Who wants to buy a new Reel-To Reel?

[Arpangel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac3cXu27M-M

Very tempting, but I bet they’ve sold out.

[FrankF]

Uh er, missus!
Reminds me of how I used to covet Revox and Tascam machines in the 90s, especially the Revoxes that went SLOOOOW.

I wonder if Robin Guthrie hung onto his A-3440...Maybe it's sitting there, gathering dust in his Brittany bolthole.

[The Elf]

I never, EVER want to see a tape machine again. I lived through that hell and there's no way I would go back!

[James Perrett]

Very nice - looks a reasonable price too though I would say it is more of a curiosity than something useful. There are a few boutique audiophile reel to reel machines being made but the prices I've seen are pretty high. Allowing for inflation, a Revox B77 would cost around £2500 these days.

[Kwackman]

I never, EVER want to see a tape machine again. I lived through that hell and there's no way I would go back!

This man speaks the truth!

[Sam Spoons]

The ones on ebay seem to be around half that, this one is a little more than half but appears to be a particularly good example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revox-B77-mkII-Reel-to-Reel-serviced-and-boxed-with-accessories-as-listed-shown/324369704957?hash=item4b85f0e7fd:g:1l8AAOSwVjdfkt7z.

[James Perrett]

Can't really tell how good that one is Sam because there are no pictures of the heads. It also sounds like they haven't checked for parts that need replacing so there's a good chance that the new owner will find smoke coming out of it sometime soon. Typical used prices for a B77 seem to be around £800-900 at the moment.

[MOF]

I wonder if Robin Guthrie hung onto his A-3440...Maybe it's sitting there, gathering dust in his Brittany bolthole.

I’ve still got mine, one day, when I get a room large enough, I’ll put it in a display cabinet.

It also sounds like they haven't checked for parts that need replacing so there's a good chance that the new owner will find smoke coming out of it sometime soon

He says in the video that they check each one before dispatch. The only thing likely to go wrong is electrolytic capacitors, a visual inspection suffices there, plus rubber capstan and belt drives, I presume they are swapped if they’ve perished.

[James Perrett]

It also sounds like they haven't checked for parts that need replacing so there's a good chance that the new owner will find smoke coming out of it sometime soon

He says in the video that they check each one before dispatch. The only thing likely to go wrong is electrolytic capacitors, a visual inspection suffices there, plus rubber capstan and belt drives, I presume they are swapped if they’ve perished.

I think I probably confused things as I was talking about the Ebay auction that Sam Spoons linked to rather than the original video of the Uher.

Any knowledgeable Revox seller should mention the 3 Rifa capacitors that crack with age and eventually start smoking and go short circuit, often taking out other components with them. These are normally a 'replace on sight' item.

[DGL.]

Any knowledgeable Revox seller should mention the 3 Rifa capacitors that crack with age and eventually start smoking and go short circuit, often taking out other components with them. These are normally a 'replace on sight' item.

Yes, anything with RIFA X2/mains suppression paper capacitors can fail quite dramatically, so replacement with modern non-paper types is essential. Just to think you can buy NOS ones on ebay!, who on earth would want to do that

[Sam Spoons]

Can't really tell how good that one is Sam because there are no pictures of the heads. It also sounds like they haven't checked for parts that need replacing so there's a good chance that the new owner will find smoke coming out of it sometime soon. Typical used prices for a B77 seem to be around £800-900 at the moment.

Well, they appear to be a dealer so you would have some comeback. Prices for completed, sold B77s vary from £255 up to £1850.

[Tim Gillett]

I always liked those little Uher Reports. In their day a much cheaper alternative to the Nagra but very usable. But another part which eventually deteriorates is the rubber drive surface on the capstan wheel. Typically the rubber slowly goes hard, making running noisy and eventually tape drive becomes unreliable. I read recently that someone in Europe was selling the assemblies refurbished. Maybe it's the same people as here and because they have to refurbish the rubber on these NOS machines anyway before sale.

[Mike Stranks]

Ah the Uher 4000!

My partner for all my radio work 1976-1990. I found it opened a lot of doors at stations when I said, "I've got my own Uher..."

I then switched to a Sony WM-D6 cassette machine for another few years before I went to minidisk.

Whaddya mean, old?

[Arpangel]

Can't really tell how good that one is Sam because there are no pictures of the heads. It also sounds like they haven't checked for parts that need replacing so there's a good chance that the new owner will find smoke coming out of it sometime soon. Typical used prices for a B77 seem to be around £800-900 at the moment.

