Buena Vista Social Club like you’ve never heard it before – and a very special interview with Grammy Award-winning engineer Jerry Boys

April 29, 2025

An awesome announcement In January this year, Analogue Productions’ Chad Kasseem made a very exciting announcement: that the classic, Grammy Award-winning, Ry Cooder-conceived and produced Buena Vista Social Club was getting the full audiophile Analogue Productions treatment! The original 1997 release was on CD, double LP & cassette, and was followed four years later with … More Buena Vista Social Club like you’ve never heard it before – and a very special interview with Grammy Award-winning engineer Jerry Boys

Latest tape releases from Hemiolia – the good stuff just keeps on comin’!

April 25, 2025

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that Italian label Hemiolia Records has an exciting stock of master tapes from which they’re releasing various excellent quality titles over time. (Otherwise, if you’re new here and this is news to you, you can read my back-stories at https://thereeltoreelrambler.com/category/hemiolia-records.) Last year Hemiolia presented several new releases … More Latest tape releases from Hemiolia – the good stuff just keeps on comin’!

Revox teams up with Alice Cooper for a special limited edition B77 tape deck & T77 turntable – plus new tape / vinyl releases – and the chance to meet Alice!

April 23, 2025

In a special collaboration with Alice Cooper, Revox has crafted a limited edition of their B77 MK III tape machine (25 units only) and of their T77 turntable (50 units) in a unique Alice Cooper design. Each deck and turntable is hand-signed and numbered by Alice Cooper himself – who introduces the project in the … More Revox teams up with Alice Cooper for a special limited edition B77 tape deck & T77 turntable – plus new tape / vinyl releases – and the chance to meet Alice!

Seven tape decks in The Absolute Sound’s Editors’ Choice Awards 2025

March 24, 2025

It’s good to see strong coverage of tape decks again in this month’s Editors’ Choice Awards 2025 in the March issue of US audio magazine The Absolute Sound. In 2024 we had six decks featured and this year it’s seven. The six are the same line-up as last year, which I guess isn’t too surprising … More Seven tape decks in The Absolute Sound’s Editors’ Choice Awards 2025

You really have to hear this: Jerome Sabbagh’s ‘Heart’ from Analog Tone Factory

March 7, 2025

Last summer I stumbled across an emerging New York-based tape label, Analog Tone Factory, run by saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh. Having checked it out and penned a brief introductory blog on what I discovered, a couple of months later I ordered one of their tapes, Vintage, and wrote a review. The review was glowing and the … More You really have to hear this: Jerome Sabbagh’s ‘Heart’ from Analog Tone Factory

Introducing: Swiss tape label Triston Masters, from Jürg Schopper

February 12, 2025

There are few things I love more than discovering a ‘new’ (i.e. new to me) source of music on reel-to-reel tape, and then sharing my discovery with you folks here on The Reel-to-Reel Rambler. In true rambling man style, it gives me a great excuse to delve into the details and the back-story, and to … More Introducing: Swiss tape label Triston Masters, from Jürg Schopper

Review: Tibor Varga 100th Anniversary from Swiss label Triston Masters

February 12, 2025

I came across this one pretty much by accident – or, depending on how you look at things, by one of those roundabout, serendipitous routes. I’d been in conversation with Horch House’s Volker Lange about various things, and happened to notice that he’d taken on distribution of tapes from a Swiss ‘ultra-purist’ label called Triston … More Review: Tibor Varga 100th Anniversary from Swiss label Triston Masters

“Why tape still matters”: DJ Kerri Chandler’s new documentary on touring Recording the Masters’ factory

December 23, 2024

Depending on your musical tastes, you may or may not know American DJ and record producer Kerri Chandler. Either way, he’s often referred to with adjectives like ‘legendary’ and ‘pioneering’, having been one of the key movers and shakers in house music for some 30+ years. These days, he refers to tape as his ‘most … More “Why tape still matters”: DJ Kerri Chandler’s new documentary on touring Recording the Masters’ factory

United Home Audio’s Ultima Apollo tape deck wins a Product of the Year Award 2025 from The Absolute Sound

December 20, 2024

Greg Beron of United Home Audio’s Ultima5 tape player won in 2023 and in 2025 it’s the turn of his $55,000 Ultima Apollo deck. The Absolute Sound’s Jonathan Valin writes that it sounds completely different from any of his earlier Ultima decks, with its entirely new EQ circuit and a beefed-up gain stage. The Awards … More United Home Audio’s Ultima Apollo tape deck wins a Product of the Year Award 2025 from The Absolute Sound

Better then Black Friday: The Audiophiles Clinic big tape deck sale!

December 5, 2024

Here’s a brilliant opportunity for anyone in the market for a tape deck. It may be ‘Black Friday’ today but that’s not what this is – the date is pure coincidence and besides I suspect this is a far better deal! Petronel Butuc of The Audiophiles Clinic is selling off a large proportion of his … More Better then Black Friday: The Audiophiles Clinic big tape deck sale!