analogue tape

This episode is part 2 of our two-part look at (Sony) MCI  tape machines - I am told, by those with minds immeasurably superior to mine, that there is no difference between those machines badged with the Sony or MCI logo. 

We talk to Graham Nystrom of Rope Room Studio based in Astoria, Oregon (www.roomstudio.com). He has an MCI  JH-24, or nearly one, because as you will hear, it’s a both a work in progress and a labour of love to get his machine up back up and running. 

Our next webianr on an aspect of reel-to-reel ownership is on the 31st July 2021. It's about the stuff no reel-to-reel can do without: Tape. The What, Why and How of tape to be exact. 

We’ll have a Q & A too, so you can ask your questions and I’ll do my worst at answering them. You can send them to me in advance if you to resiliencewebinars@gmail.com 

Booking on our webinars is easy just go to www.eventbrite.co.uk and search for reeltoreel or openreel and that should find it. 

https://roperoomstudio.com/

This episode, and the next one, of the Press Play > podcast is all about MCI tape recorders. I put the word out on the Facebook groups that I wanted to talk MCI tape machines and studio owners Thomas Yearsley and Graham Nystrom replied they would be happy to hook up. 

Both Graham and Thomas are great speakers and passionate about their MCIs so, with so much material, only two episodes could do the subject  justice.  

This episode sees me in conversation with Thomas, owner of Thunderbird Analogue Studios in Oceanside, California about his music, studios and, of course, his MCI machines.

https://www.facebook.com/ThunderbirdAnalog/
https://www.instagram.com/thunderbirdanalog/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbH2U51xP1M

In this episode we introduce the fourth new reel-to-reel machine to arrive on the market. Thorens show their confidence in the resurgence of reel-to-reel by the launch of the TM1600 player. Gunter  Kürten, CEO of Thorens, talks about why he wanted the Thorens name on a reel-to-reel , who the machine is aimed at, why it costs what it does and, the question most asked, why a player only.

https://www.thorens.com/en/thorens-news-infos/231-high-end-2019-thorens-tm-1600-%E2%80%93-high-end-tape-machine.html

Andrew Morton runs the website Parlogram Auctions. A site specialising in the sale of rare and collectable Beatles memorabilia.  An Englishman living in Austria, Andrew has an encyclopaedic knowledge of anything Beatles and has made a personal collection of all the studio albums of The Beatles that were released on open-reel tape. In this episode we discuss not only those tape-based albums, but also the band's use of tape in the studio as a creative tool.

In conversation with Stuart Blacklock on buying an entry-level reel-to-reel machine. Stuart has been a guest on Press Play before, and it's with good reason we welcome him back. He is a man with a wealth of reel-to-reel experience and, as you’ll hear, a tape machine collection to match. We discuss machines to consider buying when first getting into the reel-to-reel format: What's affordable. What to look out for. Pros and cons. What it will cost. Also in this podcast is exciting news of a webinar Iain Betson of Reel Resilience will be running in late January 2021 on how to line-up your open-reel recorder. 

Kostas Metaxas of Metaxas & Sins: This episode is part 2 of our two-part chat with Kostas Metaxas of Metaxas & Sins. We’ll hear about the TRX recorder, move onto discuss the new limited-edition product Papillon 15 and then about his beautiful pens. We will also hear, straight from the designers mouth, the answer to the question so many ask when they see the these new recorders: How much are they?

Kostas Metaxas of Metaxas & Sins: Despite the resurgence of the tape format, few people, or companies, have created a new tape-recorder. Kostas has not just done this once, but twice. First with the TRX recorder, positioned as a replacement for Nagra and Stellavox field recorders, and later with the Papillion 15, a studio based, or high-end audiophile, product. In part 1 of this two-part podcast Kostas takes us through his early years in hi-end hi-fi and music recording, to the story of how the TRX, and recently the Papillon, came about.

