Id like to know what would be your recommendations on a 2 track , what are the latest models? revox, tascam , fostex, sony, akai,,,?
The closest things Revox made to a professional deck were the PR99 (the mk3 being the last version) and the rare and expensive C270. Revox was considered the consumer end of the market (albeit high-end consumer)... their professional decks were the STUDER ones which are big, heavy and expensive.
At the end of the day, B77s have been used for mastering by smaller studios and the results are nothing to complain about. I've used one for this myself.
TASCAM made a whole slew of machines, but I think your main options are going to be the 32 and the BR-20. The 32 is going to be easier to maintain into the future, but the BR-20 has a nicer (computer-controlled) transport.
Fostex mostly made 7" machines which are probably not what you want since you'll only get about 16-22 minutes on a 7" reel (an entire album would be four reels instead of two for a 10.5" reel). The E-2 would do the job, but parts are liable to be scarce. They also made an E-22 which recorded on 1/2" tape, but parts are liable to be even more scarce and the running costs will not be pretty.
Most Sony machines you're likely to find will be consumer hifi machines. Unless it's one of the APR-5000 series, which is about the size of a cooker and liable to cost thousands, it's probably not suitable for mastering. And heaven help you if an APR breaks down
Akai machines are typically hifi machines - I don't think they made anything that was suitable for mastering.
Studer made a lot of machines and if you can transport them okay, and if they aren't completely beaten up, they're worth looking into. Common ones include the B67, which was something of a workhorse for radio stations, the A80 which is fairly common and considered a great machine, but weighs about 200kg. This was used for many albums, including Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.
The A807 was their 'budget' machine and again, common for radio stations. I have one and it can be a pig to maintain - even though it was their last machine with production ending around 2001, the older ones like mine are old enough to need recapping and that is not a fun exercise (I've had to do it). Of course, this is liable to be a problem with most second-hand decks.
On the plus side, the A807 has a fancy transport that can do jog-shuttle varispeed and play things backwards. It is also calibrated via the control panel instead of using a screwdriver.
The A810 is the higher-end machine, whereas the 807 has all the electronics stuffed into several large boards making it cheaper to build and a pig to troubleshoot/repair, the 810 splits it all up into lots of little cards. The 810s are considered some kind of holy grail - they often go for about a thousand pounds here.
A good idea might be to look for an Otari. The 5050 or 50 machines are fairly compact studio-grade machines - I believe the 5050 is still in production, though you'll be looking at a second-hand one unless you have a few thousand to spend on it.
please think Im permanently on a budget,,,, jejejej I bought some ampex 456 tape second handed cause I thought about buying the 32 but tascam is still one of my favourites...they seem well built
Ampex 456 is seriously not recommended. It has a problem where it becomes sticky, which stresses the machine and can often result in it spreading itself across the transport. Your best bet would be to keep the reels and discard the tape itself. The Quantegy branded ones are okay, though. Currently available tapes are RMGI, ATR and in some countries Zonal.
