I have never experience reel-to-reel. That is the format I would like to get into.
My sense though is that anything made of rubber on these old machines need replacing. I'm a little intimidated about spending so much on a device only to be unable to restore it.
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I sold my Studer-ReVox B77 in mint condition to a collector for the price of a new high-quality digital recorder.
The thing was sitting in its original carton, barely used. Between the hassle of hauling it around, and the cost of tapes, I never actually took it anywhere to record anything.