Hearing the tape while rewinding/fast forwarding

[Ink N. Face]

Is it normal to hear the tape play really fast while rewinding and fast forwarding, or should it not be that close to the head?

[cjacek]

As long as it is not touching the head in FF / REW then it's fine. Is it touching? What type of tape machine you've got?

[sweetbeats]

Yeah...what kind of deck is it?

There should be some little posts that drop down and push the tape away from the heads when shutling in fast-wind. Sometimes the lubricant gets old and sticky and they can't travel freely...

[Ink N. Face]

It's an Akai 4000-DS MK-II. It seems to work pretty well, but I think the heads aren't lined up as well as they should be.

[sweetbeats]

BTW, welcome!

So does the tape lift away from the heads when in fast wind mode?

[Vintage Texas]

Could be two things:
# cam-assembly on the playlever is broken and the tape-lifter will not engage properly, or:
# Adjust the small rod next to the record head in the picture ( second from the left) suppose to be straight and push the tape away from the heads in fforward + rewind.

[Ink N. Face]

Thanks for helping everybody. I found out that I just threaded the tape wrong. By the way, does anyone have any tips or comments regarding the Akai 4000-DS?

[Beck]

One other common condition that will cause the heads to pickup audio when the tape isn't touching is badly magnetized heads. The heads may need demagnetizing (degaussing). I've seen this cure the problem in many cases on many different decks.