Why in the red, yet not printing!

[blas]

I'm confused!!! I recently rolled out my old Revox 8 track machine to visit some projects I did about 20 years ago. Nice trip down memory lane, in fact I started pulling some of those projects up to my digital workstation. So far, so good.
But then I decided to go ahead and shoot a mix to the Revox from my workstation. The LED's where bouncin' like a baby thru the whole cut. Went to do playback..........NOTHING! I tried it three times, even to a different set of tracks - same sweet moving meters but in the end no print.
Has my Otari 5050 put a hex on me (since I've let it sit while needing repair) or will the Revox join the same fate.
Any reasonable help would be appreicated.

 

[A Reel Person]

Of course, it's really hard to say.

I don't have a Revox or an Otari. I'm basically a Tascam person.

Check the 'no brainers' like:

-First and foremost, tape head cleanliness. View the head with a bright light. Scrub the head withan alcohol soaked swab, using moderate finger pressure, then scrub it again. Make sure it's not this, and make absolutely sure, before moving on to more technical things.

-tape threading/tape orientation [i.e., tape not upside down]

-switching/routing/configuration of the deck, itself.

-patching/cabling, [i.e., if you accidentally run your input signal into your output connectors, your meters may bounce, but you will not record].