EMI TR-90 pro reel to reel
   

    This machine is basically the high end professional reel to reel produced from England by EMI, though incredibly popular with studios and broadcast companies like the BBC, not many of these fine machines survived as when they reached their end of service, most of them where destroyed. I have never seen an EMI TR-90 on Ebay apart from the one I sold over a year ago, these machines are incredibly rare, so much so that I am very loathed to part with it, the lucky winner will be one of the very few people to own one of these fantastic machines.

   This recorder was built from 1957 through to 1962, starting at a cost of £625 back then which was a phenomenal amount of money, costing more than the Ampex 351 stereo portable and the Leevers Rich series of stereo portables. EMI machines where the industry standard and where used all around the world until around about 1970 when Studer came into their own with their C37 and their first transistorised machine, the A62.

   Some examples of where the TR-90 was used are the Radiophonic workshop from the BBC (Famous for the "Doctor Who" theme and "hitch hikers guide to the galaxy"), Barry Garry used them in his recordings (Famous for the "Thunderbirds" theme tune and "Fireball XL-5" and "Stingray), then there are countless times these machines showed up in the early radio stations, one of EMI sales brochures shows the BBC having a huge bank of TR-90's all rack mounted together.

   The recorder is a real piece of history, something which I doubt you will see go for sale any time soon, once this machine is sold that's it, its gone!

Overall view of the recorder section, the cover on the left hand side s where the cables attach.

Front view of the recorder, the speaker is in the front and the machine has two vale power amps in this section.

Right hand view.

The top plate, the counter is an unusual feature being a rotating drum with numbers on it.

Loud speaker visible though the grill, the speaker is connected to two valve power amplifiers inside the recording deck.

Left hand side and connection panel

Left hand side with cover down.

Rear showing a compartment where the cables go, also there is a switch selection for Cine and Nab, also another which selects which channel the monitor speaker replays, left or right.

Right hand side, you can see the cooling motor in the bottom right.

The Nabs come off and the AEG centres can come off to allow Cine reels to be used.

The head cover indicates the speeds which the recorder is operating at, the two holes above the counter are to adjust the Bias.

Simple controls, the speed control is locatd in a small hole below the head block to prevent accidental speed changes during recording or broadcasting

The pinch roller, right to that is the spooler controller, the arm to the right is to keep the tape wind smooth but to also sense when there is no tape in the tape path.

The heads show very little wear, the two important heads are individually shielded so that the head cover can be removed and the azimuth's can be adjusted during operation.

Close-up of the interconnection panel, the two connectors to the amplifier, a remote socket and the EMI information plate.

Erase head looks as good as new.

Record head shows little wear.

Replay head shows little wear, the head is aligned correctly though the metal shell makes i look as if its out.

The main amplifier right hand view.

Overlooking the main front panel.

All the preset panels are present, under them you will find the controls to adjust the recording and playback characteristics.

Early style PPM, -40 to +15dB, PPM stands for Peak Programme Meter, the meter has a fast attack rate and a slow decay rate meaning that the needle stays very close to the highest volume, giving an accurate overall reading

Overall view from the right, all the units are rack mountable and are easily removed for servicing.

Main interconnect panel, showing the two connectors which are linked to the tape deck, the mains in and the EMI information plate.

Front view of the case.

Left hand side with cover down.

Rear of the case.

Right hand side of the case.

An inside look of the valve amplifier, everything looks very clean and rust free.

In the recorder there are two connection cables and one mains lead.

Video files of the machine working

This is a demonstration of the recorder recording from a CD player, as you can hear from the playback the results are very good!

A demonstration of the spool control in both directions

this shows the meter working and the internal loud speaker
 
 

Specifications
Shipping

Other notes

  • Stereo 1/2 track

  • Twin speed, 15 and 7.1/2 inches per second

  • 50Hz to 15KHz @15 ips

  • 50Hz to 10KHz @ 7.1/2 ips

  • 4 motors, 2 spool, 1 capstan and 1 cooling

  • Built in monitor speaker in the tape deck

  • 2 valve power amps in tape section

  • very early style PPM -40dB to +15dB

  • Line inputs and outputs

  • Loud speaker output

  • Comes with mains lead

  • comes with 2 interconnect cables

  • Sizes of each box 14.1/2" X 20" X 16.1/2"

  • Weight 80lb and 58lb

 This machine is really for collection, the recorder is quite heavy, very old and has valves inside which could get damaged in transit. If you wish to arrange your own courier that is ok, I will do my best to pack the machines up as safely as possible leaving the carry handles exposed for lifting.

Collection is more than preferred, a free cup of tea/coffee will be waiting

 This recorder is very old and rare, though the machine is sold a is, a demonstration can be given upon request showing the machine worker in as it is in the videos.

The recorder is being listed this once only, if the machine does not sell the recorder will go back into the "Vintage Recorders" museum where it will stay.

At "Vintage Recorders" we are very proud of our machines we sell and do our up most to make sure that the descriptions are as accurate as possible, feel free to email us with any questions.