TandbergRay
06-01-2008, 05:58 AM
Hello Everyone,
My name is Ray. I have loved Reel to Reels since I wa a kid. I would go to fleamarkets, and try to buy any self amplified deck I could afford, which wasnt much. But it was such a fascination. I used to buy the little James Bond type R2R players, that took 3 inch reels, and batteries, had several...Craig, Webcor, Panasonic, etc.. Then for sonics, remember this was the 70's and I was a kid, grade school. I started to go after Large and Heavy Webcor, Wilcox-Gay, Sony..etc...I had several models from each of these manufacturers, and even more that I dont remember. Some worked, some didn't. So, I eventually learned to fix them. Most of these had Belts, and Pulleys, Idlers that just needed cleaning or replacing, which was fairly easy, and I had a Large Electronics Supply shop near me, kinda like MCM is on the Net. I started to see Akai, and LaFayette..some Pioneers, etc....but could never afford any till I wasout of my teen years, and these still werent the great decks by these companies. That didn't happen for me, till the 1980's. As of now, and experimenting with just about all of the most sought after decks out there....I have decided to settle on getting decks, that I would have completely restored to better than spec, as New. So, I found the best Tandberg Tech in this country, USA, and have two decks completely restored, aligned, and modified by him, they are the TD20A, and TD20A-SE machines...new heads, rubber, electronics, and all...Wow..these decks dont have all the bells and whistles of many Japanese decks, but the Sonics are to Die for. I have one of them set up as 1/2 track and the other set up as 1/4 track machine, both completey restored. Also, restored, I have an Akai GX-747-DBX Black Unit, and a restored TEAC X-2000R BLack Unit. These are all properly aligned, modified, etc....prior to these, I have had AKAI GX-636, GX-630DB, 1722W, and a GX-747 Silver Face with LED VU Meters....I have also owned several TEAC units, from the A series onwards...and once owned a Brand New Tascam 32-2 B, Pro Mastering Deck....But as Matt mentioned in a previous post, The deck used so much Tape, it operated at 15 and 30 ips speeds. And to be perfectly honest, no kidding at all, having the decks I mentioned properly set up, The Tandbergs even at 3.75 ips. rival the Tascam at 15 ips.....and the Tandbergs are 1/4 track. I am a totally Analog Guy, Have much invested in my Turntable...VPI TNT, also Audio Research SP-11 Preamp, I also use the VPI 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine, and LAST Archiving Treatment after a good cleaning, its a Vacuum cleaning system, excellent. I have a Nakamichi RX-505 Cassette deck, but again, been through the mill with these as well, got this one new, and kept it properly tuned and check with Nakamichi USA. I have ALON MODEL IV MK. 2 Speakers, these weigh in at 125 lbs. each, but rated very high, like Watt Puppies...Now honestly, I did most of this prior to having Kids, and being married, only a few items have been gotten, since kids arrived, except the full restorations of my R2R decks...such as the Tandbergs, TEAC and AKAI, the X-2000R and the GX-747-DBX are pretty amazing Japanese decks, I must say, even the sonics are excellent, almost matching Tandberg and Revox, both of which I owned and were favorites of mine sonically, I settled on Tandberg over Revox, so thats why i still have the 2 Tandberg units. But I have always liked what Matt has had to say in the AK Forum, and missed him alot there, so I was invited by Matt to join here, at Tapeheads, and I love this site, Great Job Matt!!!!!!!! You were always nothing but helpful and honest at AK, and the decision was Bull that they did. Im all for ya on this one, and wish all the luck with new site. Any help I can be of, just ask. You tell it like it is, like me, and thats what happens when your a straight shooter in life....Happens to me in all areas of my life..just for being honest and taking a stand for what you believe in. Unlike the AK storytellers....I paid the price for all of my equipment, no magic deals fell in my lap, and I have searched High and Low for years.....Talk to you all soon....Signing Out from AC New Jersey, TandbergRay
