How important is the record feature to you(on your r2r)? Do you really use it at all?

[Miyagi]

I am trying to decide between modding my Otari mx5050 BII-2 or getting an MCI (MaraMachines) JH110 1/4" -2 trk from Chris Mara....

I really love the 'look' and 'feel' of the pro, variable profile, JH110..... I think I could live happily with the machine if it had the sound quality of his Hifi Edition and the cabinet/foot print of the studio edition..... and perhaps a cost savings from not needing the record head on the JH-110.

I know the resale value would be lower without the record function, but by the time I sell it, who knows what it would sell for.

How short sighted is it to get an r2r to play prerecorded tapes and not have the ability to record my drops?

Operationally, does the pro deck perform better than the Otari? Is it easier on the tape? If I added the FM reproduce head and stuck with the JH110's electronics, would I get enough performance to justify playing Tape Project (and similar) tapes. How necessary are outboard electronics compared to the rebuilt Mara Edition?

I know Chris could answer these questions, but Im trying to not be one of those potential customers who wears out his welcome by asking a million questions..... half kidding.

Please understand, I'm Mets, Jets and Knicks fan....... so I'm all messed up

[don]

WOW ! you like the Jet's, Met's and Knick's all at the same time. Yes! you are messed up

I like the record function on my MK 11 I have recorded some vinyl and digital as a test, I find that the digital sounds nicer on tape, (not so harsh) The vinyl does not sound better but is certainly worth the effort for the convenience that is attained.

Sometimes it is a pleasure to put in a tape of some my favorite CD, or Vinyl and have over an hour of music w/o having to get up.

[MylesBAstor]

Any bets on who will win a championship first? 😠

[don]

I will short bet that all three never win again.

[MylesBAstor]

Why I am a Yankees, Giants and Rangers fan! Not sure though who is the worst team in NY? Knicks or Nets?

[TommyTunes]

I have a similar problem. I've modded my Otari 5050 BII, installed flux magnetic heads for both 2 and 4 track, direct output for a Tube Repro etc. While it sounds great, I hate the way it looks. I recently acquired a Revox PR99 which has just been fully restored by JM Technical Arts, which sounds wonderful BUT it only plays and records half track and is only IEC.

I've spoken with UHA however their decks can't have 2 and 4 track playback along with being able to record. I've looked at the Mara decks but I don't like the way they look, to me they are too industrial looking.

Since I do recording, I can't give up that feature. I'm now looking at some of the Studers but haven't yet to begun to investigate if I can have all the options in one machine.

Lastly I have a mint Teac X-2000M which checks all the right boxes, record and play 2 track, plays 4 track, IEC and NAB and looks great but unfortunately the sound doesn't match the looks.

[Skylab]

If i were to have only one deck, it would need to be able to record. I do like recording tapes.

There are a few decks aside from the Otari that will play both 1/2 track and 1/4 track tapes, like the Tascam 3030. Or of course you could decide having more than one deck is Ok

Lsstly,almost ANY decent 1/2-track 15 ips capable deck will be "worthy" of playing Tape Project (and the like) tapes, including your Otari. I wouldn't worry about that.

[[email protected]]

I have recorded MQA Masters off tidal streaming for my personal use and have made a few "mix tapes" which has been fun. I recommend a record head.

[MylesBAstor]

I am trying to decide between modding my Otari mx5050 BII-2 or getting an MCI (MaraMachines) JH110 1/4" -2 trk from Chris Mara....

I really love the 'look' and 'feel' of the pro, variable profile, JH110..... I think I could live happily with the machine if it had the sound quality of his Hifi Edition and the cabinet/foot print of the studio edition..... and perhaps a cost savings from not needing the record head on the JH-110.

I know the resale value would be lower without the record function, but by the time I sell it, who knows what it would sell for.

How short sighted is it to get an r2r to play prerecorded tapes and not have the ability to record my drops?

Operationally, does the pro deck perform better than the Otari? Is it easier on the tape? If I added the FM reproduce head and stuck with the JH110's electronics, would I get enough performance to justify playing Tape Project (and similar) tapes. How necessary are outboard electronics compared to the rebuilt Mara Edition?

I know Chris could answer these questions, but Im trying to not be one of those potential customers who wears out his welcome by asking a million questions..... half kidding.

Please understand, I'm Mets, Jets and Knicks fan....... so I'm all messed up

What are you thinking of recording? Live music? LPs? CDs?

[Miyagi]

Myles:

Well, I'm not planning on recording much of anything, but I wouldn't want to get it without the record option, if I later found out leaving off the record head was a big mistake.... if I was going to record anything, it would probably be CDs or DSD to tape.

And the only reason I see myself possibly recording digital to tape, is the lack of software and the cost of the software which IS available.

Most people think we are nuts! And if they knew we spent 5, 10, 20k or more on decks with no software or titles that cost $450-600, well that would justify their opinion of our insanity.

I also realize if we bypass the electronics in the deck, then we lose the ability to monitor the recording, right? I know my gear does not have a tape loop.

the more I learn about this reel 2 reel idea, the more complications I find.

But, I WANT ONE!!!!! lol

[astrotoy]

The first* 15ips 2 track machine (a Bottlehead modified Technics 1500 series R2R) bypassed all the electronics, including replacing the record and erase heads with dummy heads and fed the outputs directly to the external Bottlehead tape prepro. It also had both 2track and 4track stereo playback heads which could be enabled with a flip of the switch. I really didn't find any need to do any recording. Later I got a second machine, an Otari MX5050 BIII which was in great shape and could record 2track and playback both 2 track and 4 track stereo at 15ips and 7.5ips. However, the playback electronics were not as good as Bottlehead. The record electronics were quite decent and I did some dubbing of tapes, particularly prerecorded tapes that were suffering from sticky shed, which I baked and then copied one time and then junked. Mostly I didn't need to actually record, since I had invested in a high quality ADAC and related system to do digital ripping of records and tapes. No live recording, however.

*My first real 15ips 2 track machine was a generous gift from one of the AN regulars (mep) who literally gave me an old Ampex ATR-700 which provided me with my introduction to tape nirvana. I then saved up enough to upgrade to the Bottlehead. So a public thanks to Mark for his thoughtfulness and generousity.

Larry

PS. I've moved on to more craziness in R2R which includes being able to record and play at 1/4 and 1/2 inch!

[Miyagi]

So Larry

Upgrading a pro machine with FM heads and bottle head is significantly better than upgrading and Otari with FM heads and bottle head?

I love the idea of the pro transport but not sure if the extra cost is worth it (I mean, you can't beat 'free').... yours was free.... not a bad gift