Should I give it a try?

  • Thread starter Thread starter CrowsofFritz
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CrowsofFritz

CrowsofFritz

Flamingo!
I went to a local store the other day and saw a Pioneer T-6600 for $50. I could probably haggle him for less. :D He said everything is fully functional and I trust him.

My question is, should I give analog a try? To me, it seems a little naive, but I'm also curious about it, especially for the price (although I do understand that tapes will play into it) I am not biased (as I've noticed some people already are when asking these questions) and will listen to any opinion one has to offer.
 
The T6600 seems to be a typical early 70s consumer deck. Quality doesn't seem to be quite as good as the rival Akai machines from that era, but it will work. It might be nice to have it if's cheap and you're curious or you want to play back some stereo quarter-track tapes, but I wouldn't recommend it for mixdown or suchlike.

I'm not sure if it's a 2 or 3 head deck (3 head decks can be used as makeshift echo machines). Apparently it is a single-motor machine with six drive belts. If it hasn't been serviced lately, you will probably need to replace these belts before it will behave itself.
 
Thanks jp! I wouldn't mind replacing the belts. Not the greatest quality huh? Something I will have to consider.
 
You will get better bang for your buck with a Tascam 22. You can find them for similar money too.
 
Yeah, it does depend what you're hoping to do with it. This machine and the Akai 4000 would let you record and play back consumer-format tapes, but do remember that they were cheap-and-cheerful domestic machines. The sort of studio machines used to mix records in that era cost ten or maybe a hundred times more at the time.

The Tascam 22 is a budget mastering deck, if your plan is to use it in music production it's a better bet. However, if you're interested in the consumer end of things, the Pioneer might be interesting to play with.
 
Do or do not. There is no try.

Frankly, for the price I'd probably buy it, if only to have it to play with even if all my serious recording is digital these days. It probably won't add much to your recording capabilities but, if it really works, it'd be fun to have. I did many years of recording (and editing with razor blades and sticky tape) on a Silvertone domestic deck then an Akai. There was nothing wrong with them.

The only issue is tapes, as you say.
 
Seems like the biggest issue is quality of the deck here. That and me gaining the knowledge of all this analog stuff haha. Thanks for the input guys!
 
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