The Reel Beatles The Beatles
and Solo Beatles
Reel-to-Reel Tapes
Price & Reference Guide

©1997-2000 Mitch McGeary and Perry Cox
Yesterday and Today reel tape

Although not quite as popular as their LP counterparts, reel tapes are certainly gaining in popularity and appreciation among collectors as they are the most popular area to collect of all the tape formats. The challenge, as with records, is to find them in near mint or better condition. Unlike an LP, the shrink wrap had to be completely removed to use the product, and therefore most of the tape boxes were exposed to wear. They were never stored in protective bags, and usually stacked in piles with other tapes. Some boxes were tight and hard to open, resulting in tears on the edge around the thumb tab cut-out. As well, most of the boxes on the heavier 7½ ips tapes seem to have at least some seam splitting due to the heavier reel floating around inside. Very few copies turn up in factory sealed condition.

The following is a list of all known Beatles and Solo Beatles reel to reel tapes released in the U.S. from 1964-1984, including variations and reissues. Most titles were released in the 7" reel format, using two different playback speeds. Three titles were released in the 5" format - Meet The Beatles, Yesterday And Today, and Paul's Give My Regards To Broadstreet Audio Press Kit.

Until mid-1969, Capitol manufactured their own tapes. By the time Abbey Road was released, Capitol had sub-contracted the tape manufacturing to Ampex Tapes, who produced tapes and packages for Capitol for many years hence. Capitol-manufactured reel tapes are usually found in brown boxes with the title/photo slicks adhered to them. The reels themselves may be clear transparent or pink opaque plastic. The pink opaque style for 7" tapes are the most common. All Capitol-manufactured tapes were recorded at the slower 3¾ ips speed, except for Revolver, which for some unknown reason was issued in both 3¾ ips and 7½ ips versions - the latter being one of the rarest of all Beatles reel tapes. Only one known promotional copy of a Beatles reel-to-reel tape exists - Rubber Soul, issued on a 3" reel and housed in a plastic clam-shell mailer. It was numbered one digit below the commercial release and is extremely rare.

Beatles tapes released from Abbey Road on were issued in blue boxes with clear transparent reels. Later ones have green transparent reels. The sound quality was enhanced on these blue-box versions when the tapes were recorded for playback at 7½ ips. This, of course, made for twice the tape length and a heavier reel for the same amount of musical material. One album, Help! was only issued in the Ampex format and did not appear on the earlier brown box 3¾ ips format.

There were at least fourteen reel tapes issued commercially of solo Beatles and related titles, including the promotional Broadstreet. Both of George's triple albums, Concert For Bangla Desh and All Things Must Pass were issued as single-reel sets, and thus were recorded at the slower 3¾ ips speed. All of the Ampex releases were issued in blue boxes. The values listed are for strictly graded near-mint copies of the tape/label and box. Values drop fast for lower grades, with vg copies selling for perhaps 1/3 the NM value.

