Playback equipment

Jacob McMurray <jacobm [at] vnw__com> writes

>I need to buy a reel-to-reel tape recorder we can use to listen to
>tapes we acquire for the collection. Are good, versatile machines
>(that can play various kinds and speeds of tape on reels) hard to
>find these days?

Jacob,

The market for reel-to-reel tape recorders has become a very small
niche market. The few manufacturers still producing the machines
make machines for the high end of the market. Prices are very high
and climbing. Our engineering department buys Otari 5050s for
editing and playback. They are solidly built and give us few
problems.

Playing back different types of tape should present no problems to
modern playback equipment. But tape speed can be a problem. Modern
professional tape recorders rarely have a 3-3/4 ips or slower speed.
You may have to shop for a good quality second hand machine to play
back some older tapes. Check with your local high-fi repair shops
for leads on where to find used tape recorders, they are not too
hard to find because few professionals use analog recording
technology anymore.

Rob Robinson
Senior Librarian
National Public Radio
635 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-414-2355
Fax: 202-414-3329

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:62
                 Distributed: Thursday, March 14, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-9-62-007
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