A3440 distortion channel 1

S

StrangeSteve

New member
Ghost you seem the dude to ask,
I have just cleaned the heads, demagged, the recorded audio on channel 1 is pretty low and distorted, all the switches are ok and cleaned.

if I actually put my finger across the tape onto the head during play and apply a little pressure, the levels come right up and the sound is clean. Does this sound like a head alignment problem ?, any pointers re adjustments would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Steve
 
Steve, have you tried recording other channels? Are these low too? As I understand, it records fine but the playback is low, until you actually apply pressure? Are you playing back with "sync" or "play" (Output Select)? Can you provide a good, clear photo of the heads?
 
Thanks Gents,
i'll have a mess about now, it was only channel 1 that had a lower lever than the other three channels, ill have a mess about this morning and report back.
Thanks

Steve.

oh i try and post a pic of the heads as well .
 
tape heads

Gents, I have taken a pic of the tape heads but unfortunately I'm not able to post as you seem to be only able to post pics from a URL.

Anyway done some test's it seems to record ok 2,3and 4, in normal record mode.
Sync will only record ok 2,3 not 4 however when recording in sync mode the monitored signal sounds ok.

When recording on channel 1 the signal is low and distorted in normal record,in sync the level is higher but still distorted, if I apply drag to the supply reel it does raise the levels however the recorded signal on channel 1 still sounds dull and is still lower than the other channels unless the rec lever is significantly higher than rest.

I got this machine s/h off ebay some time ago with some ampex 456. the pre recorded stuff sounds ok, I don't know if you machine was ever re biased for ampex during the course of it's life, and in any case the only new stock ive been able to get my hands on is zonal 700.

In live near Chester in the UK and if there was somebody that was in reasonable travelling distance i'd go and get it serviced and setup but service tech's for these machines seem to be becoming extinct.
Cheers
Steve
 
You can post pics here but they are limited to 64kB and you have to have posted at least 5 times before you can use that feature.

2 things to always do first is demag and clean the tape path. You'd be surprised how many seemingly daunting problems boil down to one of those two things. Even a little bit of oxide left on a head can drop the playback or record level to nada. Speaking from experience. I would be wary of the tape that came with the deck too.

  1. Get some new tape
  2. Clean the heads and guides with at least 91% iso alcohol or denatured alcohol and try using 100% cottom makeup remover pads instead of cotton swabs. It facilitates a better cleaning job. Got the idea from cjacek and I've never looked back. Get the good quality pads that look quilty.
  3. Properly degauss (demagnetize) your tape path. Post back here if you need guidance. Get a proper demagnetizer. The $10 cheapy ones off of eBay will not do the job on an open-reel deck. Expect to pay $30-70 for a good demagnetizer.

Put up a picture when you can or register for any number of online photo hosting sites like photobucket and then you'll have a URL for the pics and can link them here and they'll be larger and better quality which is helpful when assessing heads and such.
 
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