I like my Reel to Reel

oldrocker

Got my GX 280D SS all cleaned, lubed and playing my first self recorded reel.
Reels are spinning into an old Sansui with my Polk 5jr's spreading the love

boston1450

Very Cool. R2R is very enjoyable. Some say too much work. I say worth the effort. I was listening to some good ole BBKing earlier on one of the Teac's. Enjoy yourself.....

[Deleted User]

Nice!
I should talk my buddy out of his R2R and get in the game.

drumminman

Glad you like it.

ken brydson

Ken Swauger should be sportin' wood by now....

mhardy6647

I suspect that Mr.Swauger's tastes run more towards things like this...

stella by mhardy6647, on Flickr

(not mine, sadly)

[Deleted User]

I think tape recorders and to a lesser degree turntables can satisfy a requirement, among audio equipment enthusiasts, to see what is making the music happen. As our audio worlds began making the production of quality sound less obviously mechanical we lost a level of appreciation about the method in which it happens. The CD drawer opens and as long as we put the disc on the tray correct side up or down the rest is hidden from us. It's a magic box that somehow takes a piece of plastic and produces a semblance of music.
But a tape recorder is the complete opposite, you have to be a part of the process. The tape has to be threaded, going around the guides and centered over the heads and fed to the take up reel. Then when the play button is pushed you can see the results, the pinch roller snaps into place, the tape moves, the playback meters move and music is seen and heard. There is the pleasure of well made mechanical parts operating together and producing a pleasant result with your help.
Then there's the aspect of the enjoyable rituals involved, putting the tapes back in their boxes, protecting them. The periodic head and pinch roller cleaning, the satisfaction of maintenance done well all lead to a satisfying personal involvement. There's also something about having a playback method that is akin to the original way the music was recorded (at least the recording of music that truly matters). There was someone at a tape recorder, at Abbey Road, threading tape and watching VU meters just like you enjoying the captured results. It's another link between what was before and what is happening now in your listening room.

mhardy6647

Well put.

mhardy6647

DSC_9929 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

oldrocker

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Well put.

Indeed

george daniel

^^^^^very well said!

oldrocker

Being a RTR newbie a question about tapes. Is it possible to actually clean a reel tape? When I got this thing the guy had 41 tapes with it, one of them has a box that says Jimi Hendrix on it. I have not played it yet as I did play one of the open ones and it was so filthy it was shot. Didn't know if there was a way to save a tape?

[Deleted User]

Hello,
Yes, tape can be cleaned and even saved from oxide shed if that's what you have. Can you describe what the tape looks like? Do you see small brown or black flecks that are the same as the oxide coating of the tape itself?
Regards, Ken

oldrocker

Ken,
I'm not seeing any "flecks" on the tape. FYI, most of the open/used tapes came in their own cardboard holding box. All of them smell very musky like a mildew/mold smell. The previous owner was a heavy smoker and their was a lot of residue on everything. I have not tried any of the open tapes again as I finally got the heads nice and clean and did not want to "dirty" them up again. On that note, is it ok to clean the heads numerous times?

Thanks
David

oldrocker

All of the original "brown" coating on the tapes appear to be intact. On the plastic reels there is some spotting which looks like a mold substance.
I took all the empty plastic take up reels, mixed some hot water and a product called crud cutter and soaked them. As soon as I put them in the solution, all the smoke and grime came off and they are now clean clear plastic.

Also, this reel to reel originally came with a Akai surround stereo 4 track, 4 channel demonstration tape. It has 4 songs on it and the back of the box has an illustration showing the four tracks of the tape and how it sends music to each 4 speakers. I would like to try this tape but the idea of running "dirty" tape back across the heads makes me cringe as I don't want to hurt anything.

[Deleted User]

Hi David,
One approach would be to hold a Q-tip to the playing side of the tape as you fast-forwarded the tape from beginning to end and see if there's much deposit on the cotton swab. Chances are the actual playing surface of the tape is clean enough to not cause much buildup on the heads.
What are you using to clean the heads, guides and pinch roller?
Ken

oldrocker

Ken,
I got some rubbing alcohol from a pharmacy 90%+ alcohol to clean the heads and guides. I used plain warm/damp water for the rubber on the pinch wheel. I'll try the Q-tip thing. Is there a "conditioning/cleaning" product that can be used on the rubber section of the pinch wheel? Or do you have a preferred product you use? The pitch wheel rubber is, for the most part clean and functioning but as old as the rubber is, I am concerned on how to "re-condition" it if possible.

