Marvelettes and Motown 16 Hits on Reel to Reel

[daviddesper]

I was browsing in an antique store recently and spotted Sophisticated Soul and A Collection of 16 Original Big Hits Volume 5, each available in reel to reel format. At first I did not even know what I was looking at, since that was before my time and I never owned one in my life.

They were priced at $18 each, but of course I have no idea if that is a good price or not, nor would I know how to evaluate them in terms of condition. So would there be any demand for these and would anyone have any equipment left to play them on?

If anyone should be interested, I would be glad to get you some contact information so you could pursue it

[DWSheffer]

David, $18 each for either of those tapes was a great deal if the boxes were nice and the tapes in good condition. There is a strong market today for the players and the tapes. R2R was well before my time as well, but I absolutely LOVE the format and play tapes regularly. The format was expensive in the 60's and still is today, haha. The players were many times the cost of a record player, and while the sound you get from a good tape is superb, the format was so expensive it just didn't take off at the time as the average person couldn't afford it. I've seen tapes with original prices that were a $2-$3 more than the LP to give perspective to their cost.

I have around 90 Motown R2R tapes in my collection today. When I acquired the Maurice King archive in 2021 and the tapes it contained, I had no way to play them. I contacted a friend that had lots of vintage audio equipment and he loaned me a player to use for the first time. I had no idea how to use one so watched a Youtube video and like I said, loved the format immediately. It gives me the same feel as listening to a master tape, as I read somewhere that the commercially made tape was reproduced from a Motown master tape. It's just a cool way to listen to music and a very tactile experience spooling a tape for listening.

In the line of value and availability, the Supremes tapes are the most plentiful. The average R2R tape sells for $30-$50, but there are many that sell for more than $75 each. The Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers is difficult to find, and the Motown Story 5 tape set brings strong dollars. There are quite a few that I've only seen a handful of copies offered for sale over the last few years, which I feel just goes back to the original costs of the format and not many copies were sold. Most of Marvin Gaye's tapes sell for over $75 each, the exception being "What's Going On". It seems to be the most in demand Motown related R2R. I paid $235 for my copy and I was elated to get it for that. I think it's due to the fact it appeals to more than just Motown collectors. One would think that these tapes would be fragile from age, but I've never had any issues myself. The tape used for these is much thicker than cassette tape material and it takes quite a bit to snap it. As I stated earlier, the audio from a good tape is very full and crisp. If you listen to these with headphones the sound is absolutely amazing!
Darin