garymd Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 A friend sent me a text asking if I wanted one...I'm guessing he's cleaning out his parents or in-laws basement or something. Looks clean in the pictures he sent but he doesn't know if it works. I've never owned a RTR in my life. Is this worth the trouble assuming it works? All it'll cost me is a lunch. I don't know any more than what I just told you except it's a 4-channel unit with auto-reverse. Any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 completed listings on the bay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=teac&_sop=3&_osacat=0&_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=teac+2340+R&_sacat=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 Thanks. Looks like a couple hundred bucks if it works. I suppose it's worth a lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Gary, I have a 3340S, the one that will take the 10.5 inch reels. They are great decks. It will be heavier than you think. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 I would give it a shot... The auto-reverse feature is very desirable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 I'm most concerned/curious about how it will sound. The last thing I need is another costly audio experiment. I do have friends with tapes so I guess I be borrowing reels before spending any money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 I do have friends with tapesI have quite a few pre-recorded 7.5 ips RTR tapes as you probably know, and you're more than welcome to borrow however many you want. In pre-recorded tapes, there's an extra purity to the sound IMO, at the expense of a certain amount of tape hiss that your quietist LPs won't have. (Some pre-recorded tapes will also have a bit of audible reverse-channel print-through.) Music you record will usually have a refreshingly greater body in the bass and lower middle range. You can record and play both sides of an LP without having to "turn over" the tape part-way through. You'd have to wrestle with what would be useful to record and play back. One question is whether you can find a desirable stock of used pre-recorded tapes on Ebay for a playback library. Tapes take a lot more shelf space than LPs. Note that very few pre-recorded tapes were recorded with Dolby noise reduction. Your deck would have to have Dolby to make Dolby tape playback sound acceptable. For some reason, my extraordinary Revox A-77, which doesn't have Dolby, never seemed to need ti for relatively quiet recording or non-Dolby playback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Thanks Larry. You were the first person I thought of when I mentioned having friends with tapes. I appreciate the offer and will certainly take you up on it assuming the player is in working condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Double. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Its definately worth a lunch! I have a couple of Reel to reel decks that quite honestly do not get a lot of use. They sound incredible. Let me know if you end up getting it and I'll send you some pre recorded tapes that i picked up recently at a garage sale. There are a few decent titles. I keep mine mostly for live recordings that I made years ago. Some of my own band and some of live performances that friends and I made sneaking in a recorder at the Fillmore and another local venue, Friends and Relations Hall. I have some pretty good live Dead and Youngbloods recordings from that time and if I didnt have the reel to reel I wouldnt be able to listen to them. Hope all is well Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Thanks Josh! I'll let you know what happens. Hope all is well with you too. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 soooo, could us digital guys record a FLAC album to tape to obtain some "vintage fidelity" in our modern recordings? Or is that like taking a low bit rate mp3 and trying to transcode it into a lossless format? My knowledge of RTR is limited to the scene in Pulp Fiction... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 soooo, could us digital guys record a FLAC album to tape to obtain some "vintage fidelity" in our modern recordings?I'll say this very softly, Yes this can be done. I have found that often times the "tape" recording sounds better than the original... Opps, there I said it, the digital patrol guys will be coming for me... lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I keep mine mostly for live recordings that I made years ago. Some of my own band and some of live performances that friends and I made sneaking in a recorder at the Fillmore and another local venue, Friends and Relations Hall. I have some pretty good live Dead and Youngbloods recordings from that time and if I didnt have the reel to reel I wouldnt be able to listen to them. Ditto on the reason I have kept mine. Live recordings I made of some friends. I heard a bootleg of a Van Morrison concert once. Cables run from the mix console through the wall into a building/room next door to the Fillmore. Incredible dynamics! Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I have found that often times the "tape" recording sounds better than the original... Opps, there I said it, the digital patrol guys will be coming for me... lol... As a confirmed and out of the closet bi-aural, I find the inverse to be equally true regardless of the logic. I have done high resolution digital transfers from my vintage tapes and pre-recorded and they maintain that sweet sound. I'm done trying to make sense of such things, and just go with it... Seems like one of the audiophile companies, perhaps Mapleshade, masters on analog R2R and digitizes, so I am not the only one with this delusion. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Morbius Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Yea, you might as well get the Teac, they are well made and have a cool factor too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 Picked up the RTR last week and I'm just getting around to posting. This thing weighs a ton! No power cord although I see what I need to buy and I'm guessing a trip to Home Depot should do the trick. I'll probably invite my old pal Larry to come over and show me what all the buttons, controls and other gizmos do and maybe even give it a test drive. It even has the original plastic cover. Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. You can be sure I'll be posting again once I actually hear it play and I hope to be accepting pre-recorded donations at that time [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Cool! If it has the four switches on the head assembly cover for simul-sync, they will probably need to be cleaned with some de-oxit. They are slide switches, that can drop out (as well as some of the other switches. Yea, they weigh a LOT. My 3340S comes in right at 50 pounds. Bruce EDIT: Just realized it's the 2340R, which has reverse. You'll still need to keep an eye on the tape monitor switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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