Author Topic: 7.5" legacy reels  (Read 19412 times)

Offline ozmillsy

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7.5" legacy reels
« on: December 21, 2013, 05:45:06 PM »
I hear it time and again that old 7.5" reels are not worth wasting our money on.     They're not prohibitively expensive, but the postage costs do drive up the bottom line for us located down under - because the vast majority are in the US.

I've been ignoring the advise, and buying anyway.   My experience has been mixed,   I've received some crap tapes that sound ordinary from years and years of wear and tear.    But equally, I also have some real pearlers.      I have enough good tapes now, that my position is,   ignore the naysayers ,,,,, if you want to spend your time and money hunting out old tapes,  do it.   Not all will be good, but not all will be bad.     

I find it incredibly rewarding to find a great sounding old tape.  It's a real treasure.

For those tapes that have been a good score for me,  I'll post about them in here.   Disclaimer, if I post about a good tape,  it doesnt guarantee that the same title sourced 2nd hand will also be good for you.   It really is a lucky dip.  These tapes are 50 odd years old, and it all comes down to condition.


It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2013, 05:49:50 PM »
All time classic.  

Harry Belafonte - Belafonte at Carnegie Hall.



This box shows it's age,  they all do.    



This is 1 of those great live recordings, and it shines through on this old tape,   which has held up rather well.  Here's a short 1m sample;

click- Sample.wav


There is about 90mins of brilliance squeezed onto this tape, alot more than most other titles.    Great stuff.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2013, 10:35:35 PM by ozmillsy »
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2013, 10:02:06 PM »
In the 70's,  there were a bunch of LP's released of Herbert von Karajan recordings,  where they used digital devices to do the recording.  I have a few of these, and the LP's sound rather ordinary.

But most of these old 7.5" tapes pre-date the digital era,  and judging by the prices some of them sell for on ebay the Karajan tapes are highly sought after.   This particular title is common (easy to find), hence didnt set me back too much.


Beethoven - Symphonies No.4 and No.5 - Herbert von Karajan



This box was actually in reasonable shape.....



The tape sounds good, the music has great dynamics and emotion.  

Click- sample.wav
« Last Edit: December 28, 2013, 10:39:53 PM by ozmillsy »
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2013, 09:56:25 PM »
I'm easing into classical music, more and more.  I have developed a taste for classical guitar, and have grown very fond of old Julian Bream recordings.  When I saw this tape pop up, I snaffled it quick.  When I received it, I was pleasantly surprised by it's condition.   





Looked like it had hardly been played, and sounds very nice and dynamic.

Click- sample.wav
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2014, 08:33:57 PM »
Placemarker for Getz Gilberto , my best sounding 7.5" tape thus far.
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2014, 08:36:36 PM »
Placemarker for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book.

Ella is so effortless yet amazing on this tape. Just wonderful.

Samples and info on request.  If I am just talking to myself, I wont bother going to the trouble.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2014, 11:03:17 PM by ozmillsy »
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline gamve

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2014, 11:14:31 PM »
Placemarker for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book.

Ella is so effortless yet amazing on this tape. Just wonderful.

Samples and info on request.  If I am just talking to myself, I wont bother going to the trouble.

Count me in Oz. I have not heard the belefonte you sent me but I will get to it
Cheers
G

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2014, 11:24:29 PM »
Count me in Oz. I have not heard the belefonte you sent me but I will get to it
Hey G,    just making the posts above is alot of work,  with scanning artwork, recording the music,  and posting a 30sec sample.     I must admit, there has been zero interest in this thread, and I started to question  'why bother' ?

Need to gauge interest, if there is anyone wanting to see further updates in this thread?   ???
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline gamve

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2014, 01:01:09 PM »
Count me in Oz. I have not heard the belefonte you sent me but I will get to it
Hey G,    just making the posts above is alot of work,  with scanning artwork, recording the music,  and posting a 30sec sample.     I must admit, there has been zero interest in this thread, and I started to question  'why bother' ?

Need to gauge interest, if there is anyone wanting to see further updates in this thread?   ???

Mate if your willing to go through the exercise and find the good tapes in this format then all I can say is good onya. As you said
before there are some goodun's amongst them and these are worth the trouble. I for one will be interested and I encourage others
to support you in this.

