Thinking of selling old records tapes.

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JR.
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Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by JR. »

I am trying to clean up my house and I have a couple boxes of my dads old open reel tapes and records circa 1950s. Some is 1950s version of popular music so probably of little value but there are a bunch of classical tapes. The records are likewise mostly of dubious value.

Looking at ebay i saw some similar looking tapes for $10 but I guess that doesn't mean they got that price.

Any thoughts...?

JR
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emrr
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by emrr »

It's very title-specific. Arduous to research. Might miss a goldmine if you don't though. PITA. I wouldn't mind divesting part of 24 linear shelf feet of vinyl myself.
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JR.
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by JR. »

I'm not even thinking about my personal pile of records and I inherited my sisters collection too..so some old beatles/stone/etc.

There's some old Arthur Godfrey blue (dirty) party records (40s-50s) and some unusual stuff like that...but probably 90% just old garbage.

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Gold
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by Gold »

I'd look for the used record store owner who is the closest to you. Have him come over and give you an estimate on the lot. You would have to have a lot of time and motivation if you want to sell them piecemeal.
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JR.
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by JR. »

There is a used cd/record store 25 miles away, so maybe I'll bring them there and see if there's any interest. I have no visions of making money, I just feel bad about throwing these all into the garbage.

The old open reel will be a much smaller market. I suspect few of the new vinyl fans have 78rpm tables and needles.

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mediatechnology
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by mediatechnology »

John - I have a friend who is very active restoring 1/4" machines for the "Tape Project." http://tapeproject.com

Apparently there is a very active pre-recorded tape collection/restoration project for these old tapes.

Like your Dad, my friend is a location sound guy. I'll mention this to him.

The guys that buy the Tape Project tapes would also be very interested in old 3-3/4 and 7-1/2 IPS pre-recorded material.
Then there's the albums...

If the discs a fully partied out you might consider framing the album art for re-sale.
You just never know...
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JR.
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by JR. »

Another old friend who has several open reel machines has expressed some interest but not to buy stuff just rescue it from the dumpster.

I have a bunch of old pre-recorded RCA classical tapes (mono). Some decent performances but not modern s/n.

Since these tapes are pretty old (50's) the condition is questionable. I played some in the 70's and they we ok, but the 70's is like 40+ years ago. :lol:

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mediatechnology
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by mediatechnology »

My friend has found that the older tapes play very well if the base isn't brittle.

The 80s-90s formulations were the worst about shedding after environmental regs forced alteration of the processes and chemicals.
Your 50s tapes ought to play.

It's been awhile since I had a machine to load up my alignment tapes and I'm afraid of their condition.
I have a bunch of 70s tapes I need to sort out.
Most need to be bulked and re-used by someone who needs tape.

Some are some pretty old air-checks that might be worth transferring.
I played sick one day in Junior High and happened to be home to roll tape when Jethro Tull's Aqualung was played on-air in Dallas the first time.
They tracked both sides which probably gave them time to got to the parking garage and burn a doobie.
It would be interesting to hear the old KNUS and spots that were running.
Most were probably for head shops...
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by emrr »

If you've got factory made open reel classical from the '50's in decent looking shape, it will be worth money.
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JR.
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Re: Thinking of selling old records tapes.

Post by JR. »

emrr wrote:If you've got factory made open reel classical from the '50's in decent looking shape, it will be worth money.
I have two boxes of tapes mixed between DIY off air tapes of so-so TV shows (stop the bubble machine) with at least half commercial recordings (RCA). Titles range from Beethoven, to Belafonte (an artist my dad recorded), to jazz and obscure stuff like Victory at Sea (Rodgers). A few of the tapes are stereo but that was brand new technology when this collection was assembled so most are mono.

Tapes look physically stable. Not abused and beat up like my record albums from the 60s-70. :lol:

I need to do an inventory and may put up a list. I would not be surprised if there were sone or two jewels in there, but RCA jewels (my dad worked at RCA) so classical is probably all the house orchestra (NBC?) etc.

JR
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