TKS
David

[Deleted User]

Hi David,
The best head cleaning liquid is S-721H made by the American Recorder Technology company and it can be used for pinch rollers as well. The very best rubber cleaner is the extremely hard to find Teac TZ-251B or just Teac "blue" because of its color, but it sells for about the same as 24 year old scotch, expensive.
The old time recording engineers always used Ronsonol lighter fluid for cleaning everything. MG Chemicals makes a product called Rubber Renue that I've used. Terry Welsh of "Terry's Rubbers" fame recommends simply washing pinch rollers with a good quality dish washing liquid. As long as your pinch roller isn't glazed (having a brittle surface instead of soft rubber) and no cracks you should be fine.
If you're as retentive as I am you'll send the old pinch roller to Terry for a rebuild, but that's pretty extreme. Don't use the alcohol on anything rubber, as I'm sure you already know.
The first "surround sound" was offered on prerecorded tapes and are four separate audio tracks each one individually amplified going to four speakers. I first heard a JVC demonstration, many years ago, and it was pretty amazing. One of the more rarified categories of tape collecting are the four channel tapes and machines. These decks coupled with a Sansui Quad receiver are highly sought after.
Have fun, Ken

oldrocker

Thanks for the info Ken. Greatly appreciated..

mhardy6647

Tape rehab/restoration/rescue info (taken from a thread posted at audiokarma):
http://richardhess.com/notes/formats/magnetic-media/magnetic-tapes/analog-audio/degrading-tapes/

oldrocker

Thanks for the info Mr. Hardy.
The more info I can get the better..Appreciated!!

headrott

Glad you are enjoying your Reel to Reel deck. It is probably THE best format to listen to music, in my opinion. Analog with no pops, crackles, etc. Just a wonderful way to listen to music!

Ken's advice is spectacular. I have also used MG Rubber Renue, and it works well. For the heads, definately use as high of an alcohol (and low water) percentage as you can get. 99% is best. As Ken also pointed out, there are a number of "specialty cleaners" out there that work well too. The point is to clean the heads, pinch rollers, capstain, etc.

Also, demagentizing the heads will improve your listening experience. There are a number of head demagnetizers out there. Some good ones are made by TEAC.

Enjoy the music.

oldrocker

Yes Sir, it is a blast and everything I read on RTR's here goes right to a special file.

The recordings I have made are all the 33/4 speed which I'm sure is not the best but until I can find a deck with oh I don't know 20 inch reels then I will do the faster speeds and everything will be alright with the world.

On a serious note, even though this deck works very well, for her age, I need to find a local/somewhat close tech that can go through this thing will the skill and experience it deserves.

I keep wondering how in the world, I might convince Ken to take on a "newbie/hooked on RTR" special project

mhardy6647

small%20TDK%20L1800 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

A classic "1 mil" polyester (Mylar) base tape on a 7" reel is 1800 feet of tape -- at 7-1/2 ips, that's good for just about 45 minutes per side (same as a C-90 cassette... coincidence? I think not!).

A typical 12" LP record runs about 40 to 44 minutes total (i.e., both sides).

See my "coincidence?" comment above.

;- )

pongshi

I had a about 100 7 inch dusty polyester, (mostly scotch 150s) tapes that I had acquired through a garage sale. I have an old Sony 777 which is not in the best shape but serves the purpose for cleaning old reel tapes. I thread my reel tape reel to reel and bypass the heads completely. I cut a small section off a paper towel and make a small patch I hold between my thumb and index finger and LIGHTLY grip the tape between the reels while I fast forward the tape. If your fingers start to burn, you are gripping too tight This gets rid of dust and dirt on the tape. After cleaning the tapes, I run them through an old tape demagnetizer. I am sure there are a lot of other ways, but this works for me.

mhardy6647

I hope that someday you rehab that 777 and use it for something besides tape cleaning ;- )

DSC_9986 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Maybe use a TC-280 or a single motor AKAI or (aiyeee!) an old Dokorder or something for tape cleaning...

pongshi

Wow, that's a beautiful specimen there. Mine has a lot of issues, but I just can't seem to get rid of it. The reels on mine run like a top, but the capsian is a different story.

mhardy6647

It seems to work well, although there is some channel level imbalance on playback -- I've yet to try recording with it. Could just be PB head alignment; the 777 has, if I understand correctly, rather odd "electro bilateral" heads... which I think means one PB head stack can play either two-track or quarter track (normal consumer stereo bidirectional) tape formats.

oldrocker

Nice stuff.
Sadly I have nothing new to show or talk about

pongshi

Little more eye candy..my Technics RS-1500 2 track

mhardy6647

That's OK -- I think that all of our stuff is old ;- )
(I know that mine is)

DSC_0056 by mhardy6647, on Flickr