[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [ARSCLIST] help in fair pricing of reel to reel machines
Hi Phillip:
We've discussed this topic at length on the Ampex list. The conclusion is, pack like it will have to
pass through a rebel army and it MIGHT get there OK. Insure to full market value and then some. Take
pix of your packaging so they can't claim you mis-packed it. Sometimes, things work out perfectly,
other times not so much. It's the nature of the beast.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "phillip holmes" <insuranceman@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:12 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] help in fair pricing of reel to reel machines
This guy only live 40 miles from me. The reason I asked about shipping is if I sell one, I'd like
for it to get there in one piece.
Phillip
Richard L. Hess wrote:
Hello, Bruce,
Of course, condition drives price...and with these machines it's more than just head condition.
I sold four Otari MTR-10/12s (including two 4-channel 1/2" ones) for an APR-5003v and $500 and
was happy they were gone (sorry, Bruce, but we all have our pet machines).
Speaking of pet machines, mine are the Sony APR-5000 and the Studer A810 -- I'm sure that I would
love a Studer A820 but, for me, being able to have a deep stock of otherwise unobtanium parts is
more important than the small increase in enjoyment (and probably not sound quality) offered by
the A820 (others will disagree, I'm sure).
For pristine APR-5003v's, I've paid up to $500 plus shipping. But they better be working and
pristine. Things to look for, are these APR5001 (mono) APR4002 (stereo) APR5003 (timecode)
APR5003v (timecode plus)?
Take one of the large idlers apart (it should just unscrew). Is there a cup and a 1/2" roller? If
not, it's a very old machine and I would probably pay $100-200 at the most depending on head
configuration. Steel instead of ceramic tape lifters would also put it into this category. I'd
pay little for a mono machine (they were at least listed in the catalog) but the good news is you
can probably convert it to stereo and it MIGHT have seen less transport wear. The best deals are
the APR-5003 or especially the APR-5003v that saw life sitting in a video post room that was
there 'cause you had to have one but it never saw any real use.
There are three NAB head blocks, two with brass-coloured Woelke R/P heads, one of those has four
heads and is off the 5003-series as it does centre-track timecode. The third type uses Applied
Magnetics wideface heads which approach the Studer heads in low frequency bump performance.
Beware of wear and previous relappings, however.
The Studer A807 is widely used in archives, but while it is improved over the A810 in some areas,
it doesn't offer the alignment flexibility of the A810 and I think the A810's symmetric transport
may be equal to or superior to the A807's, but the DC motors in the A807 may be a bit gentler and
the shuttle control is a real plus. I use an A807 with CBC stereo monitor bridge for tape prep
(with a 4-track Nortronics head and switching that lets me assign the four channels to either of
the two electronics channels. These go for $500 and up in good condition, especially if they
record (there are a lot of PB only A807s out there). My best A807 and my two best A810s came from
the TV studio scenario described above.
Later MCIs (-C version?) use the same Woelke heads as the APRs so that might be a reason to get
it, but otherwise with the other machines available, I can't see a reason to take one and
maintain it.
The Ampexes are workhorses and Tom Fine told you the truth about the tube electronics on the
350/351, but it may also be a transistorized AG-350. The transistorized machines don't sell for
all that much (generally well under $500 and often in the $200 range). If I were not well endowed
with spares for the complex APR and A810 and A807 machines that I had, and I were interested in
machines that can be repaired forever using common tools and techniques, the Ampexes would be my
first choice. These are generally not constant tension devices and have been reported to produce
in some instances speed variations between start and end of a reel, although others contest this
fact.
The electronic alignment of the APR and the A807 (although the latter is more limited) is very
nice IMHO. All the others have screwdriver tweaks.
How far away from you does this guy live? How far away from me <smile> (I never say no to more
pristine APR-5003 or APR-5003v machines)? Send me digipix off list and I'll comment more.
Cheers,
Richard