A few hundred dollars has become available to purchase a ree-to-reel tape deck so that we can audition what I believe are mostly 1/2 track and possibly 1/4 track stereo reels playing at 3 3/4 or 7 1/2 ips. It's conceivable there are some 15 ips, but most likely not. I'm assuming we will need two decks, one for each head configuration.
Any recommendations as far as units, dealers, re-builds, etc? We are not planning on using the deck for transfers, but we'd like something that will have a long useful life and won't be a huge maintenance headache.
With any luck, transfers will be done by an outside specialist. We need a unit that can give us some indication of what's on the tapes and will have minimal impact. Luckily the tapes have been stored under cool, dry conditions and none appears to have sticky-shed or surface/support breakdown even though some are acetate rather than polyester.
RA Friedman Assistant Project Archivist Historical Society of Pennsylvania
I took advantage of an opportunity offered here a year or so ago which would serve your needs perfectly - except possibly for running over your budget. I purchased a Studer A807 refurbished by Studer Canada and equipped with a second (quarter-track) playback head rather than the record head of the half-track suite. A three-speed machine (3 3/4, 7 1/2, 15 ips), the tape handling is superb, speed control admirable and other than the $1K price, it would match your needs perfectly. In fact, I can think of no better machine for effecting the transfer after the initial audition.
Having been spoiled by the Studer, I would not readily return to a home deck if only for the tape handling. One possibility is to find a deck such as a Uher with dual head blocks; in that way, you are not spending for two drive assemblies just to have two play heads. Another is to dig up a quad machine and to adapt to quarter- or half-track operation by selecting the appropriate configuration in playback.
Mike -- mrichter@xxxxxxx http://www.mrichter.com/