Offline vitavoxdude

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2014, 03:09:34 PM »
Oz, tried clicking on the links but nada, no action despite waiting a considerable time to allow full download of the sample.
Interested in what you are proposing so that's at least 2  :-[
V
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2014, 04:18:03 PM »
Try 'right-click' , 'save-as'.   Download the sample in full, before playing it.

I'm just posting 30sec samples for people to listen to,  to get a feel for the SQ of these 7.5" tapes.    But posting samples, does involve a bit of effort.

So if people are listening to these samples, tell me what you think.   I'll post more, in due course.
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline vitavoxdude

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2014, 10:26:24 PM »
Yup. that worked just Dandy. Thanks  ;D
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2014, 01:45:52 AM »
I'm just posting 30sec samples for people to listen to,  to get a feel for the SQ of these 7.5" tapes.

would you be so kind and do this in 24 Bit high resolution and with the complete show ?

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2014, 09:13:10 AM »
would you be so kind and do this in 24 Bit high resolution and with the complete show ?
Posting the complete show would violate forum guidelines, and put the owners of the forum at risk of a copyright infringement.

My recordings are originally in DSD format,   which I am happy to share 30sec samples of.     Any one in particular, that you'd like to hear 1st?   Also, I must ask for feedback,  positive or negative, either is fine.   These are 50 year old tapes, I wont get my nose out of joint with neg feedback.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2014, 09:15:11 AM by ozmillsy »
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline Tuyen

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #14 on: February 21, 2014, 09:48:17 AM »
apart from the tape hiss (which is not a prob in my eyes as I was a big cassette user growing up) they all sound truly amazing. minimal processing/compression that I can pick up.

love most the beethoven sample by berlin phil :)


Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #15 on: February 21, 2014, 10:28:02 AM »
Hi T,   great to see you back on the forum mate.   Sorry I missed you on your last trip to the East.   Bloody fires !  

Yeah,  the tape hiss is obvious at the start and during quiet passages.     But I don't find it offensive, and tend to forget all about it when the music is running.  

Yes,  I really like that Beethoven tape,   it's quite dynamic.    I get lost in the music, when I listen to it from beginning to end.    That particular title was released in a box set of Beethoven works conducted by Karajan,  and I narrowly missed getting the boxset recently.    I'll have to wait for the next one to pop up.

Checkout the sale price  :D,  and the shipping costs.   :o  
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111265538617?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

For 5 x tapes,  I find that price (including postage) reasonable.   But the risk is,  they don't all sound good.   High levels of wow/flutter is a common problem on old tapes that have been heavily used.    So it's a real gamble.     Would be soo much easier if we lived in the US,   just go crazy buying all that get listed.    

I've spent a lot of money shipping these old tapes in.   I'd hate to add it up.   :eek   But there is a fair amount of good.   I'll post my Getz Gilberto sample next, when I get a chance.




« Last Edit: February 21, 2014, 10:40:59 AM by ozmillsy »
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline Tuyen

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #16 on: February 21, 2014, 12:17:33 PM »
thanks for the welcoming back mate.   i did miss you guys.

wow, such good pricing for tapes that have so much potential.  agreed shipping fees do suck.  wrong side of the planet sometimes!

look forward to hearing the getz grab

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #17 on: February 23, 2014, 11:18:51 AM »
Another all time classic.   I splurged on this tape,  because it is 1 of my personal favourites.   I was pleasantly surprised when I received it,   box in good nick, and tape looks like it has barely ever been played.    

This title has had many audiophile releases,  the original recording tends to shine through in any format.   This tape sounds slightly different to my other versions of it,  not in a bad way,   just different.   I really enjoy it.   It's in such good condition, to preserve the tape, I'll be making a 15ips dub, and playing that.

Getz Gilberto





Short sample (right-click, save-as): click- Sample.wav

It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline vitavoxdude

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #18 on: February 23, 2014, 01:32:11 PM »
Wow 30 seconds and it has me in that 'place' in my mind where all else but pleasure is gone, I like it.  Nice find and great idea dubbing it to another reel.
V
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: 7.5" legacy reels
« Reply #19 on: February 23, 2014, 03:59:04 PM »
Old tapes in this condition are a rare find, so I want to protect it.  It's a short'ish album, so the whole thing fits onto 1 x 2500ft tape (@ 15"), which is nice. :)

It's all about the music,, not the equipment.