What do you have for a deck

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Kryptik

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I'm mostly curious, but what is out there for reel to reel multi-tracks. Are there alternatives to 30k studers, or are they the only ones who makes them anymore?
 
Kryptik said:
I'm mostly curious, but what is out there for reel to reel multi-tracks. Are there alternatives to 30k studers, or are they the only ones who makes them anymore?
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AFAIK the only multitracks currently in production are:
The model 700 from STM Studiotechnic ( http://www.stm.hu )

..and the ATR-108c from ATR Magnetics. There was talk of another manufacturer (ATR's rival whose name escapes me) designing a new recorder from scratch, but I can't remember who and AFAIK, nothing has been heard of it.

If you want a new-ish multitrack, your best bet is to find a gear broker or look on ebay. Occasionally A827s turn up for like 7000 pounds or so (lots of people look, but not many people on ebay can afford to buy).

But, this is home recording. You'll have to be pretty loaded to buy a new tape deck for home use.. most people here are using Tascam, Otari or Fostex multitracks. Again, these turn up on ebay.

Personally, I'm using this:

http://www.it-he.org/lab.htm
 
I just picked up an Otari MX-70 16 track for a couple hundred bucks. This is rediculously cheap, but they can be found for around $1000. If this is too much, find yourself a Tascam 38 or something. They can usually be found for under $750.

Cheers,
Zach
 
Kryptik said:
I'm mostly curious, but what is out there for reel to reel multi-tracks. Are there alternatives to 30k studers, or are they the only ones who makes them anymore?
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TASCAM 388, 34, 38, TSR-8, TEAC 3440 are all plentiful on eBay (or used market) and go for much less than 30K. :D ;)

~Daniel
 
Just picked up a Tascam 48 is great condition for $600 locally. (shrug) It floats my boat pretty well. NH is good distance from any of the large eastern cities, but keep an eye on the craigslists for cities you concider within driving distance for a used machine. Shipping on them is ex$penxive and they are easily damaged.

Been using mine for 4 or 5 days everyday and you know it hasn't crashed even once!! :D

Chris
 
Chris Shaeffer said:
Just picked up a Tascam 48 is great condition for $600 locally. (shrug) It floats my boat pretty well. NH is good distance from any of the large eastern cities, but keep an eye on the craigslists for cities you concider within driving distance for a used machine. Shipping on them is ex$penxive and they are easily damaged.

Been using mine for 4 or 5 days everyday and you know it hasn't crashed even once!! :D

Chris
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You're really lucky to be in California 'cause I see local deals for this sort of gear plentiful there.

~Daniel
 
Thanks for the replies. I've always wondered what you guys used. Good to see you can still get them for about the same price as all the digital stuff (uh-oh, I probably shouldn't have brought up the D word :)).

I'm looking/drooling at the specs on the stm right now. These things can wind almost a mile of tape in two and a half minutes! :eek: :eek: Well I guess I shouldn't be to wowed, airplanes can go a lot faster than that:).

I was mostly just curious, I kind of thought that they would be a lot more pricey than what you guys seem to get them for. I might have to consider picking one up sometime. Can't now though, but I'm sure the saturation would come in handy at some point.

Oh and Boston isn't far from me at all. Usually about 30-40mins depending on traffic. During rush hour for get it, but any other times, it isn't really much of a trip. I might have some luck down there when I go looking.
 
I'm now using a TASCAM MSR-16. Previously I was using a 488MKII Portastudio.
 
I saw you're in NH. I bought a TSR-8 with remote and 5 reels for less than $400 a couple weeks ago from a guy from Manchester. Ended up buying it from him at hiw workplace in Lawrence, MA. Once I bought a Tascam 58 for $180 from a guy in Somerville, but it had some unfixable problems on it.

-MD
 
themaddog said:
I saw you're in NH. I bought a TSR-8 with remote and 5 reels for less than $400 a couple weeks ago from a guy from Manchester. Ended up buying it from him at hiw workplace in Lawrence, MA. Once I bought a Tascam 58 for $180 from a guy in Somerville, but it had some unfixable problems on it.

-MD
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funny, I'm right on the Lawrence line. That could have been mine! :mad: :D Alot of New Englanders around here ey?
 
The guy I bought the TSR-8 from works at Hi-Tech Electronics in Lawrence. He said reel to reels come in occasionally, and then people don't pick them up once they fix them on account of the bill. Might be worth it to call there every once in awhile and ask if they have one you could take off their hands for them.

-MD
 
Kryptik said:
I'm mostly curious, but what is out there for reel to reel multi-tracks. Are there alternatives to 30k studers, or are they the only ones who makes them anymore?
Click to expand...

If you're looking for a brand new machine then you're gonna be spending a pretty penny. If you're looking for something of the same caliber as a Studer then you will have to buy a Studer. I own an Otari MTR90II (2" 24 Track) and I've used other 2" Machines: Studer, MCI, Sony, and Ampex in the past and the Studers are the Ferrari's of analog format machines. I'd say my used Otari is maybe a used Mercedes SL500 or used BMW M7 (expensive maintenance) - not to say servicing a Studer isn't inexpensive but if it's brand new and you change the oil every 5000 miles you'll be fine for quite some time.

It's best to find something used (depending on your budget) and keep a little money on the side for either re-lapping the heads or replacing them completely (JRF has a pretty good trade in deal - I work with them exclusively regarding my headstack). Other than that most format machines out there have individual cards for each track which can be easily replaced. It's as easy as adding/removing RAM or PCI components from your computer. I like to have a couple backup audio cards for my Otari just in case but I've been fine so far.

Otari, Studer, and some TASCAM's have parts that are easier to find than other brands (I know from experience that there are secondary mfg's that make replacement parts for my Otari - but it can become costly depending what it is).

I've owned my Otari for 8 of its 20 year life (it was built in 1985 with only one previous owner) and the only things I've had to replace were the swing arms (so far) and that cost me about $500. Any other "issues" is just general maintenance like calibration and light bulb replacement. My heads were re-lapped twice but I don't remember what it cost.

Again, the best for parts and lapping (or as they say "reconditioning") is JRF Magnetics.

I'm always leery of used equipment especially something so expensive, big, and sight unseen. If you can swing it you can get something through a broker. I bought my Otari that way and they gave me a one-year "used item" warranty. That didn't mean I had to ship it back for maintenance, all I had to do is get a service person to fix it and then I would send the bill to my broker.... it was a sweet deal. Sure, it cost a good 10 to 20 percent more than if I bought something off eBay used but anything I buy that has the risk of being a clunker before I receive it I'd rather pay the extra cost for protection. Plus the place I went through (proaudiodesign.com) makes sure everything is working before sending it out.... but like I said it's sometimes more expensive than eBay or alike.

Good Luck!
-- Adam Lazlo
 
themaddog said:
The guy I bought the TSR-8 from works at Hi-Tech Electronics in Lawrence. He said reel to reels come in occasionally, and then people don't pick them up once they fix them on account of the bill. Might be worth it to call there every once in awhile and ask if they have one you could take off their hands for them.

-MD
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I'll have to check them out! Thanks for the info.
 
deck

I scored an otari 8-track on ebay for about $850 about 2 years ago - everything works fine and it is a 1987 model.
I probably spend about 4 hours a month doing maintenance on it, but nothing major - just cleaning and calibrating. It's real easy to open the sides to clean the insde.
There is a nice bump at 100hz on this unit - and the i/o's are balanced XLR's like the other pro decks.

Good luck on ebay ...
 
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