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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: DSatz on October 16, 2020, 03:37:37 PM
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This is meant as a parallel to the thread I started about Nakamichi cassette decks. But unlike that thread, I know who I'm going to take at least the first repair to: Andrew at "Funktionaltech" (www.funktionaltech.com). I'll post again here to let people know how that goes.
Background: In the early 1970s I had a number of Revox A 77s including a high-speed model (i.e. 7-1/2 and 15 ips) and two that had built-in Dolby "B" noise reduction. Very, very good-sounding decks. I was living in Cambridge, Mass., and there was a gentleman named Scott Kent who had a set of custom circuit modifications for the A 77 which improved its dynamic range by several dB. He became a friend with whom I spoke rather often. I still used these decks even after I got my Nagra IV-S. The heads on Nagra recorders are rather soft, and especially at 15 ips the Revox decks, with their Studer playback heads, had flatter, more extended low-frequency response than the Nagra. So even the tapes that I recorded on the Nagra got played back on a Revox for best results.
Fast-forward 45 years or so, and I now have a large number of old open-reel recordings that I need to transfer to digital. I still had three Revoxes from the old days--see photos of one of them below--but when I tried the two that are half-track, one didn't work at all. The other one I was able to get working after I scraped some contacts clean--but then after I'd transferred one reel and was a few minutes into the next one, its speed switch failed, and the capstan started spinning at high speed uncontrollably.
Today I found out to my sadness and dismay that Scott Kent had a serious stroke two years ago, and another one two weeks ago has rendered him unable to speak or even swallow. He doesn't want to be hooked up to a feeding tube. My father-in-law and a beloved aunt made this same decision in recent years; it means that he will now have only a few weeks to live at most. This is a person who made many wonderful recordings himself, and was a good friend. Even if no one else here knows him, I want to "say his name" and express my respect and gratitude.
Meanwhile I could probably still use my Nagra, but I don't want these Revoxes (Revoces? Revoxim?) to become useless hunks. I looked around, especially on www.tapeheads.net, and found praise there for "Funktionaltech"'s work, so I will try it and see.
--best regards
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^ I can't help with the recorders, but I am very sorry to hear about your friend.
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https://reeltoreeltech.com/?fbclid=IwAR3sWzdvvFAS2Dvgp0wVLvju6SnTFlPw9E74UtN3RGTFf1Hk0JozUKCzwI8
He's in Canada and a friend (full disclosure) but he's one of the best techs in NA working on reel to reels.
Tell him Chris B sent ya and he will hook you up.
he does have a US po box and can ship from there as well
He crosses regularly as part of his business.
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Today I found out to my sadness and dismay that Scott Kent had a serious stroke two years ago, and another one two weeks ago has rendered him unable to speak or even swallow. He doesn't want to be hooked up to a feeding tube. My father-in-law and a beloved aunt made this same decision in recent years; it means that he will now have only a few weeks to live at most. This is a person who made many wonderful recordings himself, and was a good friend. Even if no one else here knows him, I want to "say his name" and express my respect and gratitude.
Quoting this bit so his name gets repeated. Condolences about your friend.
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Today I found out to my sadness and dismay that Scott Kent had a serious stroke two years ago, and another one two weeks ago has rendered him unable to speak or even swallow. He doesn't want to be hooked up to a feeding tube. My father-in-law and a beloved aunt made this same decision in recent years; it means that he will now have only a few weeks to live at most. This is a person who made many wonderful recordings himself, and was a good friend. Even if no one else here knows him, I want to "say his name" and express my respect and gratitude.
Quoting this bit so his name gets repeated. Condolences about your friend.
Sending love to Scott Kent.
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Just as an interim follow-up: I have two half-track Revoxes that require service. I took one to "Funktional Technologies"--its transport controls had gone wild, and a distinctly inappropriate smell came out of the recorder within a minute of turning it on (which I suspected was electrolyte from a leaky power supply capacitor). I explained to the technician that I'm interested only in reliable playback. He estimated the repair in the high $400s and I accepted.
From speaking with him and emailing back and forth, I think that he knows what he's doing. While it's more than I would like to pay, it's less than it might have been, and I've asked him to proceed.
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https://reeltoreeltech.com/?fbclid=IwAR3sWzdvvFAS2Dvgp0wVLvju6SnTFlPw9E74UtN3RGTFf1Hk0JozUKCzwI8
He's in Canada and a friend (full disclosure) but he's one of the best techs in NA working on reel to reels.
Tell him Chris B sent ya and he will hook you up.
he does have a US po box and can ship from there as well
He crosses regularly as part of his business.
I follow him on Facebook and love his bench photos! He actually shows people the problems and solutions.
Heard many good things.
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https://reeltoreeltech.com/?fbclid=IwAR3sWzdvvFAS2Dvgp0wVLvju6SnTFlPw9E74UtN3RGTFf1Hk0JozUKCzwI8
He's in Canada and a friend (full disclosure) but he's one of the best techs in NA working on reel to reels.
Tell him Chris B sent ya and he will hook you up.
he does have a US po box and can ship from there as well
He crosses regularly as part of his business.
I follow him on Facebook and love his bench photos! He actually shows people the problems and solutions.
Heard many good things.
I want him to post here but he's super busy he works by choice like 50 hrs a week. i actually met him taping Metallica in 1997. He mostly gave up taping but we remain friends as he still likes to go to shows.
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A couple of people have written to me about the (now) late Scott Kent; please see https://www.classical-scene.com/2020/11/02/scott-kent/ .
--best regards
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So sorry to hear about a loss of such a great person!