Tape heads: It all stops with a head when the audio is recorded on to the tape and starts with it on replay. Fortunately magnetic heads for audio recording are still manufactured by at least three companies across the World. Press Play > talks to two of them. In part 2, of this two-part podcast, we talk to Federica Galantino and Andrea Babuto, of Photovox Technology of Italy https://www.photovoxtech.it/. We talk head re-lapping, toll machines on subways and why cassette deck owners should be worried.

Tape heads: It all stops with a head when the audio is recorded on to the tape and starts with it on replay. Fortunately magnetic heads for audio recording are still manufactured by at least three companies across the World. Press Play > talks to two of them. In part 1, of this two-part podcast, to Peter Van Rompay, of AM Beligium http://www.ambelgium.be/en and in part 2, to Federica Galantino and Andrea Babuto, of Photovox Technology of Italy https://www.photovoxtech.it/. We talk head re-lapping, butterfly heads and toll machines on subways and roads. 

This episode of Press Play> very much deals with the visual, which may seems strange considering open-reel is a sound format, but pretty much since the visual media started, tape machines have made an appearance. Asthetically they have just got it – those big reels turning, the meters moving, the lights flashing.  The guest interview this episode is a person who addresses the visual image of the tape recorder: John Farrar runs Righteous Reels based in Dalton, Pennsylvania https://www.righteousreels.com/ where he produces a range of, well, simply awesome aluminium reels for tape machines. You can find the links to the Youtube videos mentioned in the podcast on the reelresilience blog https://www.reelresilience.co.uk/post/righteous-reels

It may seem crazy, but Steve Fensome took a working, and hard to find, Studer A810 MPU board and dismantled it. But it was all in the name of tape machine progress, because, as a result, he is now producing new MPU boards for the A810 and A812 models. https://studer-mpu-boards.com/ Listen to our conversation as he tells us why, and how, he did it and about an Aladdins cave of tape machines he found in Manchester, England. 

We welcome back past contributor Oleg Netchaev, of Open Reel-to-Reel (facebook.com/openreel2reel), to talk about the large range, and wide genre, of pre-recorded tapes he now distributes, and to the owner of one of those companies producing them: Polish jazz musician Adam Czerwinski of AC Records. (www.acrecords.pl)

The Bristol Hi-Fi show is one of the three big hi-fi shows in the UK each year. In spite of 30 years in the professional audio sector, this is Iain Betson's first visit to a consumer audio show. He went there in search of tape, be it open-reel or cassette. Although he found little in evidence, what he did find was a great deal of enthusiasm for the format and optimism that it's use is about to lift off greatly very soon. He also found that lacing and playing a tape is like making a cup of tea....listen on.

Open-reel or cassette, a tape recorder needs tape to work. Currently there are only two companies making new tape: ATR Magnetics in the US (www.atrtape.com) and Recording The Masters, or RTM, based in France (www.recordingthemasters.com). In this podcast we talk to Bette Spitz, owner of ATR and Theo Gardin, Sales Manager of RTM about their respective company ethos, the products they produce and why they love analogue audio.

In this episode our conversation is with Olog Netchaev, of Open Reel-to-Reel and UK distributor of STS Analog's range of pre-recorded quarter-inch tapes, about how the market for such tapes has naturally grown alongside the increase in interest in reel-to-reel. Oleg also tell us of how he thinks new-comers to open-reel can be helped to increase their understanding, and thus enjoyment of the format.

We talk to Stuart Blacklock, well-known on the tape-recorder Facebook groups, about his staggering collection of tape-recorders. His passion for certain models and manufacturers and his desire to have a museum dedicated to tape. Plus we talk azimuth: What it is and why it's important to get right.

Press Play from Reel Resilience is the podcast dedicated to all things tape and tape recorder. From cassette to open-reel and CrO2 to SM911. Each month we'll have an interview guest, tips on tape and tape machines plus what Reel Resilience is up to. This is Episode 1, an introduction Iain Betson, the face behind Reel Resilience: His professional background and his take on the resurgence of the analogue tape format.