Finally nabbed a reel to reel prerecorded Fillmore East. They come up once in a while on ebay. They certainly didn't make a ton of them. The cool thing is it is 7 1/2" per second recording which has the best sound. 3 3/4" is the more common release speed in general, I guess the record companies were penny pinching with using less tape, but that speed is actually not as nice as a good vinyl. But Capricorn did Fillmore in 7 1/2, which is very nice, sonic range of a good vinyl with no vinyl noise and such.
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What a find bird72. Tears ago I had the Sgt.Peppers tape. Don't quite remember what happened to it though.
Pretty cool.
Whipping Post
C. Allman ?
Whipping Post
C. Allman ?
Good Eye! That is "Curly" Allman the little known wayward Brother. (I never would have noticed the C)
As a fellow audiophile I would say, there would be nothing cooler than inviting your friends over for a couple of beers and listen to LAFE on a reel to reel. Very nice pick up.
The concern I would have is what condition is the tape in? old tapes from the 70's can have several issues due to age where they shed the magnetic base material the music is stored on. In some cases "baking" the tape can help this. Have you checked the tapes before playing thme or if you played them any issues with shedding?
http://www.sonicraft.com/Tape_Baking.html
That is awesome! Looks like it is in amazing condition also. Tape is a funny thing but if stored properly, it can last a long time. Bet it sounds great.
But CDs crap out over time also.
Yes I have read up on the bad tape issues. It does as Mule said tie into how stored. Unfortunately what started this concern was tape stored in basements and attics and garages. You are lucky to have much of anything left. Heat and humidity are the enemies. I was concerned when I got back into reel to reel. You have to buy old tape unless you go expensive European new at big dollars (60 a reel a few years ago when I checked). But I have been lucky, all old blank tape I have bought (buy Maxell) is great. And I now have a whopping three pre-recorded ones and all sound fine. This Fillmore sounds exceptionally well. The depth and midrange stuff is stunning really. It was loved and kept well it seems. See Duane section thread for some on other tape I have stumbled across. All old soundboard and pre-FM stuff from all an interesting source and all on old tape. It sounds amazing also. So I just don't know...... I have been advised bake tape and honestly I don't think I should mess with what seems great. I have seen bad tape..... it is dry looking and warped curly looking, not flat....... I am no expert. this stuff is so hard to find I just go with lady luck. As a teaser, I have three reels of Little Feat 75 I have not played yet so, hope the luck continues.
The other clue is my rollers on the machine, I am due to alcohol clean, but they look pretty good still after many many plays.... they get a brown path when real dirty.....
I'ld be interested in the Little Feat 75
I wouldn't mess with it either. If it has maintained all this time with care it will last much longer.
Tony would have cried to see how much tape we dumped in radio. Expensive tape filling dumpsters.
MuleMan, were you involved with any FM concert FM broadcasts either live or delayed from tape source? Some of what I have found is "Pre FM" meaning FM broadcast of concerts (as they did at times back in the day) and the tape is a copy of the feed pre broadcast (sound person made copy on the side or kept tape given to use)......................
Tony - you would cry at some of the stuff that I saw hit the bulk eraser over the years. Tons of club shows and in radio studio stuff plus all the syndicated stuff back then was sent on reel. Classic stuff that is gone forever. I have a box full of stuff that I grabbed over the years but much of it is blank as I intended on recording but then with each new format....well that became less likely. Much like my goal of transferring tons of vinyl to CD. Or converting the hundreds of hours that appeared by miracle somehow from Napster at my house. 😛
