Honeytone retro open reel tape recorder

Vinyl and turntables are becoming all the rage at the moment, and not only among audiophiles. Turntables have a retro appeal that reaches a wider market. Although there is something even cooler than a turntable – a good, open-reel tape recorder.

Here at Jordan Towers we’re big fans of open reel. A good machine can provide recordings and playback that rivals digital. They also look good, especially the larger, studio-orientated machines.

But how about something a little smaller? Currently on eBay there is a Japanese Honeytone machine for spares or repair.

It only takes 3 ¼ reels, so you’re not going to get Wagner’s Ring Cycle recorded on it. On the other hand, it does have a groovy, Mission Impossible vibe. These machines date from the early 1960s, so they’re definitely retro!

You’ll need some repair work to get this one up and running. For help, you could start with the Vintage Radio ForumAnd here is a Honeytone recorder in operation on YouTube

These machines look so good, you could buy one purely for display purposes – just to prove how cool you are.