.

[Sikkis]

thanks guys
any other suggestion?

[Cosmic]

I'll just second what has been said:

With your budget, get either a Tascam 34B or a 38. Those are the most realistic choices. There are a fair number of those machines around, so parts are also still available that way.

Don't forget you will need a mixer of some sort to plug your mics into and to feed the line inputs of your tape recorder.

C.

[Sikkis]

thanks guys.....now i am beetween tascam 44ob,tascam 34b or teac3440s.....if i find someone here in Greece who can repair those machines,i will buy from ebay one......

[sweetbeats]

The 44-OB is the best of the bunch (not the early version though which is actually more like the A3440), but all of those are great decks. You might find the 34B to be more available on the used market which can also mean good things for user and parts support. Good luck!

[Sikkis]

yes.....i have heard a lot of good things about tascam 44-ob but is the sound quality of this 1/4'' wide tape machine equal to 1/2'' tape machines(tascam 32,38,42,48,tsr-8, otari mx5050 2 or 4 or 8 tracks)?

[sweetbeats]

The track width on a 4-track 1/4 inch machine will be about the same as an 8-track 1/2 inch machine, but about half the track width of a 1/4 inch 2-track or halftrack deck. You can do the math and get an approximation (the differences come in the space or guard-band width between the actual tracks). If what you are looking for/needing is a 4-track multitrack machine then don't waste time looking at 1/2 inch 8 track machines. You're not going to get any better quality potential off the wider tape because the track width is about the same, but you will have the significantly higher expenseof the wider tape. BTW all the 2 track half-track machines you listed are 1/4 inch machines (32, 42, 5050-2). Now go find yourself a healthy 34B.