My name is Ray. I have loved Reel to Reels since I wa a kid. I would go to fleamarkets, and try to buy any self amplified deck I could afford, which wasnt much. But it was such a fascination. I used to buy the little James Bond type R2R players, that took 3 inch reels, and batteries, had several...Craig, Webcor, Panasonic, etc.. Then for sonics, remember this was the 70's and I was a kid, grade school. I started to go after Large and Heavy Webcor, Wilcox-Gay, Sony..etc...I had several models from each of these manufacturers, and even more that I dont remember. Some worked, some didn't. So, I eventually learned to fix them. Most of these had Belts, and Pulleys, Idlers that just needed cleaning or replacing, which was fairly easy, and I had a Large Electronics Supply shop near me, kinda like MCM is on the Net. I started to see Akai, and LaFayette..some Pioneers, etc....but could never afford any till I wasout of my teen years, and these still werent the great decks by these companies. That didn't happen for me, till the 1980's. As of now, and experimenting with just about all of the most sought after decks out there....I have decided to settle on getting decks, that I would have completely restored to better than spec, as New. So, I found the best Tandberg Tech in this country, USA, and have two decks completely restored, aligned, and modified by him, they are the TD20A, and TD20A-SE machines...new heads, rubber, electronics, and all...Wow..these decks dont have all the bells and whistles of many Japanese decks, but the Sonics are to Die for. I have one of them set up as 1/2 track and the other set up as 1/4 track machine, both completey restored. Also, restored, I have an Akai GX-747-DBX Black Unit, and a restored TEAC X-2000R BLack Unit. These are all properly aligned, modified, etc....prior to these, I have had AKAI GX-636, GX-630DB, 1722W, and a GX-747 Silver Face with LED VU Meters....I have also owned several TEAC units, from the A series onwards...and once owned a Brand New Tascam 32-2 B, Pro Mastering Deck....But as Matt mentioned in a previous post, The deck used so much Tape, it operated at 15 and 30 ips speeds. And to be perfectly honest, no kidding at all, having the decks I mentioned properly set up, The Tandbergs even at 3.75 ips. rival the Tascam at 15 ips.....and the Tandbergs are 1/4 track. I am a totally Analog Guy, Have much invested in my Turntable...VPI TNT, also Audio Research SP-11 Preamp, I also use the VPI 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine, and LAST Archiving Treatment after a good cleaning, its a Vacuum cleaning system, excellent. I have a Nakamichi RX-505 Cassette deck, but again, been through the mill with these as well, got this one new, and kept it properly tuned and check with Nakamichi USA. I have ALON MODEL IV MK. 2 Speakers, these weigh in at 125 lbs. each, but rated very high, like Watt Puppies...Now honestly, I did most of this prior to having Kids, and being married, only a few items have been gotten, since kids arrived, except the full restorations of my R2R decks...such as the Tandbergs, TEAC and AKAI, the X-2000R and the GX-747-DBX are pretty amazing Japanese decks, I must say, even the sonics are excellent, almost matching Tandberg and Revox, both of which I owned and were favorites of mine sonically, I settled on Tandberg over Revox, so thats why i still have the 2 Tandberg units. But I have always liked what Matt has had to say in the AK Forum, and missed him alot there, so I was invited by Matt to join here, at Tapeheads, and I love this site, Great Job Matt!!!!!!!! You were always nothing but helpful and honest at AK, and the decision was Bull that they did. Im all for ya on this one, and wish all the luck with new site. Any help I can be of, just ask. You tell it like it is, like me, and thats what happens when your a straight shooter in life....Happens to me in all areas of my life..just for being honest and taking a stand for what you believe in. Unlike the AK storytellers....I paid the price for all of my equipment, no magic deals fell in my lap, and I have searched High and Low for years.....Talk to you all soon....Signing Out from AC New Jersey, TandbergRay