I have this Sony TC366 that I'm slowly resurrecting. Current issue is the right channel seems much hotter than the left. I initially tried recording tapes myself and the right channel sounds fine with the left sounding muffled/as if a low pass filter were put on it. Figured that either the tape could be bad or too old or the heads are beyond the end of their life. Then I got a prerecorded tape and the right channel is maxing out the VU meter most of the time with the left seeming somewhat normal.

I've adjusted the heads and cleaned them, sprayed contact cleaner in the switches (although maybe not enough), etc. Could the culprit here be a bad capacitor on one of the amplifier boards? High gain with a prerecorded tape makes me think it's something electronic and not just a corroded switch or knob.

Hello yall,

I recently got an M8 and though I love the sound I would really like to split it for a tube amp. I have seen some good resources online (https://lacinato.com/cm/audio/robertsmod) but as a novice who has only dabled in soldering / wiring, I would like to hire this out to someone. I live in Colorado, is there anyone in the US I might be able to ship this off to to have this done? Would it be exponentially more expensive than just getting a real tube amp?

Thanks!

Hi,

I recently acquired a Fostex B16 for a very decent price. including some tapes.

Most of the channels work as expected. Some need some love here and there.

The thing I’m running into is that when I record vocals and have longer notes the note seems to jitter or flutter. Which makes it sound like kind of weird. Now of course I understand the appeal of tape and flutter and jitter but this sounds kind of off. (See video). Or am I running the signal too hot and ia it just distorting?

Is there anything I can do to reduce this? Or perhaps some pointers on what to look into?

Hi all, just picked up two studer a62 in the hope of getting one working out of the pair. Does anybody have any recommendations of where to take them to be looked at in the uk. Thanks

Does anyone attempted to service one of these? I'm looking for a service manual.

I'm working on a A-2340R. I have it working almost as good as new. It records and plays in both directions and sounds damn good.

I have one issue I cannot seem to figure out. After a good cleaning and lubing (105) of the pinch roller arm it works flawlessly when playing but not when recording. When I go to record the roller does not close on its own and requires a very slight "flick" with my finger to snap closed.

It moves freely and as already mentioned works flowless when playing back. Any help would be appreciated.

Hey folks! I picked up one of these machines recently and I want to refurbish it. The machines transport works perfectly, the only issues I’m having is one dead channel, the machine itself a bit noisey (can hear a quiet tone at like 1k when monitoring sync and Repro head) and generally some wow and flutter. Oh! Also a few channels (maybe 3 or 4) just sound terrible, either really high levels of distortion, drop outs and bass loss. in any case, what’s the best plan of action? My heads have been relapped recently. My basic knowledge thinks potentially some components have went bad over time, so some cap/transistor/resistor changes may be in order, or could it be worth getting an MRL tape first and trying to sort the biasing out! I do have ways of running tones to the machine obviously, however the manual recommends sorting out the Repro head output levels before trying any other stage of calibration.

Any advice from some experienced folks would be great! I want to have this machine for a while and I’m up for the challenge / opportunity to learn more about technical fault finding. I am handy with a soldering iron!

Cheers!

My friend does not have Reddit but asked me to post this here, it’s a Tascam 38, does anyone have an idea what’s going on here?

I recently purchased a Revox PR99 Mk2 for what I think is a very good price ($350) everything on it works. this is one the units that was used in broadcasting so its been serviced frequently though out its life. it has had a little mono conversion but fortunately, the heads are still stereo. there is just a cover over one of the XLR outputs. im hoping the XLR plug is still under the cover.

I've been told its common for broadcasting station to take out the knobs so no one touches them accidentally and so both the line input knobs are missing. unfortunately, to avoid accidental touch, they have take out the potentiometer shaft that the knob sits on and have replaced it with what seems to be a couple of flathead screws.

im trying to figure out how to put a couple of knobs back there. I don't care if they are original or not but not having the shaf is making it difficult to fit any sort of knob on it.

my question is, would the screw come undone if I just twist it? I tried it without putting too much force on it and it didn't seem like it would screw out. I didn't wanna break anything. if you have any idea on how I should go about this please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Hello! In a previous post I told you i was going to buy a TEAC 80-8 for 200€ instead of 500€ and i was not sure if it could record or play at all. Well, I bought it. I'm greatly relieved and surprised that IT DOES WORK PERFECTELY!!!!

Of course there are minor issues : the Overload led of CH1 doesn't work, the left-hand tension arm is missing, a part of the right hub is also missing and there are some minor damages on the wooden pannels (i'll sand and re-varnish them) but overall it's in pristine condition!

I've recontacted the seller about the DX-8 DBX module he has, and we agreed on 100€ for it + a bag full of cables. I'm super happy about it because i've seen that he put the unit alone for 150€ on the website I purchased the TEAC from.

Tell me what you think! Your opinion matters to me and will help me if you have any advice on the machine(s)!

Hi there! If I had my druthers, I'd just get the Studio 8000 rolling console, but I never see those for sale, ever, anywhere.

Can someone recommend a cart for my Teac 80-8 please?

I also have the DX-8 DBX module, if that matters at all. I am in the NYC area, FWIW.

My recently acquired Sony TC-580 is not playing tapes with any amount of quality. It is overall very clippy and buzzy.

