Remembered today that I have a vintage Akai Reel to Reel in the attic!

First, be careful w/ the tape if it is old.  A lot of problems w/ shedding.  You can bake old tapes to stop that problem, but you can't use it like a regular tape.  Ampex was bad about this, so be careful.

Otherwise, it looks like an consumer model - I'm not familiar w/ akai tapemachines.  If it is a quarter track (meaning you can record a stereo signal to the end of the tape and then flip it over so you can record another) the sound could still work - about the same track width as a 1/2 inch 8 track.  My old stuff holds up incredibly well considering it was done on "pro-sumer" and I recorded some national releases on it as well as incidental music for a major film release.  Of course, the high end tape machines that so many remember the sound of were engineering marvels from top to bottom.  I mean, they were spin offs from the technology that was used in getting people to the moon and nuclear weapons.  Well engineered doesn't get close to how much was invested in them, while the audio engineers (the white coat guys and inventors) were best in class too.  Tape can provide some of the sound, but the electronics used also imparted much.  So if you plan to use the machine for anything other than effects, you'll need to get it worked on.  Calibrated, aligned etc.  And see if it still runs - some of the electronics might have gone bad while it was setting there.

So check the machine, check the tape and then check to see if it does something you like to your sound.  It may add something to your sound running guitars or drums, or rounding off your synths.  Use it as a send.  If you like that, you might find you like using it to record your whole mix through like a master bus compressor to "jell" your songs.  Be advised, tho, that a lot of modern music styles skips tape - I know a local guy doing a lot of hip hop etc. that sold his MCI 24 track since it just sat there unused and there was cost involved keeping it running.  Even the rock n rollers didn't use it.

@

ChuckC


AT,
   Thanks for the reply.  From what I have read about it, it is a consumer model that was pretty high end when it came out.  In 1980 it was sold for about $995, and was down to I think $800 or so when it was discontinued in around 86.  I seems it records a left & right going forward then a L/R stereo track in reverse so there would be no need to flip the tape.   I managed to find and download an owners manul for it last night.  I don't know?  I was thinking of maybe recording guitars to it first, then dump that into the daw an see what it sounds like...?    I can tell ya this, My other guitarist is going to have to brush up as he rarely makes it through anything in a single take and I am not messing with punch ins to tape....  One shot willie or forgetaboutit!

then maybe you should record him digitally first, then record that good take from sonar onto the tape, then back to sonar?

Ya that's a typical consumer deck from the 80's. I had a sister machine back then. 

They only go to 7 IPS are 1/4 track  and they used sketchy noise reduction that didn't always work that well. I've had a few of them I used for tape transfers. The ones you want are the 1/2 tracks that run at 10IPS. 
If it's like the one I had, the record and playback heads are separated and this caused a ( rather cool) delay when trying sound with sound. I was hugely disappointed with this.  Sorry but they are simply museum pieces and not likely to enhance your recordings. The most fun you can have with it is make a loop echo machine. My guess is the electronics are shot and all the pots would be scratchy. Put it on a shelf in the studio cause I think they look cool. 

YAY!!!  I've been storing a *%$#ing anchor in the attic for years!!
Owwwell....

It will never keep up with digital in the signal to noise ratio. I had a four channel AKAI tape reel to reel deck (until I wrecked it) and it also had 15IPS to record with. Usually the slowest speed (3-3/4IPS) was the quietest speed with a signal to noise ratio of around 64db and not much higher at the fastest speed of 15IPS at 62db signal to noise ratio. It used 1/4 inch tape and even could have the big reels (not 7 inch but perhaps 10-12 inches) but that is all that it was. That is all that it will ever be, and although probably useable if it still works, they only work so good. Digital is way better and so are CD's so although mine was an earlier model (sometime in the '70's) I doubt if any reel to reel did any better unless it was a 2 inch studio tape deck used in studios at the time. And I think if I remember correctly some of those went up to 30IPS which probably means about 1 song per big reel used on the thing.

Naw, everyone went digital because it is just better.
??
You may be dreaming on what it could really do, which is not much considering digital equipment nowadays.

Ok guys, I appreciate the insight.  I probably won't put any money into it.  I just wanted to see if it might be useful, the conscensus seems to be that it's not really useful for much, or not worth the trouble.   I pluged it in and the lights come on and the rollers seem to move...  Maybe I can sell it?  I saw a few of them on craigslist and ebay, most priced between $200-$350   Sounds like I'd be better served putting that money into a good analog tape sim plug.

http://www.vintage-audio.com.ua/en/cat/39/46.html

ya, about the same as mine actually except mine was 4 channel - one way. Forget the model number now. Some purist may want it. I know another person who has a cheaper one (kept for old band tapes) while he sold his 2 channel AKAI a long time ago.
Back in those days, it was okay for taping, but things have changed. It is like some people prefer vinyl over digital (because there is some digital noise) because they think it is smoother or something like that.

You can always try it, but then I doubt if you would use it much at all really and it probably only has RCA phono outputs and inputs.
Come to think about it, I have two different model DBX boxes (instead of dolby noise reduction) still sitting around, that were made to be used to increase the signal to noise ratio of tape decks (cassettes) while one can even expand the music (but only a little otherwise it will pump) and do the noise reduction also and then you have to play it back through the unit with the play part also. I suppose they still work. I was just going to throw those away since they were bought in 1978. I wonder if they still work?
Model 122, and model 128, but then DBX also has way newer stuff that is all digital now and much better for compression and gates and all of that also they sell nowadays.

Probably belongs in a museum somewhere (if there is such a thing like that anywhere).