Re: [ARSCLIST] Looking for a 1/4 track reel-to-reel

[Jeffrey Kane <jeffkane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FWIW, here's the original post with his phone number. No idea if it's valid
anymore. I plan on calling tomorrow to find out if he's got any available
and if he can still add a switch and a quarter-track playback head. With all
the money I've blown on consumer-level junk I could've bought one of these
already. Oh well, live and learn. Anybody want a Technics RS-1506 with a bit
of rust on the heads (oh but the Ebay seller said it was in excellent
condition of course)?

_________________________________________________________________

Here's a happy follow-up to Dietrich Schueller's
"Re: Studer A 807 - last orders" message of July 31, 2001
to the AV Media Matters list:

In talking to Sam Lum, Studer North America, about some A807 parts,
I learned that, due to popular demand, the A807 production line is
_not_ shutting down this summer as planned.  Studer will accept orders
for 200 additional A807 MKIIs in various configurations.

I inquired about Herr Schueller's desirable "archivist" configuration,
"replay-only version with a half-track plus a quarter-track head,
switchable".
Sam said he had a warehouse full of pre-owned A807-0.75 VUK (half-track
butterfly heads, meter bridge) play-only machines that he would
re-condition,
relap, and offer at _very_ reasonable prices.  He said he could easily add
quarter-track heads and switches. (Toll-free Canada/US: 866-269-0000).

Glad to be the bearer of good analog news,

Gary Sprung
Carmel, CA USA
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gary Sprung
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004 11:43 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Looking for a 1/4 track reel-to-reel

At 12:37 AM 9/23/04, you wrote:
>At 09:00 PM 9/22/2004 -1000, David Lewiston wrote:
>>My take on this thread:
>
>>2) A good second: Studer A80. Depending on your needs, it may also need a
>>JRF head block, which isn't exactly cheap (around $2k?) You may need to
have
>>a specialist change the motor to one which provides the playback speeds
you
>>need.
>
>I no longer have the information, but it may still be in the archives. A
>year or two ago, I bought through this list a used Studer A807 with the
>record head replaced by a quarter-track play head. It was reconditioned by
>Studer Canada; I had it sent through their Los Angeles office, so shipping
>was economical. For the deck itself, the price was $1K.
>
>I admit to being completely spoiled by its tape handling and have retired
>my other decks. Speeds 3.75-15 ips, continuously variable or by pushbutton.
>It has the small spindle so the usual adapter is needed.
>
>
>Mike
>--
>mrichter@xxxxxxx
>http://www.mrichter.com/

I understand that Sam Lum, of the former Studer-Canada office, still has
some
of the "archivist" models of the Studer A807 outfitted as Mike Richter
described.
Stanford University bought 2 units from him and were pleased enough with
them
to buy another. I don't have Sam's contact information, but I forwarded this
request for sources to his friend Edouard (filmco@xxxxxxxxxxxx), who will
contact Sam. A807 production ceased only recently, and Studer promises 10
years
of parts support on this product, which needs no belts.

The older Studer A810 is also worthy of consideration by archivists for its
gentle
tape handling, easy reconfiguration, 4 fixed speeds, and wide variable
speed range.
I'm sure Richard Hess would sing its praises if you gave him a chance (or
even half).

Whatever you decide, be sure to budget for a service manual, to give
whomever is
charged with maintaining your machine(s) a fighting chance!

Gary