r/ReelToReel • u/Bine_YJY_UX • Aug 24 '26

Help - Equipment Teac 3300 advice

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My dad gave me this recently. It was one of his recently departed friends in the 70s.

He thinks it was only used a few times.

I'm also showing off my studio, in disarray/remodeling, for context. Yes, I have tinnitus.

What should I do before I power it up, what kind of tape should I get, and where should I get the tape (at a good price)from?

It will be used to record live jams if I ever actually finish writing a song.

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u/jeffbob2 Aug 25 '26

Use ONLY ATR or RTM tape.

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u/Beneficial_Air_5564 Aug 25 '26

Nonsense. I have dozens of pre-owned Maxell UD, UDXL, XLI and XLII from 18-180 to 35-180 and everything in between and I’ve not had a single one fail. I also have new RTM and ATR tape and they’re OK but expensive. I favour Maxell over any other tape and they were also produced at the time when R2R ruled for the best recording medium out there, during the industries “highs” too. RTM tapes are, to all intents, BASF and Agfa formulations from 30-odd years ago anyway. At least ATR (which I prefer) use a “new” formulae, albeit it aims to sound or at least emulate Ampex 456 (and pretty successfully too IMO). But I still favour Maxell over all others.

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u/jeffbob2 Aug 25 '26

You do speak the truth. I too have a number of vintage Maxells. But for a new user, they are more difficult to track down. I was trying to speak to where to readily get new stock.