Reel to Reel Players
Vintage reel to reel players and recorders were used both to listen to music recorded on tape, which was wound on wheels, and to record these sounds as well. The tape would be wrapped around one wheel, go through a mechanical device which would either record or play what was on the tape, and the tape would end up on the other end, all wrapped up around the opposite wheel. These generally needed to be rewound, and this could be time consuming.
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Many of these players and recorders were produced years ago. They were, in effect, somewhat like what we view the portable digital cameras as today. They were a means for people to record for their own enjoyment. But then, when the home studio boom occurred a few years later, these reel to reel players and recorders became primarily used by professionals, and killed off the more amateur versions from the previous years.
Buys Reel to Reel Players
 100 Working TASCAM Model 32 Reel to Reel Tape Recorder  US $142.50
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 TEAC A 3440 4 channel open reel with Simul Sync US $425.00
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 Otari MTR 90 control panel US $99.99
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Some of the best, most famous brands of vintage reel to reel players were, and are still, Sony, Pioneer, Teac, and Akai. Also, you need to be careful, because not all of the tape is the same. Some used inch tape, and some used tape that was up to 2 inches wide. Most U.S. recordings were made on inch tape, so that was pretty prevalent in the United States. Professional studios have used inch tape, and even 2 inch tape for professional sound capturing through the years.
Some of these reel to reel recordings were made via the half track method, wherein the left channel sound was stored on the left half of the tape, and the right channel was stored in the right half of the tape. This produced stereo sound that was of exceptionally high quality. There were also quarter track reel to reel recorders that recorded two channels on one side of the tape and two channels on the other. These two methods are not interchangeable, and if one is recorded one way, it cannot be played back the other way.
Vintage reel to reel recorders and players can be a great source of entertainment. They can give you the chance to play back lots of different things that you would not ordinarily be able to if you didn’t have one. Sometimes you find an old stack of reel to reel tapes and wish you could listen to them. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see what was actually on them?