Reel to reel tape deck

[jglfan]

I wonder if anyone here is knowledgeable about the current scene regarding reel to reel tape machines. I'm getting ready for retirement and part of that is downsizing and lowering my cost of living. Because of this I've decided to part with my Pioneer RT-2022 tape deck. I googled it and saw one that had sold for $800, but there was one on ebay which just expired, high bid was $355 which did not meet the reserve. Are there many people still wanting this type machine? Then I wondered if you could even still buy the 10 1/2" tapes. Seems Maxell stopped production about 12 years ago and shortly thereafter prices went thru the ceiling, but have come back down. I saw an empty (take up) reel being sold for $75.00! However, it looks like a price for a Maxell 35-180 tape that has been recorded on once is about $20.00, so that empty reel for $75.00 must be someone just hoping for a sucker. I have 24 of them so it looks like they may fetch more than the deck!

I'd appreciate any thoughts any of you may have on this.

[Steve F.]

It's a pretty specialty market.

My guess is that you will get between $250-$450 for it, assuming it is in GOOD working condition.

[rcarlberg]

Steve's right. Advertise nationally, and be prepared to ship.

[jglfan]

Thanks for that. Any thoughts on advertising nationally?

[simon moon]

It's a niche market within a niche market.

The customer base is small, but growing a bit.

There are also companies doing some pretty amazing mods (United Home Audio is one such) on vintage reel-to-reel decks. The Pioneer RT-2022 should be pretty sought after for being modded, as it was a pretty serious deck.

You might want to advertise it on Audiogon as opposed to (or along with) Ebay, as you will be advertising directly to the particular niche that is your target market.

[TheLoony]

I don't remember how, I think I found it in the trash at my old storage unit, but I had a portable unit, some German brand who's name I should remember but don't. It seemed to work but I had no reels to play in it. The motors were fine and all that.

I looked it up and they went for 100-150 or so, in great condition and I had no idea if this was in that state so I sold it to the local record dealer for 10 bucks. I have no bank account nor Pay Pal so I couldn't do the Ebay thing and I couldn't tell anyone it actually worked either so I didn't have much choice.

At least I got ten bucks. Sorry, this isn't very informative but as someone said, it's a niche market, in a even smaller niche market.

[happytheman]

Remember selling my Revox B77 years ago.. I got $500.. Still have a box full of tapes..don't know why I hung onto them.. I'm sure the tapes are falling apart at this point.. For some reason right out of high school it was appealing to push play and listen to 3 hours of music without having to get up and turn the record over every 20 minutes..

[Fracktured]

I recorded radio concerts back in the seventies on reel tape. I got rid of my pioneer rt909 years ago and I don't know what happened to all those tapes. Wish I had them now. I kick myself all the time for selling my reel deck. I loved it. I have about 6 tapes one I them my recording if Yes at Roosevelt Stadium in which I recorded Yessongs on the other side.


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[jglfan]

Thanks for the tip on Audiogon Simon. Wow, there is some incredible equipment out there!

Yeah I used the deck to record radio concerts and such as well. Also had Jonathan Schwatz's last show on WNEW on tape. He closed out the show with Sinatra's "Send in the Clowns". But mostly I used it to make mixed tapes I could play so I wouldn't have to attend to the music often, as happytheman states above. And it's been enjoyable as I have been going about copying some of these to cd. I have about a dozen of these mixed tapes dating between 1976 and 1979, interesting to see what I was into. Particularly cool when I hear something I had totally forgot about.

[moecurlythanu]

I had a Pioneer back in the 70s but sold it in the 80s. In the meantime, I've acquired several reels. I need to find a local-ish AV company that will transfer them for a fee. It's on the "to-do" list, anyway.

[jglfan]

I'm using an Aiwa compact disc recorder (model XC-RW500) to transfer my tapes and lp's, it works pretty well.

[Supersonic Scientist]

I suggest posting it on Reverb.com

I've sold some gear on there and got a better-than-expected price for my used stuff.

Good luck.

......reminds me: When I finally retire, I've got BOXES of old cassette recordings of mine I need to record into Sonar and edit/mix/twiddle/twiddle-some-more/master.

[Progbear]

Audacity (free download), stereo RCA cables and a stereo RCA to stereo 3.5mm mini-plug converter are all you need to convert analog audio to digital.

[rcarlberg]

Audacity (free download), stereo RCA cables and a stereo RCA to stereo 3.5mm mini-plug converter are all you need to convert analog audio to digital.

And time.

Lots, and lots, and lots of time (to do it right).

[Progbear]

And time.

Lots, and lots, and lots of time (to do it right).

It goes a bit quicker to speed it up while recording, then slowing down the digital recording before the final transfer. I’ve recorded 33 RPM LPs at 45. Better sound fidelity, too. It works for tapes as well. I have a friend who transfers 8-track tapes this way (the tape heads on his 8-track recorder do not disengage when fast-forward is pressed).

[rcarlberg]

It's not the dubbing that takes all the time.

[Trane]

I don't remember how, I think I found it in the trash at my old storage unit, but I had a portable unit, some German brand who's name I should remember but don't. It seemed to work but I had no reels to play in it. The motors were fine and all that.

my grandfather owned a Telefunken and all his tapes (200 of them) were BASF, filled with operas

I did toy wuth the idea of a RtR deck (an AkaI, if memory serrves), but portability issues eliminated that technology

[jglfan]

my grandfather owned a Telefunken and all his tapes (200 of them) were BASF, filled with operas

I did toy with the idea of a RtR deck (an AkaI, if memory serrves), but portability issues eliminated that technology

Back in the mid seventies I had a full size van which I insulated and paneled, with a platform bed which housed speakers. I had a voltage converter to change the 12v dc to 110 v ac. I built a reel to reel and an amp into the wall on one side of the van. The sound was good, certainly better than cassette, however the voltage converter left something to be desired, as it produced square wave output and it was noticeable in the speaker output. So I have to agree, despite rather aggressive attempts, reel to reels can't be made portable!