Ballfinger

THE RETURN OF THE OPEN-REEL MASTER MACHINE

For decades, magnetic tape represented the reference medium for professional analogue recording. After being largely displaced by digital technology for more than 30 years, open-reel tape has returned as a specialist high-end format - not as nostalgia, but as a serious medium for listeners, collectors and recording professionals who value directness, scale, dynamics and the physical connection to the master recording.

BALLFINGER is one of the modern manufacturers at the centre of this revival. The German company develops contemporary open-reel tape machines for both playback and recording, combining precision engineering with traditional analogue principles. Its current range includes machines such as the M 002 P, M 003 P, M 003 R, M 051 MR and M 063 MK2.

The M 002 P was originally conceived as a professional playback solution for archive work, but Ballfinger now also positions it as a high-end machine for audiophiles playing ¼-inch, 15 ips master-tape copies. It uses direct-drive capstan and reel motors, accommodates reels up to 30 cm and supports 19.05 and 38.1 cm/s playback speeds.

Moving further into recording, the M 003 R adds full record capability in a compact ¼-inch half-track format, while the flagship-oriented M 063 MK2 expands the concept with ¼-inch or ½-inch tape capability, direct-drive transport, three speeds up to 76 cm/s / 30 ips, switchable CCIR and NAB equalisation, 320 and 510 nWb/m operating levels and balanced professional connectivity.

But the Ballfinger story is not only about hardware.

BALLFINGER × ANALOGY RECORDS - MUSIC MADE FOR THE MACHINE

Ballfinger has also been associated with a dedicated 15 ips Special Edition Sampler produced by Analogy Records specifically for Ballfinger. Analogy Records describes the release as a ¼-inch, 2-track sampler containing exclusive and unreleased material spanning acoustic pop, world-jazz, swing, jazz, pop-jazz and contemporary classical music.

Among its most significant selections is “Both Sides Now” by the Andrea Celeste Quartet, identified by Analogy Records as an exclusive and unreleased recording by Al Schmitt. The programme also includes music from Elias Nardi Group, Nine Pennies Big Band, Norchestra & GNU Quartet, Moroni/Gomez/La Barbera, Alessio Pisani and Andrea Celeste.

The edition was conceived as more than simply a demonstration tape. It uses premium packaging, a custom box, aluminium flange and booklet, giving it the character of a collector’s release as well as a reference listening programme. Analogy Records lists the format as ¼-inch, 2-track at 15 ips.

Analogy Records itself follows a particularly uncompromising production philosophy. The label states that its contemporary recordings are produced in-house and distributed on analogue tape, with original master tapes produced directly from the multitrack recording system rather than simply making another copy from a conventional pre-existing master.

This philosophy makes the Ballfinger sampler particularly appropriate: a modern precision tape machine paired with music created specifically for serious analogue reproduction.

And Ballfinger has continued developing its own music-production activity. Its Ballfinger Music #0001 release, for example, was analogue-mastered in the company’s Krefeld studio on a Ballfinger M 051 MR, with master-tape copies offered on RTM LPR90 or SM900, at 15 ips.

OPENREELTOREEL HUB - MUSIC FOR MACHINES LIKE THESE

The hardware is only one half of the analogue experience. A reference tape recorder needs recordings capable of revealing what the machine can actually do.

That is where OpenReelToReel Hub / The Sound of Tape comes in.

The specialist catalogue focuses on audiophile-quality master reel tapes, premium vinyl pressings and other high-quality physical music formats, with an emphasis on original record-label releases rather than unofficial copies or bootlegs. Its Ballfinger section specifically highlights the revival of open-reel tape and the dedicated Analogy Records sampler made for Ballfinger.

For the serious listener, this creates a complete analogue chain:

A precision open-reel machine.
A carefully produced analogue master.
A properly duplicated high-speed tape.
And a physical music edition designed to preserve the recording rather than merely reproduce it.

That is why the contemporary reel-to-reel renaissance matters.

It is not an attempt to recreate the past.

It is the continuation of a recording technology whose potential was never completely exhausted.

BALLFINGER - modern engineering for magnetic tape.
OpenReelToReel Hub - music selected for the machines capable of revealing it.

🎧 Keeping the Reel-to-Reel Renaissance in Motion.

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