How To Find Vintage Reel to Reel Tape Recorders

Reel to reel tape recorders were the standard for recording for decades until digital media took over sometime in the 1990's. For some audiophiles, they are still the king. Artists today still prefer analog tape's natural, warm sound to the clean and (what they consider) sterile sound of a digital recording. If you are in this camp and are looking for an old reel to reel tape recorder to record your next LP, or are just in the market for a vintage collectible, here's where to look.

1. Look on the internet. Of course you have to start with the number one site to get practically anything -- eBay. Search "reel to reel recorder" and you will find pages and pages of recorders to peruse. If you are in the market for a particular recorder, just search for it to see results.

   There are also a couple of websites dedicated to vintage reel to reel recorders that either sell them or can show you where to buy them. Phantom's Reel To Reel Tape Recorder Museum out of Texas and Vintage Recorders of the United Kingdom are nice little sites with good info covering a lot of different brands and models. Get Reel, though not a place to buy or sell recorders, is worth mentioning for the product it does sell: CD-ROMs packed full of information and pictures on vintage reel to reels. Online classifieds such as Craigslist and Sell.com might be of use also. Check in the "musical instruments" or "electronics" categories or just type it into the search tool.

2. Look in you local classified ads. Local want ads and weekly publications, as well as daily newspapers, might have the reel to reel of interest.
3. Check local shops. Pawn shops are always great places to find that which you seek. Most of the time, you can call ahead and the purveyor will know whether they have some old reel to reels, but sometimes you just have to get in there and find them yourself.

   Music stores that buy and sell used equipment are probably even better to find reel to reel recorders. You'll find them with the audio equipment and usually you'll be able to test them out there, too.

4. Check music studios. Another resource that might pan out for you is local music studios. As almost every studio in the world has changed over to all-digital recording equipment, you might be able to take some old, obsolete (to them) equipment off their hands. This might take some effort and cajoling on your part, but it just might work, too. I know because I walked into one with my nutty cousin and chatted up some engineers and they handed him -- as in, for free -- a nice old Akai they had wasting away in some storage room! So like I said, not the conventional way to go about things, but it might be a very nice surprise. You probably are not going to get much free either, but you could very well get a deal. Good luck!