I used to have a pair of Sony TC377s, but moved them on about 18 years ago in favour of digital recording and effects. (One I used mainly for loops and echo effects etc)
Better in my view at the time than the more common Akai (4000?) of the same era, howevernot as good as a Revox that I’d had a go with, but more affordable.
However I’ve never used for prerecorded music.
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Not too many are better than a Revox!
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I think Ampex was the best…Nagra is the second best
It’s the process of cleaning castings up after they’ve cooled. That’s the job of the Fettler, a person who fettles metal castings or pottery.
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A Tandberg machine beautifully finished with a great sound, long gone. It was a special treat to listen to Beethoven’s Ninth’s Symphony ( four LP sides) uninterrupted with a press of the PLAY button.
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That’s a very good point. Some people apparently enjoy the ritual of playing LPs, but for me it had a negative effect on my enjoyment of music to have these random interruptions, as well as pointing my backside at the performers as they played the opening bars as I scurried back to my seat. Reel to reel, like streaming, eliminates this issue. I even used to buy C120 cassettes occasionally for the same reason.
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pointing my backside at the performers as they played the opening bars as I scurried back to my seat. Reel to reel, like streaming, eliminates this issue.
TRU DAT!!!
Many thanks for bringing back great memories with the Fidelity photo. I’d pestered my parents to get me a tape recorder also when aged 12 in 1967 and the Fidelity Playmaster turned up. I suppose this was the first step on a long and enjoyable journey that led me to my first ‘hi fi’ system in the 70’s leading on to Naim today. I remember regularly taping the top 40 charts on the pirate radio stations around at the time, (Caroline , Radio London), also using the ‘crystal’ (?) microphone supplied. No idea where the deck went . I still have an Akai 4000ds and Sony 377 in the loft that followed on from the Fidelity, but they were pensioned off in the late '80’s with the arrival of CD and the fact that my tapes started shedding oxide when played. I’ve heard that you can fix this by baking them in the oven, but not sure if this is an urban myth.
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You can indeed bake tapes, but it’s a temporary fix at best and not always successful with the worst sticky-shed offenders (usually the more exotic Scotch and Ampex formulations). If you bake them then probably best to quickly transcribe onto something else.
The TC-377 is an excellent machine - simple, rugged, reliable, yet with great sound potential. Overall a better performer than the Akai, I reckon.
I had a lot recorded from the radio on Ampex 456 which started leaving oxide on the capstan roller, clogging the machine up and squeaking. I baked at 60 celsius for 4 hours and recorded to digital with audacity. Like Richard says it is only a temporary fix but is good enough to be able to transfer to another medium.
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I was drawned back to vintage HiFi gear and tapes some 6 years ago. So here are my two R2R - Pioneer RT-707 and Pioneer RT-909 (fully restored). It’s fun 
RT-909
RT-707
The whole vintage Pioneer system
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I love the blue reel on the RT-909, Ivo - very appropriate!
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IanS and Richard, many thanks for your replies and the ‘baking recipes’ . I may have to find a way to check that the kitchen oven actually delivers 60 Celsius as its temperature markings are a bit vague under 100 C. ( A pity I no longer have access to scientific laboratory ovens- guaranteed to deliver the specified temperature). Interestingly, as Richard remarks, I’ve also found that Ampex tape and Scotch are the biggest shedders with BASF and AGFA somewhat better but still bad enough to prevent regular playing. I look forward to transcribing them after baking, especially if I can recover various BBC radio live music sessions I recorded, which have never been released elsewhere.
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Indeed. Ex metallurgist here. The clay type lining of a mould or certain furnaces is the fettle. It sticks to the metal component when cooled and is then removed. Fettling then became the term for any dressing of a casting to remove surface protrusions, runners, risers etc after casting.
How it then became in general usage for a sound or strong component or even person (she’s in fine fettle), I don’t know. I suspect there is a link.
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My first, and only, r2r experience was from a Tandberg. It was enough to put me permanently on the pathway that we call hifi 
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There’s an Akai 202D-SS in episode 4 of Loki 24:43. Pretty.
I went to Uni in ‘72 with an Akai 4000DS. My neighbour in Hall (another Computer Scientist named Chris) had that Sony. His sounded better! Despite that we became good friends 
The 4000 is long gone……I’d love to get a vintage Revox.
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