We are reeltoreeltech dot com. We buy, service and sell all things reel to reel related (and tape echoes!), and are ATR and RTM tape dealers. We work on everything from mono tube decks to 2" 24 track machines like this one.

This is the Otari MX-80 2" 24 track tape deck that runs at 15 and 30 IPS. It was a staple in recording studios in the 80s, and are built like tanks. They give a nice tape sound, with a bit of a bass bump, giving a really warm sound to your tracks. Each track is flat to about 23Khz.

We picked this deck up in Portland Or a couple of months ago, from a studio that was downsizing a bit. This deck had been in a couple of studios in its life, with one of them hosting an all star jam session, and the deck was signed by Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of REM, as well as Kurt Bloch, and John Leslie Harding, as shown in the photo. (if anyone has any info of this session, and can ID the other signatures, please send me a message here).

We did a ton of work to this deck. While it was functional, a bunch of meter lights were burned out, so we changed all 48 of them (2 per meter). A setscrew had come loose in the remote, preventing the pitch control from being engaged, and as typical for all of these decks, the transport and inside of the remote were super dirty and dusty. That all got cleaned out.

The tape guides were a bit of of calibration, so we tweaked those for a solid tape path.

All 24 channels were calibrated at +3db for RTM 911 tape, and all channels were dialed in, setting the bias, eq and levels on all channels. Finally, each pair of channels was run through 2 passes while recording, checking each channel, and verifying that both channels 1 and 24 are solid (the ones subject to wear first.

The head has been lapped once as per a sticker on the head block, but all tracks are in great shape. By fluke, a second head block came up for sale here on Reverb, so we grabbed it, and are including it with this listing.

The remote control is solid, as is the wired cable between the deck and the remote, and all functions work as expected. Tape tensions were checked, and were within factory spec.

We will crate up the deck, and ship via truck. Pickup will be at a truck dock near you, or to a commercial location with a loading dock. A residential pickup is possible, but will add to the cost of the shown shipping charges.

The deck is located in Vancouver Canada. The shown price includes the tariff and customs broker charges, but since the deck is valued over $2500 US, we will need your SSN or business EIN for customs clearance if shipping to the US. That's been a US customs rule even before the tariffs kicked in.

Email us for an exact shipping cost, but to most places in the US, the $750 quoted will be pretty accurate. A pickup in Langley BC or Blaine Wa can be done at no charge if you're local in the Pacific Northwest.