 
Title Year Manufacturer / Number Size Audio Speed NM
Abbey Road 1969 Apple/Ampex L-383 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Beatles VI /
Something New
1965 Capitol Y2T-2382 7" stereo 3¾ ips $125.00
Beatles VI 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2358 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Beatles 65 /
Early Beatles
1965 Capitol Y2T-2365 7" stereo 3¾ ips $125.00
Beatles 65 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2228 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Beatles "White Album"
(brown box, 1 reel)
1968 Apple Y2WB-101 7" stereo 3¾ ips $80.00
Beatles "White Album"
(blue box, 2 reels)
1968Apple/Ampex L 101/L2 101
(This issue contained edited versions of Glass Onion, Don't Pass Me By, Yer Blues, Helter Skelter, and Revolution # 9, and omits Can You Take Me Back.)
7" stereo 7½ ips $100.00
Early Beatles 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2309 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Hard Day's Night 1964 United Artists MUA-3366 7" MONO 7½ ips $125.00
Hard Day's Night 1964 United Artists MUA-6366
(rare issue, "Manufactured and Nationally distributed by Music Tapes, Inc. - Under license by United Artists Records"....)
7" stereo 7½ ips $150.00
Hard Day's Night
(clear reel)
1966 United Artists UAX-6366 7" stereo 3¾ ips $100.00
Hard Day's Night
(grey reel)
1970 United Artists UST-6366 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Help! 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2386 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Hey Jude 1970 Apple/Ampex L-385 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Let It Be 1970 Apple/Ampex L-3401 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Magical Mystery Tour 1968 Capitol Y1T 2835 7" stereo 3¾ ips $100.00
Magical Mystery Tour 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2835 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Meet The Beatles
(black box)
1964 Capitol Z2-2047 5" MONO 3¾ ips $180.00
Meet The Beatles
(brown box)
1964 Capitol Z2-2047 5" MONO 3¾ ips $200.00
Meet The Beatles
(black box)
1964
Capitol Z4-2047 5" stereo 3¾ ips $175.00
Meet The Beatles
(brown box, usually has stereo sticker on front)
1964
Capitol Z4-2047 5" stereo 3¾ ips $140.00
Meet The Beatles 1965 Capitol Y1T-2047 7" stereo 3¾ ips $90.00
Meet The Beatles 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2047 7" stereo 7½ ips $75.00
Revolver 1966 Capitol ZT-2576
(The only Capitol-manufactured
tape released in the 7½ ips format).
7" stereo 7½ ips $175.00
Revolver 1966 Capitol Y1T-2576 7" stereo 3¾ ips $100.00
Revolver 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2576 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Rubber Soul (Promotional copy) 1966 Capitol Y2 2466 3" stereo 7½ ips $300.00
Rubber Soul/
Second Album
1966 Capitol Y2T 2467 7" stereo 3¾ ips $125.00
Rubber Soul 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2442 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Second Album 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2080 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Sgt. Peppers 1967 Capitol Y1T-2653 7" stereo 3¾ ips $125.00
Sgt. Peppers 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2653 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Yellow Submarine 1969 Apple Y1W-153 7" stereo 3¾ ips $70.00
Yellow Submarine 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-153 7" stereo 7½ ips $80.00
Yesterday and Today 1966 Capitol YT-2553 5" stereo 3¾ ips $175.00
Yesterday and Today 1968 Capitol Y1T-2553 7" stereo 3¾ ips $100.00
Yesterday and Today 1970 Capitol/Ampex L-2553 7" stereo 7½ ips $125.00
    Solo Beatles Reels
Title Year Manufacturer / Number Size Audio Speed NM
All Things Must Pass 1970 Apple D-639 7" stereo 3¾ ips $60.00
Beaucoups of Blues 1970 Apple/Ampex L-3368 7" stereo 7½ ips $40.00
Concert For Bangla Desh
(issued with program insert)
1971 Apple ZRX-31230 7" stereo 3¾ ips $70.00
Family Way, The (Soundtrack) 1967 London/Ampex LPL-70136 7" stereo 7½ ips $60.00
Give My Regards To Broadstreet
(promo only, "Audio Press Kit", includes McCartney talk plus a musical montage of 4 songs from the soundtrack). This was a first in a series of Audio Press Kits put out by 20th Century Fox. Included with the tapes was a cover letter, a format sheet with running times, production notes on the movie, an indemnification form, and a "comments" postcard for radio stations to return).
1984 20th Century Fox 5" stereo 7½ ips $125.00
Imagine
(issued with lyric sheet insert)
1971 Apple/Ampex L-3379 7" stereo 7½ ips $50.00
Live and Let Die (Soundtrack) 1973 United Artists UST-100A 7" stereo 7½ ips $30.00
Live Peace In Toronto 1969 Apple/Ampex L-3362 7" stereo 7½ ips $45.00
Magic Christian (Soundtrack) 1970 Ampex L-604 7" stereo 7½ ips $25.00
McCartney 1970 Apple/Ampex L-3363 7" stereo 7½ ips $45.00
Plastic Ono Band (John)
(issued with insert)
1970 Apple/Ampex M-3372 7" stereo 7½ ips $45.00
Plastic Ono Band (Yoko)
(issued with insert)
1970 Apple/Ampex M-3373 7" stereo 7½ ips $20.00
Ram 1971 Apple/Ampex L-3375 7" stereo 7½ ips $45.00
Sentimental Journey 1970 Apple/Ampex L-3365 7" stereo 7½ ips $45.00




Original unused cover slick for the Sgt. Pepper's Reel tape. Click to enlarge.



By Mitch McGeary and Perry Cox, ©1997-2000.
Additional information provided by Frank Daniels
Additional scans provided by Thomas Drozewski
Logo graphic by Robert York
Last updated March 5, 2000.


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