Reel to Reel Stuff

I am listening to a recording of 'By the Time I get to Phoenix' by Glen Campbell, off of a 7" reel of tape with 4 tracks recorded at 3.75 inches per second. I am not much of a country music fan, but this recording sounds wonderful, even if it is from 1967, and so is what - 43 years old? That is a long time for a piece of plastic to retain a magnetic signal - at least it feels like a long time to me. I find it interesting that tape recordings do not seem to draw, even remotely, the number of fans that vinyl LPs have. It may be that the playback hardware is harder to maintain and more expensive on average. Not really sure. There are definite advantages to tape recordings - no need to worry about scratches and pops for example. The cover of the case of this particular recording proclaims in capital letters that this is a CAPITOL FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO. That was still a big deal back in 1967. But the point is, it sounds pretty darn good.

My player is a Pioneer RT-707, my second one. I could never get the first one to sound right. Now hat I have this one sounding right I am going through every recording I have and deciding what is worth spinning often. The Campbell tape is now on the reverse side, playing 'I'll be Lucky Someday'. I had to reverse the playback direction a few minutes ago. The ritual of playing tapes is not unlike playing vinyl in complexity (it could be argued it is easier): you have to work a bit to get the music to come out right. First you mount the reel, then thread the tape through all the right places to the take-up reel, and use your fingers to keep the tape end in place until it starts reeling and friction keeps the tape together. All that assumes that the heads are clean and demagnetized, if that is not so you have to take care of that first (a special tool demagnetizes the heads, using an electronic tool that vibrates as you approach the magnetized metal heads. The skilled operator - ideally sober - must "wand" the heads without actually touching them, slowly increasing the tip-head distance after floating above them for a few seconds). Press play and enjoy the music until the tape reaches the end - then reverse direction and listen to the other side. There is a lot to do compared to digital music. My sons think I am a bit koo koo (and they are probably right) for going to all his trouble to listen to music when I could so easily buy any song ever recorded from iTunes and have it ready to play in seconds. In my defense (and of all the vintage reel to reel geeks out there), you must understand that there is a particular sense of joy in getting a tape player back in working order and then using it to play tapes, and I do enjoy that process a lot. it is hard to explain. I like the mechanics of tape recording and playback, love the needles in the 'volume unit' meters dancing to the music, the reels spinning - it is hypnotic. So that is my post for today: I hope it sheds some light on why some of us obsess about these old machines.

The Spicas Rule

My first proper high-end speakers were a pair of Spica TC-60s. I loved those speakers and the way I procured them. ack then the web was only beginning (I am thinking 1994-1995). I was an early adopter, first of BBS services like Compuserve, then the early ISPs. I kept track of audio equipment for sale at a web site called "Audio Market Place" or similar - it was a bit like Audiogon, only it did not last. Anyway, someone posted an ad offering a "group buy" of Spica TC-60s. If 24 of us would agree to pool our funds and give these total stranger our money, he would negotiate with Spica and buy a batch on our behalf at a 20% discount (or roughly that). After exchanging emails with the guy - I had followed previous posts by him so he was not a complete stranger - I agreed to send him the money. As I recall I sent him a money order (all the more incredible - I would not do that today, but I was young and crazy), an eventually he got back to me and the others to declare he had the funds needed for the group buy. The cost: $400 a pair for the oak finish. He placed the order and kept us updated. Just waiting for these speakers was fun -as I researched their excellent reputation and hoped they would live up to it. For the most part, they did . The imaging of the TC-60s was on a different league compared to anything I had heard before. The sound pressure they put out was not enormous, but they made up for that in detail. They were also not the prettiest speakers in the world - too tall in my opinion for their wedge profile. The spousal acceptance factor was low. The sound was subtle, not in-your-face. If the electronics were decent, they would shine, and vice-versa. But I had a blast with them. If you run into a pair used, well worth the effort to grab them at a good price.