you posted on the TO board your list of good/bad/ugly tape decks and sadly, the 440 made the bad list. i've got a 1/2" 4 that i'm in the process of converting to 1/4" 2 track and was wondering what you didn't like about them. we slapped a 1/2" tape recorded on an otari 8 on the ampex and it sounded great, much more open than the otari. where's the beef?

alex

If the machine is in good shape then you might be fine.
With old machines I have found these types of problems:
-The audio cards fall out of calibration quickly.
-There are problems with the audio card connectors not making good contact.
-The trimable caps and pots go noisy.
-The capstan speed can be irregular.
-The tape tension is erratic.
-You can stretch the tape if you aren't careful winding.
If you aren't experiencing these problems then good. The audio sounds good on them, it is just a reliability issue for me.

damn, quite the laundry list. can they ever get stable enough to be reliable in a studio?

They can if you keep your eye on it.
Some info from people who know a lot about this machine can be found at
http://www.recordist.com/
I've been burned on a lot of those older machines so I've got some hate to spread.

say no more, say no more, i'll haunt those dudes.

thanks greg,
alex