I Reelly need one of these...

[major_clanger]

Does anyone know of a reel-to-reel tape recorder I could buy or borrow on long-term loan?

Some time ago the Science Fiction Foundation was offered a huge pile of tapes (something like 1000 hours) of convention programme items from the 1960s and 70s. Our plan is to digitize them, clean them up and burn them as MP3s onto CD for archive and reference purposes. But to do this we need a tape player, specifically one that can play 7-inch reels of 4-track stereo tape recorded at 1 7/8 inches per second.

I've taken it on myself to do this work, but so far have had little luck getting hold of a suitable tape player. My latest effort has come to naught so I'm asking if anyone here has any suggestions?

MC

Comments

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

Have you considered Ebay?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

It was losing my third sucessive Ebay auction for an RTR recorder that prompted me to post this!

MC

[miramon.livejournal.com]

I'll see whether my father's tape recorder is still in the loft or if he junked it. It was quite a good one at the time.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

That would be very helpful, thanks! It sounds like swisstone probably has a working machine, but it might be very handy to have a backup.

MC

[miramon.livejournal.com]

Well, I do now have my father's old reel-to-reel tape recorder which definitely does the two-channel stereo thing. Not sure about the speed, it just says "fast" and "slow". Also not sure whether it works, it's currently got a non-UK plug on, and in any case I have no tapes to test it with. Do you still want it? It is rather a large and heavy beast, what do you want to do about getting it to you?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Probably the easiest thing to do would be for me to pick it up when I am next passing your way. I'll look at what I'm doing for the next couple of weeks and see when I can get down.

Thanks for digging this out!

MC

[blufive.livejournal.com]

I would recommend you get in touch with Mark Slater, who's been doing this sort of thing for the last few weeks (scoreboard so far, that I know of : soundtrack to 1 previously-lost "out of the unknown")

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link - will give Mark a call.

MC

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

cix:noticeboard?
cix:free/wanted?

If you mange to get this working....

[maviscruet.livejournal.com]

...let me know.

When my gran died Mother found some very old tapes with judging by the notes are family members talking, some long dead. She'd obviously like to be able to get these onto a more modern format.

And it sounds like the same thing.

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Depends what you mean by "4-track stereo"? If you mean something that plays two tracks in each direction to get a stereo recording for each way you play the tape, then, yes, I'm pretty sure I have in my mother's loft exactly what you're after, and can fix you up with it next month. If you mean something that plays all four tracks in the same direction, that I can't help with.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Yes, reversible-tape stereo is indeed what I'm after. Thanks very much - I would be most interested in this!

MC

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Right. It's pretty modern as these things go (I bought it in the mid-80s). I shall bring it down when we're next up at my mum's, which will be mid-October, check it still works, and you can have it on long-term loan. Only problem is I'm not 100% sure I have an open spool for it, so if you can get one of those from somewhere else, it might be advisable.

As if by magic...

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

cix:classified/whatsitworth:796