Hi! and TEAC open reel question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Garnett James
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Garnett James

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Hi, I'm a long time digital musician and I'm pondering the move to analogue (most of the music I appreciate is analogue recorded). I was just wondering if you could give me some advice on what would be better- I'm currently looking at TEAC A3340, A3440 and the TEAC 80/8. Obviously I'd prefer 8 tracks but is there a reason that the 4 tracks always seem more popular? They always seem to go for a similair price on ebay- is there a significant difference in quality, or maintenance issues?

Thanks in advance!
 
4 tracks are popular for several reasons, but mainly because of the track width (the wider the track on the tape, the more headroom). You can also bounce tracks back and forth.
I'd recommend an 8 track. You can go a cheaper way and get Fostex Model 80 or Fostex R8 (not much difference between the two). These run at 15ips speed, not 7.5ips consumer speed. It's roughly $200, but I've seen cheaper on ebay. The quality is VERY good and 1/4" tape is fairly cheap.
If you'll like it you might want to switch to 1/2" 8 track. Something like Tascam 38 (or 48, or 58), Tascam TSR-8, Otari 8 track... Keep in mind that 1/2" tape is $60 per reel (35minutes).
 
Good advice from DK and in addition I'd like to add, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, that you should always scope out local deals with a pickup option [eBay local to your area and craigslist.com] and never buy a machine without checking it out in person. Having fulfilled the above, always get the best condition recorder, nevermind the brand or model.

Keep in mind that any machine of this age will be off spec, to some degree and you'll either have to learn how to do servicing yourself or have a tech do it, one whom you trust with your machine.

There are things you'll need to do like change the pinch roller and capstan belt [if not direct drive].

To conclude.

1. FIND ONLY PICKUP DEALS
2. CHECK THE MACHINE THOROUGHLY
3. ALWAYS BEST CONDITION MACHINE TAKES PRIORITY
4. REPLACE PINCH ROLLER AND CAPSTAN BELT [if the latter is applicable]
5. LEARN BASIC ALIGNMENT / CALIBRATION

There is another option, however and that is to buy from someone who restores recorders and is capable of packing very well. Less headaches that way but be prepared to pay a premium for this. A couple of places I’d recommend you check out is:

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/vintagetx/

http://www.reelprosoundguys.com/
 
_DK; said:
4 tracks are popular for several reasons, but mainly because of the track width (the wider the track on the tape, the more headroom). You can also bounce tracks back and forth.
I'd recommend an 8 track. You can go a cheaper way and get Fostex Model 80 or Fostex R8 (not much difference between the two). These run at 15ips speed, not 7.5ips consumer speed. It's roughly $200, but I've seen cheaper on ebay. The quality is VERY good and 1/4" tape is fairly cheap.
If you'll like it you might want to switch to 1/2" 8 track. Something like Tascam 38 (or 48, or 58), Tascam TSR-8, Otari 8 track... Keep in mind that 1/2" tape is $60 per reel (35minutes).
Click to expand...

Just to clarify;

The machines in question from the original thread starter all share the same track width and 15 ips running speed and all of them can, with an as yet to be discussed mixer, accommodate bouncing.

Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Just to clarify;

The machines in question from the original thread starter all share the same track width and 15 ips running speed and all of them can, with an as yet to be discussed mixer, accommodate bouncing.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

I think the 8 track is 1/2 inch as opposed to the A3440's 1/4 inch, The particular a3440 4 track I'm looking at is in really good nick and will be purchased in the flesh, the 8 track I'm not sure about. If it goes very cheap (as the guy is a bit vague about it's condition) I might get it too and see if I can fix it up. Fortunately it's the wow and flutter and a general degraded sound that attracts me to analogue (achievable through tape tomfoolery etc..), I'm into experimenting William Basinski style but until now it's been digital, just doesn't feel real.

Thanks alot for the advice guys, I'll stick around. Unfortunately I'm from England so the sites probably won't help due to the massive postage costs i would incurr, probably some decent UK equivalents ..I'll have a look around. Know any good tape suppliers?
 
Garnett James said:
Thanks alot for the advice guys, I'll stick around. Unfortunately I'm from England so the sites probably won't help due to the massive postage costs i would incurr, probably some decent UK equivalents ..I'll have a look around. Know any good tape suppliers?
Click to expand...

craiglist and kijiji.com do exist in UK.
William Basinski? I didn't expect that name to pop-up in here :)
 
_DK said:
craiglist and kijiji.com do exist in UK.
William Basinski? I didn't expect that name to pop-up in here :)
Click to expand...

Nice.

Yeah, I love a bit of basinski, lots of ambient, minimalist classical, neo classical, obscure folk and the odd bit of industrial/noise/ electronica max/msping (I use acoustic instruments through MSP myself and hope to take the harsh edge off it a bit with tape use.)
 
Garnett James said:
Nice.

Yeah, I love a bit of basinski, lots of ambient, minimalist classical, neo classical, obscure folk and the odd bit of industrial/noise/ electronica max/msping (I use acoustic instruments through MSP myself and hope to take the harsh edge off it a bit with tape use.)
Click to expand...

That's great.
I'm afraid that David Tibet sold his soul to the digital world though ;) At least that's what he's told me.
 
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