Back in the day when cd first appeared I was one of its earliest devotees, mainly thanks to a tax rebate from HMRC! The argument for cd vs. vinyl has been well documented both here and in the press with both having their supporters and detractors but no one ever seems to pay much attention to the open reel tape.
My first encounter with this carrier was as a small child since my father had a Grundig machine which he took round the world with him as an officer in the navy. As I got older, I realised how much he must have liked music since this machine and it's tapes were very heavy! As I got older, so he would let me play with it and I was fascinated by the mechanics although I never did master the record button since I knew if I accidentally rubbed anything out it would merit a clout round the ear!
As I got older, I longed for one of my own but open reel had pretty much been superseded by the cassette tape. (I remember my father bringing the first SONY one home from Japan). Often, I would find one in a school cupboard only to be told it didn't work anymore and should probably go in the bin.
However, about 3 years ago Mrs. PG and I were in Peebles in the Scottish Borders and having parked the car noticed a SONY machine in a charity shop complete with a box of tapes. Price, £10. It was in the boot of the car faster than the human eye could see! The woman in the shop said it had been put in the window 10 minutes before so it was obviously meant to be.
It was in beautiful condition and, judging by the material on the tapes, had been used in conjunction with a slide projector. A year later, I took it to a little shop in Blackpool where a semi-retired guy serviced it and replaced the belts. It now sits on top of my hi-fi stack in pride of place and, although I don't use it often, it always sounds superb as well as pleasing the little boy in me that loves watching the reels go round.
We're off to the Queen's Hall just now to hear the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets so, upon my return, I'm going to transfer the iplayer relay onto mini-disc and open reel to see which one sounds best!
Open reel tapes are available on eBay and other sources although the rarer titles do go for high prices. The one title I play often is the Igor Oistrakh Tchaikovsky violin concerto which has never come out on cd despite anguished letters to the Gramophone.
Must go!
My first encounter with this carrier was as a small child since my father had a Grundig machine which he took round the world with him as an officer in the navy. As I got older, I realised how much he must have liked music since this machine and it's tapes were very heavy! As I got older, so he would let me play with it and I was fascinated by the mechanics although I never did master the record button since I knew if I accidentally rubbed anything out it would merit a clout round the ear!
As I got older, I longed for one of my own but open reel had pretty much been superseded by the cassette tape. (I remember my father bringing the first SONY one home from Japan). Often, I would find one in a school cupboard only to be told it didn't work anymore and should probably go in the bin.
However, about 3 years ago Mrs. PG and I were in Peebles in the Scottish Borders and having parked the car noticed a SONY machine in a charity shop complete with a box of tapes. Price, £10. It was in the boot of the car faster than the human eye could see! The woman in the shop said it had been put in the window 10 minutes before so it was obviously meant to be.
It was in beautiful condition and, judging by the material on the tapes, had been used in conjunction with a slide projector. A year later, I took it to a little shop in Blackpool where a semi-retired guy serviced it and replaced the belts. It now sits on top of my hi-fi stack in pride of place and, although I don't use it often, it always sounds superb as well as pleasing the little boy in me that loves watching the reels go round.
We're off to the Queen's Hall just now to hear the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets so, upon my return, I'm going to transfer the iplayer relay onto mini-disc and open reel to see which one sounds best!
Open reel tapes are available on eBay and other sources although the rarer titles do go for high prices. The one title I play often is the Igor Oistrakh Tchaikovsky violin concerto which has never come out on cd despite anguished letters to the Gramophone.
Must go!
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