I just had to share the excitement

[graffias79]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share some awesome news. I almost can't sleep with anticipation: I am about to acquire my very first reel to reel deck! A friend of mine at work is willing to sell me his Roberts 770X with what he says is a large box of tapes. I am so excited, I just cannot wait to experiment with different recording settings and making a tape from my vinyl.

Is there anything I should look for when I first get it home? I plan on cleaning the heads of course. I hope it is ready to be used when I get it, otherwise I will try and restore it to working condition.

I'm going to have hundreds of questions lol

[Scorpion8]

Outstanding! I have two. Ya just gotta have one. Or two. Or ....

[Acoustic]

Great! Just looked it up and saw there is a tube and a solid state version of this recorder. And, for reason's I don't know, it's also known as an Akia M8. It's circa 1968 ish and sold for $399 new. Here's a link to some tech info: http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=94297f9d571acccef6ebb891acfbb61d

It's a less than 1mb PDF doc.

Yep.. clean the heads and the entire tape path including the pinch roller. Demag if you have one. See if the motors need lubrication... also the capstan and pinch roller.

Any ideas of what you want to use it for?

[Scorpion8]

An Akai M-8 was my first reel deck. Actually, it was my Dad's bought at the PX in Viet Nam back in those days. I took it to college, and was happy with it until I was seduced by my Akai GX-267D which is still with me to this day ...

[Acoustic]

So did your Akai M8 look like this?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2712024223_1c29f1df2b_o.jpg

I read in a few places that they are essentially the same machine. I'm wondering now if Akia bought Roberts or something like that back then.

[Scorpion8]

Yup. That was it!

[retrokeeper]

Hey SC8!!....is it allright to have.....say....14!!! Hope it's not bad for your health to have that many reel-to-reels...I guess it would be if they fell off a shelf and hit you...that would hurt!! Rob

[Scorpion8]

Hey SC8!!....is it allright to have.....say....14!!!

Rob, only if I have 15. :D Then it's okay if you have 14.....

[MacGyver]

my mother's hubby's VERY old grandpa has an AKAI RtoR in a spare bedroom that hasn't been used in heaven knows how long. i have been trying to get it from them...

[Scorpion8]

Just tell him you're going to give him a present and have it taken out to be serviced. It's just taking a loooooooooooong time to get serviced ......

[stuwee]

*yikes*;-!!*naughty**devil* Bad Boys

Congrat's on the Roberts!! I love the tube glow on the whatcha macallits (are those amps)??

[graffias79]

Thanks very much everyone, I have it now, and so far I love it!

Here is a picture:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/graffias79/r770x.jpg

I didn't realize that it only took 7" reels, but that is ok, I don't have any larger ones. I also acquired a box of about 40 reels. Some of them are from Columbia House in the 70s. I saw 3 dog night and Sonny and Cher, Johnny Cash, and a lot of home recorded reels. So far I have only found one made by Scotch that looks really bad. The others seem to be in fine shape. I cleaned the heads when I got it home.

The maxell one I loaded on for the picture was bought from the consignment shop here a while ago (in anticipation of getting a deck hehe). I recorded to it from my computer (I haven't found a place to put it yet, but the vinyl recordings are coming!) and it seems to play back beautifully. Both channels have the same volume and tonality, and the transport runs smooth as silk. The guy I bought it from said that it is modified to play 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 ips tapes.

Anyway just wanted to share my joy *reelspin* *Hi5*

[Manalog]

Gorgeous deck! Just beautiful.

An authentic slice of analog heaven! *reelspin**reelspin**reelspin*

[Jay Pemberton]

Looks beautiful!

One word of caution regarding recording on it--you will not want the meters to show an indication higher than -3 whilst recording. Trust me (a fellow 770X owner), even if the meters go just to '0' at some point that passage WILL be distorted, even on the hottest tapes made. And there is no internal meter calibration to change this.

Akai made the parts for Roberts in Japan, who assembled the machines here and sold them under that name. The Akai M8 is the tube version, the M9 is the solid state version. The M9's Roberts opposite number is the 770X-SS.

And another most important thing I caught, from that excellent photo--the 50 Hz/60 Hz selector on the mechanism, between the reels, needs to be IN, not out, for use in the US or wherever 60 Hz is standard. Right now, with it out, it will run approximately 20% fast. The machine's motor must be running when you attempt to change this to the correct setting, as this shifts the position of a drive belt inside.

This is accomplished with a flat blade screwdriver. With the motor running (it need not be in play mode or anything else), insert screwdriver into the slot. Rotate the screwdriver counterclockwise until it stops; then, while holding it in this position, press it inward as far as it will go into the mechanism, then turn it clockwise until it stops.

[Scorpion8]

I remember the side speakers with the lil' doors. Man, that deck was built like a T-34 tank! Solid. Good looking deck, great score, and you should be happy for a long, long time.

[ecir40]

I this one of the better decks to look far that have tube amps? Are there any tube amplified stereo decks that do 15ips?

[Jay Pemberton]

Roberts marketed a speed change kit, consisting of a large capstan sleeve and a smaller pinch roller, that would convert several of their machines, including the 770X, to 7 1/2--15 ips. However, as there was no change to either the record or playback equalisation, the results at 15 ips were disappointing, tending to be bright and somewhat thin sounding. The wow and flutter was rather significant as well.

[Acoustic]

Thanks very much everyone, I have it now, and so far I love it!

I didn't realize that it only took 7" reels, but that is ok, I don't have any larger ones. I also acquired a box of about 40 reels. Some of them are from Columbia House in the 70s. I saw 3 dog night and Sonny and Cher, Johnny Cash, and a lot of home recorded reels. So far I have only found one made by Scotch that looks really bad. The others seem to be in fine shape. I cleaned the heads when I got it home.

The maxell one I loaded on for the picture was bought from the consignment shop here a while ago (in anticipation of getting a deck hehe). I recorded to it from my computer (I haven't found a place to put it yet, but the vinyl recordings are coming!) and it seems to play back beautifully. Both channels have the same volume and tonality, and the transport runs smooth as silk. The guy I bought it from said that it is modified to play 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 ips tapes.

Anyway just wanted to share my joy *reelspin* *Hi5*
Great to hear... have fun with your new toy!! *Hi5* back at 'chya.


Akai made the parts for Roberts in Japan, who assembled the machines here and sold them under that name. The Akai M8 is the tube version, the M9 is the solid state version. The M9's Roberts opposite number is the 770X-SS.


Jay, Thanks for answering my question about Akai and Roberts. I was wondering what there relationship was.