A leisurely look at the classic Sony TC-765 Reel to Reel Tape Recorder

Wow - what a blast from the past! When I was in high school, the music director had one of these in his house. He also acquired a mini-moog synthesizer for the music department, and let me borrow both of them to play with. Being an electrical engineer wanna-be (which I finally achieved several years later), I messed with the audio routing and added a switch mounted on the back that let me play back one of the stereo channels,and route it into the other. Turns out the machine would mix the played back audio from one channel with the line input signal ... Voila! I had a rudimentary manual ping-pong multi-track recorder. Being analog, I could only do that 3-4 times before the tape hiss became too extreme. I distinctly remember using it to record 3 or 4 parts of Bach's St. Anne's Fugue - which the music director was having the concert band learn how to play (also borrowed the conductor's score from him).

Is it worth all the hassle? Entertaining vid

Please find 1 for me I am A BIG FAN.

One of these is for sale here in Western Australia for $3000 AUD - Crazy price!!

He talks very fast. Even so it lasts almost half an hour

I would have the sony every time , being a reel to reel tech , I know what makes both of those tick and , the sony is the much better machine . The one Matt has needs calibrating .

What?? No 'Echo' chamber or 'SOS (sound on sound) ability?? I had a Sony TC-630 R-R with these capabilities that recorded as many tracks as I wanted, with a studio echo to put on the instruments I recorded first, and taken off my last track, which was drums. It also had 3 speeds, all in perfect octaves. That was a great machine!!!

...In the 70s I had a TC- 755. Wonderful sounding machine.. I would rather have a R2R that plays one-way, less to go wrong. You pay more for a unit that has better tape heads, rollers/motor/belt system. And a R2R that can play a 1/2 track master tape is the ultimate....

Hi there could you please put a link for the spacers cannot find them on ebay'.Thanks Zenon .

You just can't beat tape.

Solid timber sides would be the way to go; it'd look incredible.

Do you know where to get parts for a 10 inch system? My Uncle has one and he is looking for a belt of some kind. I am not sure of the brand he has. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, am looking for some advice.
A recently bought a Sony TC-377 reel to reel tape recorder on eBay and have spent the last week cleaning, lubricating, and replacing the belts on it and it is now working great. I have limited space in our spare bedroom and the Sony is at the opposite end of the bedroom from my other Hi-Fi equipment which means I have to move it each time I want to use it. As my Yamaha Amp has Bluetooth connectivity I was wondering if you can recommend a Bluetooth device that I can plug into the RCA Line Outputs of the Sony and connect to my amp so I can at least listen to my tapes without having to move it across the room.

Regards
JohnD

I wish I could have one

I have two reel to reels a teac x1000r and a teac x2000r love my machines and as a added bonus i know how to work on them and have the test equipment to fix them

You need to use leader tape then you never touch tape surface but seems you don’t know that!!!!

My old college roommate still uses his Sony reel to reel but his model is taller

You have to keep in mind that VU meeters are very inaccurate RMS meeters, and that they are just there to give you a general idea of the level. So use your ears to know the dB level, and depict if there is distortion. Also remember line input is high Z and is always +4 dBu and is sometimes noisy as hell. So if possible don't use line input unless you are recording a guitar or piano.

end float

The meters are damped because they are high end analogue meters. They have a wide operating range to give the user the optimum balance between a good recording level before distortion kicks in. The Pioneer has electronic peak metering and is more forgiving when recording before distortion kicks in.

Do you just have warehouses full of electronics?

It might behoove you to mention that they all have auto-reverse sensors for the trigger aluminum tape. Edit: lol nevermind!

? line-level woud be lower than headphone level-(although impedance difference) you may want to caption-correct.
last-hurrah, as in about '77 Sony was advertising their premium cassette recorderdeck TC-177SD three-headthat "sounds like a reel to reel two-track at 15 ips". also pushing the Elcaset system. ffinally, DAT. last two did'nt have their day in the sun, R2R kept stopped rolling forhme use except for a few diehards. may look nice, but,imo, an big expensive pain. ome compact casette decks could do timed auto-reverse recordings, providing120-180 minute duration, a while later, with dolby B, chrome tape benefits.

