Let's Talk About Reel-To-Reel Decks...

I know this is a painful subject for the more modern amongst us, but feel free to step aside and let the old fogies go at it for a little while.

It is going to be a year or more before I can begin tilting at windmills in earnest, and in the meantime I’d like to do some experimenting and reminding myself of these techniques. While I know how to edit tape, make drum loops from tape, make “real” tape delay, all that jazz, it has been some years since I have exercised those particular muscles. While I already know what decks I’m getting for the Windmill (Otari MTR-10 with stereo 1/4” headstacks) I don’t have the room in what will be my current space for those beasties, and I just want to have some fun.

So, in shopping about for smaller decks that might have the features that are necessary for What We Do, I landed on the Pioneer RT-701 as a possible candidate. These are readily available (there are several on eBay, and one on PHX Craigslist), reasonably priced, and appear to have the features we need in a very convenient form factor for the ultra-small studio I’ll have for the next year. I have never seen one of these in real life, however, let alone used one.

My concern comes from the fact that these are direct drive. Nominally, in a situation where you’d be making tape loops and such-like, the pinch roller pulls the tape off the supply reel, and the take-up reel just has tension on it to ensure it, well, takes it up. So when you don’t have a take-up reel (like when you’re running tape loops) the device still operates correctly.

So, basically, can any AI readers verify that these will operate in the correct manner? That’s the question. If not, suggestions as to another small form-factor (Gods forbid, even portable, aside from the too-spendy Nagra IV-S and its ilk) R2R that will fill the bill.

EDIT: It appears that deck does not have a cue mode, which makes it essentially useless for our needs. Back to the drawing board.