Andrew
Generally !, there is a lot more detail but but this will give you the general idea
You want New 1/4" Tape, dont buy any second hand or NOS from ebay as most of it has sticky shed and costs just as much a new reel from the likes of Thomann
The only old tape that I have that is OK is the Maxell XL1 & UD
There is still plenty of new tape available, I did a thread here http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread....highlight=tape
I buy Pancakes which is a reel of tape without the alloy reel then I load it onto old alloy reels which I believe are better quality then the new ones available with the tape.
The RTM LPR-90 is one of my favourite tapes and is £35 for a 1100m 10.5" pancake
https://www.thomann.de/gb/rtm_lpr_90...ab_pancake.htm
R2R machines have a Record and playback Equalisation curve which is either NAB or IEC ( a bit like Vinyl RIAA) it doesent matter which one you use as long as you are recording and playing back in the same EQ
NAB is the American format and IEC is the European format
Some machines such as Studer, Tascam and Otari have switchable EQ
Like cassette decks you will always get the best out of your machine if its properly calibrated for the tape type you use
Most modern pre recorded tapes available now tend to use IEC standard
Tape speeds generally used is 3.75"IPS, 7.5"IPS, 15"IPS & 30"IPS
The lower the tape speed the longer you get out of the tape but the quality is not so good
3.75ips - is OK quality, generally used for speach but some people still use it for Audio and lots of old pre recorded tape at this speed generally 4 track
7.5ips - Good quality and adequate for many people, on good machines can sound superb and has a fulsome bass
15ips - Excellent quality and dynamic range with slightly leaner but tauter bass
30ips - Excellent quality and dynamic range mainly used in recording studios and not many machines support this speed
Most machines will have a choice of 2 speeds generally 3.75/7.5ips or 7.5/15ips some have all 4 speeds like my Studer A810 and the Technics RS1500 has 3 speeds 3.75,7.5,15 this machine also has 2 sets of tape heads and can record and playback in 2 track and can playback only in 4 track so a very versatile machine.
2 Track machines have only 2 tracks in the same direction so have a wider track width and slightly better dynamic range than a 4 track machine but have only half the play time of a 4 track machine
There are generally 2 types of 4 track machines
1 - Tape head has 4 tracks and can record individually on each track all in one direction, these are generally used by musicians for composing a sond with different instruments on each track then you get a complete song playing back all tracks together and example of this is the Teac 3440. Studio machines can have upto 24 tracks
2- A domestic 4 track machine works like a cassette deck where you can record and playback on tracks 1&3 or 2&4 some have auto reverse and some you have to thttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMVAmf95x5xI0nyOEcIHRrw/videos?view_as=subscriberurn both the tape reels over
The advantage of a 4 track machine is being able to get a lot of play time out of on tape
Here is a link to some of my machines
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMV..._as=subscriber
Alan
Last edited by 337alant; 10-08-2020 at 16:09.
Turntable - Garrard 401/Jelco 750L/Ortofon Kontrapunkt B, Pioneer PLC 590, Micro Sieki MA505 , Denon DL103R - DIY Paradise Phono stage - Reel 2 Reel Studer A810, Otari MX55,Tascam BR20, Revox A77, B77, PR99, TEAC X1000 & 3440, Digital HTPC / Young Dac - Preamp - DIY B4, 821, Power Amp's DIY Avondale NCC300 Mono Block, Speakers Wilmslow Kit Volt BM220.8 / Scanspeak D2905/9500