Seeking R2R Recommendations

[jadedavid]

I've recently acquired 3 R2R decks.
They are:
1) OTARI MX5050
2) TECHNICS 2track 1500
3) PIONEER 4track 2 channel RT 909
My goal is to keep the best one of the lot and have it gone thru and restored.
None of them have been tested. However the previous owner of the PIONEER deck indicated that it had a speed stabilization issue.

Thoughts on which one to keep?
Also
Looking for a repair/restoration facility to send it to.

 

[Foxbat]

You did not state your objective - what are you planning on doing with them? You also did not specify the Otari version, and that makes big difference.

But straight on I would definitely keep the Otari (provided it is not a very early version)... but then, again, your long term objective is important.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I've recently acquired 3 R2R decks.
They are:
1) OTARI MX5050

like Foxbat mentioned, this one has the highest potential, but which model? what condition? this one is a pro studio machine.

2) TECHNICS 2track 1500

better than the Pioneer, and lots of people know this one and this one has been improved by many people in many ways. so maybe easiest to make right and with still a high upside. i owned 2 of these back in the day. one pure stock and in perfect condition (meh sounding), the other one was highly modified by Tim Paravicini. that one sounded great. a prosumer (used by radio stations and serious amateurs) machine.

3) PIONEER 4track 2 channel RT 909

this is a consumer machine with the least capability. 4 track heads have less potential performance and cannot play the best tapes. you would need to change the heads to play good tapes.

My goal is to keep the best one of the lot and have it gone thru and restored.
None of them have been tested. However the previous owner of the PIONEER deck indicated that it had a speed stabilization issue.

Thoughts on which one to keep?
Also
Looking for a repair/restoration facility to send it to.

since it appears you live in Florida, find a tape tech near you and have a phone conversation. send him pics and answer his questions. go from there.

 

[jadedavid]

Thanks for the reply.
My objective is to add the chosen one to my system. The others will be sold in order to fund the restoration.
The OTARI is a MX5050 BIII-2 (as stated on the rear) Is this an early or later model?

 

[jadedavid]

like Foxbat mentioned, this one has the highest potential, but which model? what condition? this one is a pro machine.

better than the Pioneer, and lots of people know this one and this one has been improved by many people in many ways. so maybe easiest to make right and with still a high upside. a prosumer machine.

this is a consumer machine with the least capability. 4 track heads have less potential performance and cannot play the best tapes.

since it appears you live in Florida, find a tape tech near you and have a phone conversation. send him pics and answer his questions. go from there.

Thanks for your insights.
Actually, I live in Michigan. So a more local/regional service facility would be preferable.

 

[Kingrex]

I would dump all 3 and get a new/used 5050 from Gene Walls
ProfAudio@comcast.net

Gene goes through the whole machine and makes it as good as can be. Mine has run close to flawless for 3 to 4 years now. The tape counter did stop. But I gave up the idea of trying to rewind to a song I like.

I do like Library rewind. The Otari goes so fast I fear a tape breaking some day.

 

[Kingrex]

You also have to be super careful about shipping. Home Depot has a plastic moving box that fits the 5050. Pack it well, then use Old Dominion and ship on a pallet. Create a pallet to fit. It will cost about $300 each direction when shipped.

 

[Foxbat]

Thanks for the reply.
My objective is to add the chosen one to my system. The others will be sold in order to fund the restoration.
The OTARI is a MX5050 BIII-2 (as stated on the rear) Is this an early or later model?

That is good model, and if the condition is good I would keep it. Does it run the tape nicely?

To get the library wind one would have to go much higher in price, and there are techniques for reducing the wind speed stress.

 

[jadedavid]

Thanks all for the info.
Looks like the Otari is the best of the bunch.
I have not tried any of them but will give the Otari a try first.

 

[Two-Track Analog]

You have the latest iteration of the 5050 there. Much improved machine over prior iterations in terms of how smoothly it handles tape. It’s gentler on tape due to logic-controlled transport. One minor drawbacks is that the transport buttons aren’t as robust as those used on the prior iterations of the deck.

The Technics, though not a pro deck, is just a cool looking machine even if it’s repro circuit isn’t the best. But a good deal of tape enthusiasts use an external tape preamp (several out there) with the 1500-series, so use it as a transport only which it excels at.

So maybe keep both and dump the 909?

 

[rsrzr]

I've recently acquired 3 R2R decks.
They are:
1) OTARI MX5050
2) TECHNICS 2track 1500
3) PIONEER 4track 2 channel RT 909
My goal is to keep the best one of the lot and have it gone thru and restored.
None of them have been tested. However the previous owner of the PIONEER deck indicated that it had a speed stabilization issue.

Thoughts on which one to keep?
Also
Looking for a repair/restoration facility to send it to.

