Telex Copyette 1-2-3 tape duplication help (crackling sounds)

[blankettruth]

Tried getting some different tapes from Tape.com and I'm having the same issue still!

GAH!

I'm pulling my hair out over here

[blankettruth]

Busting this back out to try and remedy after talking to Steve at National Audio Company.

He said that he's heard of this problem before and that it's definitely a static electricity build up. His suggestion was to rub the tape duplicator down with a dryer sheet (not the heads of course) and put a dryer sheet underneath the feet of the duplicator. Apparently that has worked for people he talked to in the past.

The other thing he suggested is to put the cassette tapes in the fridge over night to help regain a bit of humidity and then try after the first steps have been completed.

If all fails he said they could just duplicate those tapes for me.

...

So far I tried the dryer sheets trick and it didn't work. I currently have a box of 100 tapes chilling in my refrigerator.

[jedblue]

Hope you get on top of it Jon. Did you ever try de-magging the duplicator heads?

[blankettruth]

Thanks jedblue. I have indeed tried to de-mag with the cheapo demagnetizer that I have. It usually seems to work but hasn't had any effect on this problem.

[LDS]

I've seen issues like that caused by a bad ground on the capstan/flywheel assembly.

[Thomo.cchc]

hey i just have a quick question about the Telex Copyette 1 2 3 mono.
i got mine off eBay and started dubbing tapes but the copies come out really muddy sounding and nothing like the master tape, i don't know very much about these duplicators but is the reason it sounds this way because of the 'mono'? or do my heads need more of a thorough clean? if any of you have any suggestions/ideas it would be much appreciated.. Thanks!

[The Ghost of FM]

hey i just have a quick question about the Telex Copyette 1 2 3 mono.
i got mine off eBay and started dubbing tapes but the copies come out really muddy sounding and nothing like the master tape, i don't know very much about these duplicators but is the reason it sounds this way because of the 'mono'? or do my heads need more of a thorough clean? if any of you have any suggestions/ideas it would be much appreciated.. Thanks!

You unit appears to be only compatible with normal bias type I tapes and operates at a very high rate of speed, 14X normal play speed while in copy mode. So those two factors right there are going to severely limit the sound quality of any full range master tape which has music on it as the higher frequencies above voice range are going to be lost due to the now extremely high frequencies being impossible for the recorder decks in this unit to capture. So really, this unit is only suitable for voice quality recordings only.

Here's another way to look at this. Full range music on cassette has a frequency range of 50-15khz approx. But when you play this tape at 14 times normal play speed, those frequencies get shifted upward well beyond 100Khz! The best tape recorders in the world don't record much of anything beyond 25Khz. So really, about the only things that could survive are voice range frequencies up to about 2Khz. And this is why your unit is a mono one because they never internded it for music copying.

Bottom line: If you bought this machine to duplicate music cassettes, you bought the wrong device.

Cheers!

[Thomo.cchc]

Thanks for the info!

what would you recommend to duplicate music cassettes?

[The Ghost of FM]

Thanks for the info!

what would you recommend to duplicate music cassettes?

The best quality transfers would be accomplished at 1x play speed. So basically any decent 3 head cassette deck with type II cassettes will yield the best results. And that's suitable if you only need a handful of copies made. But if you need hundreds or thousands made, you might consider shopping the job out to professional duplication services companies which may have multi-unit real time systems that can do larger jobs like this fairly cost effectively and quickly. If you live in a major city or close to one, there may be several companies ready and willing to give you a good deal and fast turn around. Check out your local business directory, (Yellow pages).

Is this a one time event? Or do you foresee yourself needing to do several different copy jobs? If its just one, hire it out. If it's several, only then consider buying your own gear. Either way, get a quote from a local duplicator to see which is more cost effective for you.

Cheers!