In order to fix this, I bought a vintage Sony HE-2 head demagnetizing tool to demag all 4 of the heads, and also cleaned all 4 with isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip. Lots of brown came off on the q-tips so I'm guessing they have become somewhat corroded from sitting in a non-temperature-controlled Florida garage for who knows how long. Especially the record/erase head from the looks of it.

I followed the HE-2 instructions and didn't touch the heads with the tool. I just depressed the button from about 2 feet away, came in for about 5 seconds and waved the tool across each head, the came back out and let go of the button. The deck was not powered on or even plugged in.

Will the sound quality return to normal with another few passes of the demag tool and maybe another cleaning? I cleaned them the first time until no brown came off.

I'm fairly sure the demag tool is working as well; it buzzes when I pass it close to the heads.

The playback heads are contained inside of a bit of shielding around each head, so it was somewhat difficult getting the demag tool in there without touching anything. I may not have gotten close enough?

Or do I need to completely refurbish these heads and maybe lap them to smooth again? Or maybe just replace them entirely if I can find replacements?

Any help with this would be great. Although I own another reel to reel, that other one has never worked, and never will work, and mostly just sits around to look pretty. I've never had to refurbish tape heads besides cleaning and running a demag cassette through on a cassette deck, either.

So consider me a newb.

I'm not slouch when it comes to vintage gear repairs though, but mostly stick to turntables and amplifiers.

Cheers

How do i record on this Braun TG1000 reel to reel device? This is my first time ever using reel to reel tape.

The connectors in the first image are labeld left (top) and right (bottom). I dont know if these are inputs or outputs tho.

I already looked for a user manual online but i can only find service manuals.

Could someone help me? Thanks!

No motor activity inside fuses seem good

Hi! Title says it all, but not really in this business and I don't know how valuable this item is. Can anyone help me price it, I swear Im not advertising I just rlly have no idea. Thanks! It's a Tascam DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio Multi-Track Recorder

Hello, I'm new to all this and I'm going to buy a Teac 80-8 from someone tomorrow, but it is not serviced. I've talked to the seller and he said :

- It powers on

- Forward and Backward function work

- Diodes (I'm assuming the lighting) and VU-meters are working

- One of the hubs is covered in duct tape

It was listed for 550€ but I managed to lower it to 200€ by saying that the overall state of the device was not worth 550€ at all and that a fully serviced Teac 80-8 was at least 500€ in my area.

So I'm requesting your help on how to service and repair a Teac 80-8. If you have anything to say, I'm all ears!

(English is not my native language, so I'm sorry if I made some mistakes)

Hey everyone,

I have an old 1/4-inch reel-to-reel master tape that’s really important to me. I got it from someone my dad knows. I think he found it under his bed, where it’d been sitting for decades before I got it.

For the past few months, I’ve kept it in its box inside a wooden cabinet. The room stays cool, it’s been lying flat the whole time with nothing on top of it, and I kept it near the front of the cabinet since it was easier to get to.

The only thing I’m worried about is the cabinet has one of those little magnetic catches that keeps the door closed. I also took the tape out a couple of times to take some pictures near the cabinet, and now I’m worried I might’ve gotten it too close to the magnet.

I looked into whether those cabinet magnets can alter or erase magnetic tape, and everything I found says they aren’t strong enough. But I’m still wondering if they could cause any distortion or affect the recording in any way. I just don’t want anything to happen to the tape.

The tape also has some mold on the outside from how it was stored over the years, so I’m already a little nervous about its condition. I’m getting it professionally cleaned and digitized soon, and the guy doing the transfer told me he can’t imagine there being any problems and said he’s never seen a tape get erased from being stored near a magnetic field.

Am I just overthinking this, or is this something I should actually be concerned about? I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with experience working with old reel-to-reel tapes.

Thanks!

I'm not very experienced with electronics repairs (tape decks in particular) so I'm really proud that I got this Teac X-10R working today! I've had it and another one that I bought for cheap as non-working quite a while ago. One is pretty dead so I used that to practice on. This one had completely frozen pinch roller arms and the belt had melted into a fun gooey mess. It actually wasn't that hard to fix although I can't get all the belt goo off my hands. It plays amazing when compared to my Teac X-3R. However I just found that recording from right to left has issues with the left channel but the other way is fine. Both ways play great so I'm super chuffed! Pardon my messy setup but I feel a messy setup is one that gets used all the time 😁

I don't see this model pop up very often.

It’s a 4-channel JVC Nivico 1400U from the early 70s.

Those four VU meters look absolutely killer when lit up.

I’m curious if anyone here has owned or serviced one of these?

I recently purchased a tascam 38 and i want to ensure that i take as good care of it as i can. i understand that you need rubbing alcohol to clean the unit but what i’m confused on is just where exactly. thank you

It makes this noise whenever I use it and im not sure whats wrong. Everything works for now but im assuming maybe its a shot bearing or something? Let me know what you guys think. Its an akai gx4000d in case that helps.

I recently found this full box of New Old Stock (NOS) Agfa Professional PEM 468 master tapes (1/4" / 6.3mm, 1000m on AEG hubs).

I'm curious if anyone here is still running these in their studio?