I used to have the Otari 5050 and it sounded great but was useless for me. Prerecorded music on 7” reels at 3 3/4 speed sounded terrible. I got a 15ips tape library tape from a dealer friend and it sounded really good but I didn’t like any of the artists in their catalogs and I’m not sure if I would spend $400 and up for a tape.
So I started ripping some vinyl to tape and I thought this was useless since it didn’t sound any better. I thought I could create a playlist on tape from my vinyl but that was a chore. On top of that, new 10” reels of tape isn’t cheap and some of the used bulk tape I bought was questionable so I sold the deck.

 

[Foxbat]

You discovered for yourself what some of us have been saying for years - the R2R is the MOST inconvenient media you can get. Too many motions, too many things to go wrong, so it is clearly not for everyone.

But for people who LOVE the open reel it is irreplaceable. I have been having fun with it for over 60 years and I can't stop.

 

[rsrzr]

I have had many R2R decks over 55 years, the old teac’s and akai. They sounded much better than the alternatives back then and tape prices were much more reasonable. I also had a TT setup from 55 years ago to 6 years ago, and back in the past, R2R was actually less finicky than vinyl.
6 years ago I got rid of all my vinyl because my digital setup was as good or better than vinyl, and I didn’t have to go thru the maintenance process/chore involved with vinyl.

 

[andromedaaudio]

My expirience is .

Tape is very easy to use not finicky at all and much cheaper then Vinyl to get top sound .
Having a good professionally checked / restored deck is essential .

The best most easy to use imo the Telefunken AEG , soundQ is top notch with a Eternal arts tape stage ( buffer)

 

[Foxbat]

My expirience is .

Tape is very easy to us

Ever wanted to play a particular song from a tape?

 

[andromedaaudio]

Ever wanted to play a particular song from a tape?

Lol .
But with the timer/ clock and the easy rewind / forward / end of the tape automatic stop system , finding a song is easy .
Much better then the constant worrying fiddling with LP s cleaning and cartridge adjustment.

Only thing i do every 3- 6 months is demagnetize/ clean the heads .

I did drop the needle once next to the SME platter ( with a couple of beers ) bye bye 5 K koetsu.

Finding good tapes can be costly but same goes to a lesser extent for LP s

 

[Foxbat]

OK, let me play a stickler here...

First - you start the rewind from the tail. A typical tape - if you are lucky - will have track times, but not the start location.

So you will have to mentally count backwards as you rewind. And since you don't know how much blank tape you have at the end you will likely miss by minutes.

So OK, after all that you found your song and played it... but since I am a stickler, I would at that point completely rewind the tape and then completely fast forward it... all using the library wind, of course...

Done all that... yes, can be done... yes, a royal pain in the ass... and while it takes seconds on an LP this dance will require maybe 10 minutes.

 

[dminches]

Lol .
But with the timer/ clock and the easy rewind / forward / end of the tape automatic stop system , finding a song is easy .
Much better then the constant worrying fiddling with LP s cleaning and catridge adjustment.

Only thing i do every 3- 6 months is demagnetize/ clean the heads .

I did drop the needle once next to the SME platter ( with a couple of beers ) bye bye 5 K koetsu.

Finding good tapes can be costly but same goes to a lesser extent for LP s

Just about every album recorded is available on LP. The percent of albums available on tape is likely under 20%, maybe less. In addition, the average tape is a lot more expensive than the average LP. Tape is my preferred format but it doesn’t have availability and cost in its favor.

 

[rangda]

I used to have the Otari 5050 and it sounded great but was useless for me. Prerecorded music on 7” reels at 3 3/4 speed sounded terrible. I got a 15ips tape library tape from a dealer friend and it sounded really good but I didn’t like any of the artists in their catalogs and I’m not sure if I would spend $400 and up for a tape.
So I started ripping some vinyl to tape and I thought this was useless since it didn’t sound any better. I thought I could create a playlist on tape from my vinyl but that was a chore. On top of that, new 10” reels of tape isn’t cheap and some of the used bulk tape I bought was questionable so I sold the deck.

Interestingly enough you've described the exact use case for which I really want a r2r. i want to record singles to build up tape "albums"; as it stands now I listen to my singles (especially 45's) infrequently. I'd buy some prerecorded tapes but probably not many as there aren't really a lot out there from artists I'd want.

What's always stopped me from picking up a machine is the lack of a good tech (that I know of anyway) in my (Boston) area. I'm leery of buying a 40 year old machine without someone I can drive to for service when the need arises.

 

[GregoryC]

In my case, I collect and play copies of master tapes of original productions. I put on the tape, rewind to the beginning, sit down and listen to the entire material with pleasure. It gives me great pleasure. The quality of such recordings is 1:1 with the original and sounds great. It cannot be compared to any other audio format I know.