BESt tape machine

[tonymite]

Best tape machine for 'sound" and maintanance ??

[Linear]

Posted by slipperman a couple of years ago on recpit. Question was 'favourite tape machine?'


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Studer 800Mk II - IV. Great rock and roll machines, handles tape well, good punching, really nice, defined sound.

Studer A820. Good sounding machine. Expensive new. Auto cal storage. Delux remote. Not as popular as the A827. Another ritzy machine that cost a bit less than the 820 new, sounds great and runs like a top. Probably the most common machine as far as the twilight of the 'Analog Age' went...

Studer A80 - Older than Satan. Sounds really good. Won't punch for shit. They got versions that are built narrow and high, they got versions that are built shorter and wide..... All of them take up more space than Bermuda.

MCI JH16/JH24 - An aquired taste sonically, lotsa low end, handle tape like a bear. Some older models are disrete electronic and sound EVEN better but start getting pretty primitive as far as the remotes, punching and tape handling goes. The 16x creme-top is one of the most slamming sounding rock drum and bass gtr. decks EVER. Right up there with the next 2 machines....

Stephens 24 - Best sounding 24x machine ever made. Hands F@#$ing down. Frightening sound. Can't punch for shit. Tiny little thing. Hilariously cool, but a total pain in the ass to maintain.

Ampex 1200 - Arguably the 2nd best sounding machine ever. A little clunky but workable... STAY AWAY from the M1100. Machine from Hell/Kiss of Death. M1000 = See description of Studer A80.

3M M56/M79 - Great sounding. Very FLAT. In a good way. OK tape handling and fair punching. Tough to keep running. Something about Vocals and bass gtrs on the 3M's is loved beyond compare.

Otari MX80. They run pretty well. Fair tape handling and punching. Not a fan of the sound personally. They sound very "16x 1" like" to my ears.... An inexpensive machine new. Small in actual machine size.

Otari MTR90. MkI is Satan. Run. MkII/III. Workhorse machines. Decent sounding, handle tape and punch OK. I always liked gtrs and hated drums on these machines. Go figure.

Sony APR-24. I hate these F@#$ing machines. Shitty little Japanese toys. Horrible metering, marginal tape handling, sound as bad as the MX80, maybe worse... IMNTLBFHO. Whatever. I was just talking to a guy 3-4 days ago who loves them.... WTF? Goes ta show ya....

There are many others.

Maybe Fletcher and T-rex will see this... Those guys have used everything ever made..

OK. I gotta flee.

SM.

[Howard Jones]

The APR-24 was designed & built in the USA. It handles tape superbly. I have maintained and rebuilt 5 or 6 of these machines.

[anj]

Im with howard, I own an apr 24 and the thing never misses a beat, amazing tape handling, built in presets for different tapes and speeds,, metering is good for led,the sound is not fat like an old ampex or mci16 more neuteral sounding but still fat analog 2" sounding. Oh yeah punching in is amazing as is the remote which also has a jog shuttle wheel.

[Martin]

love the descriptions! good honest opinions with minimal soul searching