An Akai 1710 all-valve reel to reel tape recorder in working order.
It hadn’t been used for a while so I put it on my current limiting variac in order to bring it back to full voltage overnight which is done to chemically reform any capacitors. In the long term it could probably benefit from having the capacitors replaced but I just wanted to check that it works. It does.
I have tested it with tape and it works fine.
In theory, it could also be used as a (low power) valve amplifier for a guitar as it has phono inputs.
It has an all-valve amplifier built in, with two speakers. Remember, it uses valves, so like your granny’s old TV, it takes a minute or so to warm up.
The machine can play at various speeds and this is achieved by both a switch and also a capstan sleeve. The sleeve is currently mounted to the capstan in the photos and not on its storage pole.
The machine is a bit dusty and there is some oxidisation of metal parts as well as worn decals.
Of particular note is that the rubber reel retainers are missing which means that it can only be used horizontally (it has rubber feet both on its back and on the base for vertical or horizontal positioning). Without the retainers, reels would fall off, so the buyer may wish to source some, or a substitute.
This item is for collection in person only, from Guildford. You must come and collect it in person, which means I will not pack it for your courier, put it on a pallet, or hand it over to a courier unpackaged. I will only hand it over to the buyer, and will not hand it over to ANY other representative.
Any request to ship it in any way, will be ignored and you will not receive a response.
After payment, please contact me to arrange a time to collect - please do not drive straight over because goods are NOT kept on site at the registered business address, but are kept in a warehouse. (Sorry if this sounds a bit blunt, but I once had a buyer just turn up after buying an item, and because I wasn’t around he went into next door’s garden looking for me! My neighbour was not happy that a strange person was in her garden!).
Very Important: When you come to collect this, please bring the collection code generated by eBay OR bring a mobile phone with the eBay App on it (which can generate the code). If you don’t bring this, I will not be able to release the item to you.
