Teac Reel to Reels

[DrummerCT1]

What is the difference between these two models: 3340 and 3340-S? And what, in general, would be a reasonable price range for a used, good working order 3340-S? Thanks!

 

[Guest]

http/www.thevintageknob.org/teac-A-3340S.html


Frankly I can't remember what simul-sync that they refer to actually did. I would imagine it was similar to the track to track multi-tracking I used to do using a three head half track Ferrograph reel to reel when making demos for a musician friend and for radio ads.

I owned a Teac 3340S at one point but quickly sold it because the noise levels on the electronics and quarter track tape were unacceptable and the electronic transport controls were clumsy compared to the mechanical ones on a Ferrograph.

 

[DrummerCT1]

http/www.thevintageknob.org/teac-A-3340S.html


Frankly I can't remember what simul-sync that they refer to actually did. I would imagine it was similar to the track to track multi-tracking I used to do using a three head half track Ferrograph reel to reel when making demos for a musician friend and for radio ads.

I owned a Teac 3340S at one point but quickly sold it because the noise levels on the electronics and quarter track tape were unacceptable and the electronic transport controls were clumsy compared to the mechanical ones on a Ferrograph.

I'm surprised you had the problem with the 3340S. I've owned a couple of them, and found them to be very capable recorders. Especially at 15ips.

 

[Guest]

If you'd used a Ferrograph you'd understand my comment about controls. You could line up a tape edit position quite accurately using a single knob that controlled power to both tape reels.

They were standard issue at the BBC at one time. So a whole generation of British sound engineers just got used to working that way and tended to miss it on Revox and other machines using pushbutton transport controls.

The Ferrograph also used pads that put pressure on the back of the tape as it passed the heads which seemed to give a much better sound than I ever got from a Revox or the Teac.

 

[DrummerCT1]

The Ferrograph sounds like an interesting machine. I'm not familiar with it.
But mainly, for this thread, my interest is in the differences between the Teac 3340 and 3340-S.

 

[Guest]

Ferrograph, long gone I'm afraid. Early models were originally built for sonar logging for the Royal Navy and were mechanically robust.

 

[purplepatch]

The S stands for "Simul-Sync" which enables you to monitor previously recorded tracks while recording new ones. The the 3340 didn't have this I believe, and also only had 7 inch reel capacity, unlike the "S" version, which can accommodate 10.5 inch reels. I owned a 3340S and liked it from a sound quality point of view, I didn't have an issue with noise, but I did record at 15 ips all the time. However, from an operational point of view, I thought the machine to be an absolute nightmare, especially this silly simul-sync system, I could never remember how to set the switches, and it was always really frustrating to use. I would go for something like a 3440, if you want a TEAC, and a good mixer, with flexible routing and monitoring options, rather struggle with this ridiculous switching system on the 3340S. I guess they had to cram in a lot of features on the S version like this monitoring system, to make up for lack of facilities on the TEAC mixer that was made for it.

http/www.angelfire.com/electronic2/vintagetx/TeacA-3340S.html


As for used prices ? who knows, I guess about £150 or thereabouts, I certainly wouldn't pay anymore, if you do your being ripped-off. Vintage or not, this isn't really worth paying a lot of money for, quarter inch tape, limited track count, and the high cost of tape these days, about £40 a reel ! does this make any sense anymore, I can understand if you were going for a Studer multitrack, or an Otari, something that's really worth having, but a 4 track ? why not get something digital ? it's cheap, easy to use, and doesn't cost anything to run, I've been through this analogue thing back in the day, when there wasn't any alternative, when digital came in it was a revelation to us old guys, all of a sudden there was no noise ! and what went in stood a good chance of coming out ! I know there is this nostalgia element, but honestly, I really don't want to be reminded of my days struggling with "antediluvian" objects like this !



Purplepatch

 

[DrummerCT1]

Basically, I am wanting to work with some very important master tapes from the mid-70's that were recorded on, I believe, a 3340S (I did the engineering/producing). My initial question has to do with refreshing my memory about the variety of Teac semi-professional reel-to-reel models from the general era. I have an ebay-acquired 3340S that has sat around here for several years after an initial go at refurbishing it, and that presently is in the midst of being finalized in that quest. Back in the day, I used a Teac AN-300 and Tascam model 10 recording board (complete with "quad" panner!), along with a variety of other equipment to make the recordings I am returning my attention to.

Generally speaking, I'm reasonably familiar with analog and digital equipment and have a fair amount a bit of in the box and rack gear (various DAW software (I lean toward Sonar Producer, latest vesion); Tascam FW-1884; Alesis HD24; Presonus interfaces; analog preamps & mixers; line mixers, effects units, various monitors, and etc. etc. My recent quest for this project is mainly to replicate the same recorder used to track and master originally.

A side benefit I'm looking into is to use the Teac machine at 15ips (and a 2-track stereo Sony R-R) to bounce digital tracks through as an "effect" to get that oft-desired analog, tape saturation sound, in some instances.

 

[purplepatch]

Hi, you didn't mention that you wanted to work with old tapes recorded on this machine. In which case I can now fully understand why you want to use one.

PP.

 

[DrummerCT1]

Best answer selected by DrummerCT1.