Roberts 770 Open Reel Recorder

[garww]

Heavy
semi-reliable from age
opinionated

Much like me. I had ordered the belt as soon as I made the eBay transaction. It was needed and came a day after the deck.

I couldn't get channel two to fire-up, but I tested mono recording with my Tascam dynamic. It sounded pretty good on everything but the washboard.

Today, entering a second round of testing after a couple months of other projects, I got channel two. Before, I was fairly impressed with the single 6w tube amp and preamp. I just went through some pre-recoded at 3 3/4 and and I'm now listening to Bach at 7 1/2 on the built-in stereo 2x4" speakers. They sound pretty good. They have those hinged flap doors to reflect the sound forward. It is loud at Volume 5 and Tone at under 7. You could field mix with it's decent bass "representation".

There is no headphone jack - just outs for L&R head, and for preamp sections. Head out is almost unusable. Pre out matches my gear fairly well. Each channel has 1/4" MIC and 1/4" phono/radio in. There are SIX 1/4" speaker outs ??

The tubes ****-up quickly as there is only the exhaust fan at the upper back end - no venting. 6267(EF86), 12ad7, 68q5, 6ar5, 6x4 tubes.

Basically you only get 50-15k +/-2db at 7 1/5ips and I don't have the capstan adapter for high speed.

It's 48 pounds with the heavy duty door cover, and it has a nice effect on music. What struck me first with the built-in speakers was the bass on 30 year old tapes. Those who know tube amps will recognize it. I auditioned some good electric bass players on the first Iron Butterfly and Cream recordings - the first Country Joe, too (one song called Bass Strings).

Is this gear an alternative ? Of course not ! It's hobbyist gear. I discovered some home recording(dub) of some orchestral synth just last week - maybe a Crumar type. It's a good match.

Ok, lets see if I can finagle a powered MIC from the Tascam using direct out. Seems I'm getting flutter.

Well, it's not pretty. But, using this new (but voice grade) tape shows some promise. I assume most of the flutter is from the heads.

Do not try this at home !! I had a friend who got his hair caught in the transport and it almost took his ear off : )