Well, they appear to be a dealer so you would have some comeback. Prices for completed, sold B77s vary from £255 up to £1850.

I had two B77’s on permanent loan back in the 90’s, I opened them up because of some problem or other, I was really surprised at how bad the build quality was, low quality pots and components, badly installed, it’s really surprising how they became an industry standard as I though the Japanese machines like the Tascam 32-2B were much better built, and sounded great.
I ended up giving back the Revox's and I bought a Tascam, interesting bit of info, I also had a Teac 3440 at the time, amazing condition in a custom built flight case, it was at one point used by John Cage on a European tour, as a four channel surround source, I wish I had kept that machine, it had a great history.

[Folderol]

If anyone does want an open reel machine, I've still got that UHER Report Stereo machine, that I'd accept any reasonable offer for - with about half a dozen BASF tapes .

[Arpangel]

If anyone does want an open reel machine, I've still got that UHER Report Stereo machine, that I'd accept any reasonable offer for - with about half a dozen BASF tapes .

That’s tempting, but I’m looking for a 10.5 inch reel machine, or a bigger Studer, but they are so hard to find in decent condition now.

[Sam Spoons]

And if you do the HiFi bods will have caused the price to soar...

[Arpangel]

And if you do the HiFi bods will have caused the price to soar...

Yes Sam, it’s one of those ideas that never gets done, it’s one of my "if one falls into my lap at the right price" type of ideas, so yes, it’ll probably never happen, it would be nice, but I can live without it.
I feel like that about a lot of gear these days!

[Sam Spoons]

I always slightly regret selling my A77 but it was not getting used. I don't regret selling the 3440S and the Tascam 48 quite so much as they were replaced with digital (Akai DR8/16) but the A77 was a very cool bit of kit.

[James Perrett]

I had two B77’s on permanent loan back in the 90’s, I opened them up because of some problem or other, I was really surprised at how bad the build quality was, low quality pots and components, badly installed, it’s really surprising how they became an industry standard as I though the Japanese machines like the Tascam 32-2B were much better built, and sounded great.

Interesting - as I feel the opposite. Yes, the pots in the Revox are a weak point but everything is easy to get to and they've spent money in all the right places - like the more sophisticated capstan motor. The Teac machines that I've worked on seemed agricultural in comparison - although I've not worked on a 30 series machine or newer.

I quite like the Fostex E series machines though.

[Arpangel]

I had two B77’s on permanent loan back in the 90’s, I opened them up because of some problem or other, I was really surprised at how bad the build quality was, low quality pots and components, badly installed, it’s really surprising how they became an industry standard as I though the Japanese machines like the Tascam 32-2B were much better built, and sounded great.

Interesting - as I feel the opposite. Yes, the pots in the Revox are a weak point but everything is easy to get to and they've spent money in all the right places - like the more sophisticated capstan motor. The Teac machines that I've worked on seemed agricultural in comparison - although I've not worked on a 30 series machine or newer.

I quite like the Fostex E series machines though.

Yes, I had to replace the pots in one machine, they had completely rotted, I think, due to heat build up in these machines.
Ergonomically I like the B77, especially the track bounce function.

[James Perrett]

Ergonomically I like the B77, especially the track bounce function.

Yes, I used that extensively when I first bought my B77. I never had any desire to go 4 track because it always seemed to involve too many decisions about which tracks to bounce and how to assign the tracks so that you could mix most effectively. With the B77 you just got on with it - you had to mix as you went along and play each part correctly all the way through. While you could go back and re-record the most recent part again as often as you needed, once you had moved on to recording the next instrument there was no going back.

[Hugh Robjohns]

...and that's kind of where Sound On Sound came from...

[Nazard]

Ergonomically I like the B77

Tape play/wind logic was a big improvement over the A77, when going from fast wind/rewind to play meant a broken tape.

The weak point sof the B77 were the toggle switches, which have often been broken. Nagravox make a repair kit and sell replacement switches, but at a cost!

[Old Will]

I had an A77 Mk IV half-track in the '70s. Sold it in '86 for a ReVox PR-99 in floor console. That one I should have kept. I never took one apart, but the ReVox machines always seemed to me to have better sound quality and tape handling than most of the Japanese machines. At work the 2-track was an Ampex ATR-102. I've been lusting after one of those since they came out, but way too expensive for a home studio. Mara Machines in Nashville sells nicely refurbished MCI machines. Last I checked, their 2-track was $5000 US.