Thanks Kevin & STx - yes, I agree there is something really nice with seeing the rotating reels
If I had the money & the room, I would love an Ampex 2 inch quad video recorder in my front room
I think I will need to win a big prize on the Lottery first - & have a much bigger front room !
Sadly, my first R-R purchased in 1967, was later confiscated by the home office, as it was connected to a "Hot" MW TX at the time - a much converted Army 19 set (you could get them really cheap in those days from Tottenham court road)
After that, I moved on to much more convenient Cassettes -though a later (nicer) R-R was used in my RCSW studio. You can just make it out in the pic, near the bottom via this link:
https://bobmeades-ivil.tripod.com/id5.html