Here is a list of the 13 Worst Mistakes you can make
when purchasing a Tape Recorder...
1: You trust the seller and what he says
2: You buy a machine that is not running
3: You buy a machine that needs parts or repairs
4: You buy a machine you have not personally seen
or had a good honest tech check out for you
5: You buy through a Broker
6: You are in a hurry to buy a tape recorder
7: You buy a machine that you have never used yourself
8: You cannot afford maintenance and repair costs
9: You think recording onto Analog Tape will be easy to do
10: You buy a machine you know little (or nothing) about
11: You buy a machine that does not have all it's parts -
such as cables, remotes, autolocator, missing cards etc.
12: You buy a particular tape recorder because
you read about it on the Internet or in Forums
13: You buy a tape recorder or console that's
been in storage for 6 months or more
Time and time again I hear horror stories of nice folks
buying junk machines because the buyers made some of the
above noted mistakes.... Studio owners spending
hard earned money on tape recorders that often will cost
as much as the purchase price to repair and get into good
operating condition.
I've seen sellers say their tape recorder is in perfect condition
yet in reality the heads have opened up and are junk.
Recently a guy bought what he thought (and was told by the seller)
was a nice running Studer A-80 only to find it was
internally and externally corroded, and 10 audio channels did not work.
It would take at least a couple thousand dollars to replace switches, relays,
connectors, have the motors cleaned and rebuilt, and so on...
A seller of a machine listed his tape recorder at a crazy-low price.
Said he just needed to get it out the door asap. Turns out
there never was a tape recorder, it was a scam. The seller
priced the machine so low that it would cost more for the buyer to
try and get his money back than to just give it up.
Another guy bought a console through a Broker - and the Broker
never delivered the console. The sad story is the buyer spent
all his money 'buying' the console, and when he realized he'd been
ripped off, he found out it would cost him just as much (or more) to take the
Broker to court - and the Broker spent all the money anyway
so recovery was never going to happen.
Now there are exceptions to the 13 mistakes above - there actually
are a few 'good' brokers, honest sellers, and good deals out there.
A lot of sellers are good honest guys. But often they don't
really know the true condition of their equipment - especially if
it's been in storage or not in use. So it's best if you
are doubly careful, test the equipment yourself, know what
you are buying, and take your time.
But pay attention to the above mistakes and don't make them yourself !!!