I ended up having to buy both machines as a job lot, one stereo and one mono. The SABC supposedly had 264 Studer A80R's with their own adaptions along with heaven alone knows how many other tape recorders in it's heyday, and these had either been sold off for small money or had been sent for scrap. Two track ¼ inch tape.Ī friend pointed me at a gentleman who was wanting to divest himself of two Studer A80R broadcast machines ex the SABC (our local government crippled radio and TV network). 7 ½ and 15 inches per second speed, although by moving a switch inside the machine can perform at 3 ¾ and 7 ½ ips. Tape handling is very gentle and a built in Locater function is quite useful. Plus it removes all worries about tape wear! The Otari, apart from the level controls for recording and playback, also has SRL buttons between the controls which overrides them and sets to a preset studio level. So far four of these modifications have been applied to other decks and without doubt make for a smoother running and quieter machine. The running area is bigger than the old rod type but that matters not as the rollers they feed onto are the actual guides. The back of the tape rubs on these which worried me so my always inventive technician made up a version which sports bearings. The only fly in the ointment were the two tape tensioners which, with age, had worn flat spots onto them. The Otari MX50 is a very advanced machine for it's time and beautifully built. This I put into a movable stand and again added a "Break Out plate". One of my friends persuaded me to get rid of the Otari MX5050 (it was well worn and became a donor machine) and donated a pristine and overhauled Otari MX50. By inexpensive I mean cheaper than an imported pre-recorded tape! Machines I am not mentioning price but they were all very inexpensive bar the last one. Below are the details of how I ended up with my Holy Grail. And if this can be done in South Africa, imagine how easy this would be in Europe, the UK or the US. This current article details how with a little bit of looking around I was able to find other decent machines without a whole lot of trouble. Of the decks I owned as shown in the previous article, only the Akai M9 remains, so as to play my many 4 track tapes. Another friend has around 12 decks, including a few Studers another, who is a connoisseur of all things Studer, a collection of note. To be precise he actually has two of the beasts, the other also 2" but with 16 tracks. One of them has over 15 different decks, ranging from a Studer A80 with meter bridge to the Otari MTR90 2" 24 track pictured above. I too had had a resurgence of interest and quickly found other audio types near me in South Africa that were just as nuts as I am. Little did I know when I wrote my original article, here, that I would be opening a new can of worms for myself. Reviewer: Chris Templer - TNT South Africa Products: Otari MX50, Otari MTR10, Studer A80R, Fostex E2 tape decks
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