What are the pieces inbetween the turntable and the reel to reel ?

Great video, lots of fun!
I just picked up a Sony TC-651 from around 1971, I'm just waiting for it to come, it only has the 7" reel capacity but the specs are excellent. I plan on restoring it completely. I'm restoring an RT-909 right now and it is a pro deck.
I thought I'd set up the Sony deck with my restored Fisher 500C but I'm not sure what speakers to use. I do have a pair of Allison 9's from the mid 80's but I was thinking of something smaller, maybe Harbeth speakers. What do you think, any recommendations?

Every time I watch a reel to reel video it reminds me that I bought a working one on EBAY. HAHAHA, by the time it got to me the reel pins were sticking out the box. It was smashed, the seller had used one sheet of small cell bubble wrap and placed it in a box.

I don't buy electronic or much else on EBAY anymore. After 3 months of fighting with seller and EBAY, my reviews were erased and his 100% rating continued and I got nothing. I was amazed, I took pictures after it arrived and expected that at least my review (not obnoxious), would stay.

No Sony should do 15 i.p.s. It just ain't natural, boss.
In 1999 (That's 1999 in metric years), I found one of these left behind at a pallet auction. Being a fan of it's generally awful older siblings,I kept it, but never got it to work. Four years later, I sold it to someone who used it as studio decor. Recently, they gave me a bunch of stuff- but I had to take that thing back as kind of a "sucker prize", still dead. Now it's lurking in the garage again, still dead, threatening my 630 and Teac spares pile.
On quiet nights, sometimes I think I hear the bearings grinding and grumbling to themselves, even though I keep it in the middle of the floor, away from power cords. You cannot trust a Sony TC, not ever. NEVER. DO not turn your back. The reverse-drive Sonys are the worst, but the 765? It frightens me. You just don't know what it's capable of.

For an older machine, the record and playback quality of that Sony is much better than that Pioneer - Sony underplayed their specs by 10-25% so they could brag about the real-world tests from the magazines in subsequent ads. At the time, the auto-reverse feature was seen as gimmicky and fragile and took expenses away from serious circuitry and audio quality efforts. This Sony needed a BIG CLA, it seems there's something wrong with every important function (e.g. the tension arm is loose on the feed reel). Most people who are neutral on brands would swap that Pioneer out for that Sony. Now.. the two-track version of this one is another level.

The VU meters could have been low due to an IEC/NAB eq mismatch from tape to machine. Or even magnetic flux stength. Maybe the sony was modded for the Sony exec to listen to professional studio master tapes that were recorded on 'louder' tapes. if so, whoever got this Sony from techmoan will have a special rarity on their hands and will be able to play back the modern studio master tape releases better.

I’d take a look at the wheel brakes of the pioneer, I have the impression that the full reel didn’t stop fast enough

Quality, cost, convenience: pick any two.

id just like to say im very happy with the choices you've made, well done. keep it up, making choices i mean, you seem quite good at it, And its fun to watch, even when you get it wrong, its as if youre just like the rest of us, lol only kidding, thanks for the vids, love your work

The only good thing about reel to reel is seeing Kerri Chandler mix a house set with them. Like watching very passionate art.

Missing the remote control RM-30

Do they still make tape and reels?
Audio tape has a finite lifespan.

I am so glad that eventually high-end cassette decks came out with better specifications than all the Reel-to-Reel decks at the time. Compact cassette blanks were much more affordable and less of a pain to play and maintain. That Rt-909 is a true beauty to look at though. I will give you that.

Wow aren’t these 10.5 inch reel to reels nice?

Your videos always makes me think of the song, Sound of silence.

The VU meters show the RMS value while the led display is showing the peak values. Very hard to compare the two, but the RMS value is mostly much lower.

Fun video, I always loved the look of a reel to reel tape recorder!

