Thoughts on Roberts?

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dgvc63

New member
I've been running into alot of reel to reel tape machines out here on the West coast of the USA with the name Roberts or listed as Rheem-Roberts.

Looks to be all tube stuff, which I'm very interested in. Any experience with these machines out there?

Positives, negatives, models to look for or avoid?

Robertsplayer1.jpg
 
They are not bad machines. Fairly solid build and robust. I had some in my early years and had fun with them. I especially liked the tube models. Check out the heads as well as you can before deciding.
 
Definitely built like tanks!

*When "looking" at heads what should I physically be looking for, just smooth and clean?
 
Roberts had some great products. Most of the Roberts reel-to-reels were made by Akai until Akai began marketing internationally, and had identical Akai counterparts. I don't know about the one in the photo, but the later stuff from the 1960's on was super.
 
dgvc63 said:
Definitely built like tanks!

*When "looking" at heads what should I physically be looking for, just smooth and clean?
Click to expand...

A visual head inspection is one step better than no inspection. Look for smooth, but more importantly how much wear there appears to be. An ideal find would be heads with no evidence of a groove being worn in them from the tape.
 
Hey Y'all,...

I have a Roberts virtually identical to the one in the picture for sale,... although it's comparable but maybe not quite so clean,... it's the same unit. I've not powered up or tested for functionality, as it takes an old school 2-prong power cord, which I don't have.

I also have an old school AKAI which I'd sell seperately or in a package deal (not pictured).

I'd be willing to sell this (or both) unit(s), cash & carry in the Los Angeles County area. It's great for the project-guy or DIY'er. Too heavy to ship. PM me for info. THX!

:spank::eek:;)
 
As mentioned above, a lot of the Roberts reel-to-reels of that vintage are basically Akai models rebranded for sale in the U.S. with minor cosmetic changes. That particular model in the photograph is the equivalent of one of the units from the Akai M series. That looks to be a Roberts 997, which I think is the equivalent of the Akai M-6 or M-7 model? Not sure on the exact model numbers but a little Google or Ebay research will probably answer that question with specificity. I have a different Akai tube reel-to-reel with a 15 i.p.s. capstan sleeve that sounds pretty decent with the right choice of older tape. I have found the biggest limiting factor with the Akai/Roberts models from that era is the inability to make basic calibration adjustments without ripping things apart or, in some cases, getting out a soldering iron. Finding appropriate tape can also be an issue given the biasing scheme in these old decks are not designed with modern tape in mind. However, these limitations are generally true of many consumer decks from that period.
 
I'm going to analog Hell for saying this but....

If you find one with a shot transport, or you just don't feel like restoring the transport, I'd be curious as to how decent the preamps are? If they're tube pres and they sound good, you might could make a bad ass mic pre out of them...

An example.. Roberts/Akai Preamp Mod
 
The preamps are nothing to write home about. If you are looking for a character box, bluesy distortion? The akai preamps can deliver these tones on spades. However if youre looking for a clean fat tone, best to look somewhere else mi amigo. IMHO of course. Those akai/Roberts are dirty and noisy as hell
 
LToro said:
The preamps are nothing to write home about. If you are looking for a character box, bluesy distortion? The akai preamps can deliver these tones on spades. However if youre looking for a clean fat tone, best to look somewhere else mi amigo. IMHO of course. Those akai/Roberts are dirty and noisy as hell
Click to expand...

I would say that may be true if you are looking to re-purpose the unit as a standalone mic preamp as the previous poster suggested. But if you are talking about using the preamps as part of the normal operation of the tape deck than my experience is different with the couple tube Akai decks I have had. In both of my cases the tape itself would run out of clean headroom before the Akai's electronics did. Selecting higher quality tubes and replacing old capacitors can also help with noise issues, although I do not find mine to be particularly noisy compared to other old decks from that period. Like all old gear, however, upkeep is the key. It is also the first thing you will usually find missing with old tube reel-to-reels that do not say "Ampex" on them.
 
One of my old Akai/Roberts, went through Vietnam mudholes in 1965-67, and still works pretty good.

Could use new Caps about now.

Transport hasn't failed me in all that time.

I did have to make a new capstan roller from scratch, around 1980?.
 
Bought a decent one at a yard sale with the intent of making mic pres out of it. Put it in my garage for a week. When I looked at it, it was full of roaches. I mean full. Took me 3 months to get them out of my house. I dumped that deck in the trash.
 
Muckelroy said:
I'm going to analog Hell for saying this but....

If you find one with a shot transport, or you just don't feel like restoring the transport, I'd be curious as to how decent the preamps are? If they're tube pres and they sound good, you might could make a bad ass mic pre out of them...

An example.. Roberts/Akai Preamp Mod
Click to expand...

I have one in my outside utility room been sitting for a year and was thinking about doing that myself but don't know where on earth to start!! But it is definitely some tubes in it that bugger !!!
 
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