Greetings . First of all, congratulations on the channel!!! EXCELLENT!!! your work what you are doing, I have an Onkyo Digital A-8800 Interga with all the modules of the equipment are Onkyo which are an M504 sound amplifier, with 2 EQ540 Interga equalizers and 2 of EQ-201 and another EQ-25 and a deck TA-2550 Interga and another TA-2750 Interga and another TA-2044 Interga and another TA-RW 909 double deck, and an Interga CP1500F turntable and Ortofon 40 turntable needle and Interga DX-708 CD, and the T-4500 Interga radio All models are from the Onkyo brand, which is the best from Onkyo. NOT mass production if they are not selected from Onkyo. And the cables connected to the equipment are from the KabelDirekt Pro Series RCA brand and 4 DAS R Speakers. -212 . and 2 Mivoc hype 10 g2 hifi subwoofers, 300 w, from 20 to 180 hz and a TEAC X-2000R and I also have the
TEAC A-6600 Reel-Reel Recorder tape recorder. FINALLY, A CLASSIC FROM THE 80S AND 90S of sound equipment from that time, over the years I have never had a module break, that can be seen from how they worked before and the manufacturing materials, I hope to have it last for many years to come. quality of a good musical equipment, greetings and very good videos that you have a great like for your great videos, they no longer manufacture such great sound models as these devices, it is a shame that nowadays everything is plastic, greetings from Barcelona - You could make one from Onkyo Interga also from Review - Congratulations to all the Onkyo electronics, the Inegra Series was a true excellence. I bring you bad news, for this glorious brand, which made history in hi-fi, these days, Sharp, which recently acquired the brand, announced that the debt is incurable. The electronic audio equipment company Onkyo filed for bankruptcy after accumulating debts of US$24 million. Onkyo, founded in Osaka in 1946 under the name “Osaka Denky Onkyo K.K”, has not managed to position its equipment, mainly analog, in the streaming era, consequently Onkyo has been declared bankrupt by the Onkyo company. Even if the electronics produced today had nothing to do with the wonderful electronics it has... A big greeting, from Barcelona.

Great machine, but in my opinion the needle vu meters are much more beautiful than the fluorescent ones, they have a particular charm.

This is a magnificent video. Thanks so much for this comprehensive overview of this piece of tech. Incredible

I am 83 years old and had a Sony reel-to-reel almost like the one you reviewed. When I had my expensive HiFi audio setup the Sony was a mainstay of my system along with a Sony 3 head cassette deck. I still have the Sony Cassette Deck but it needs two belts and they are a nightmare to replace. Instead, I bought a vintage 2 head Luxman cassette deck and I love it. The Sony 3 head sits on my work bench with the cover off waiting for me to get up the courage to try and replace its belts. As always your reviews are awesome.

Those NAB adapters made me wince … I would have expected something better from Sony … assuming they were the originals?
My old Akai adapters used cam mechanisms to both lock onto the centre spindle as well as into the NAB spool .. the benefits of these locking mechanisms being that they also ensured everything was self centred to avoid imbalance tantrums when fast spooling.
I’m sad to say I haven’t used my old Akai for more than 20 years now and suspect it will now need a recap and new drive belt. Might make a bit of a bang when reconnected to power again after all these years. I miss using it, it used to form the core of my old system … it’s a GX600 from 1975 … built like a tank … though I used to remove the wood side cheeks to avoid damage whenever I took it anywhere (it got used for sound effects and PA in my days of amateur dramatics).
It’d be good to get it back up and running again.
I’d also like to revive my Technics RSM45 cassette deck … but I know that requires a replacement idler drive wheel in the direct drive mechanism. I changed it once before when Technics were still supporting the deck … the idler is a weakness in the design due to the rubber edge prone to degrading with a relatively short life … and it’s quite a challenge to access and replace it. Am not at all sure it’s possible to get a replacement for such a special part these days .. probably have to try and fabricate something … but I think it would need a watchmaker to have the skill set 😢

The volume is low has to do with the Farite heads I spelled it wrong I have a Sony to and it does the same thing the only other thing it can be is capacitors on the record board but I’m pretty sure it’s the type of heads it has extremely hard material to prevent ware and like I said earlier my Sony does the same thing

Crackin review, Matt. About the 3rd time I have watched this video over the years 🙂 Lee