Akai 4000ds newbie

kip4

kip4

Well-known member
I got a couple of old Akai 4000ds yesterday

I plan on making one good one out of the two.
I will be getting it serviced when i get some new belts and i've been told i need new transistors in my mic amp. As its very noisy on one side.

I'm a little dissapointed after trialing with a 4000ds mkii. The sound Qaulity isnt as good, but i think i'll keep my ear to the ground and my eye on ebay for a future upgrade.

I think i'll record through the line ins in the mean time.
I was thinking i'd rig up a din to patchbay lead (snake style) . Is this a good idea?
or maybe just line ins and outs to patchbay.

Where do you guys get your new tapes?
 
Most of the members are in the US, so where they get their tape isn't necessarily helpful. I think I gave you a list of tape types and suppliers to check out before, I can probably dig that up again. Personally I get most of my tapes from StudioSpares, but I the ones they sell aren't a great match for a consumer deck.

IIRC Carousel Media stock LPR35 tapes. I haven't bought from them before but other people here have. I have also bought tape from Canford, but not for a while now.
 
I wonder if either of your new recorders is the one that was stolen from my flat in London in 1981?
 
Is it a mk2 you currently have?
The din socket carries 2ins and 2 outs, so it's unbalanced, but if memory serves, the ins are phono level.
 
It could well be Bobbsy the geez who gave it to me was a bit whooa a bit way. From the smoke.

Thanks Steeno for the info and unfortunately its a mark1 .

Btw does anyone know where i can find out the significance of the serial number please.
I'm curious to know what year these machines were made in. I have two and there differant.
 
I have two Akai GX 4000db and 1 Akai 4000ds and I find the playback/recording very good on these units. They were the workhorse of Akai's decks and entry level machines. Akai sold alot of these decks, simply because of price and the fact they are great. Clean the pots with deoxit and the heads with 90% + alcohol and demagnetize the heads. Belts can still be found on ebay if needed.
 
i spent the last 4 days cleaning, adjusting, making custom belts, cleaning switches and heads, cleaning connectors, and rebuilding. i've cleaned the motors in and out ,lubed and done as much as i dare. before i take it to the techie guy.
It does sound way better than it did and the selector switch on the front was causing major dropout problems.
The belts where slack and made speed an issue.
The output gain levels where too hot.
the motor on 1 machine is still too noisy for my liking.
one if the machines has the pull switch for mono playback. on my friends mk2 i borrowed this summs to mono and i get playback on both channels but on my mk1 i only get playback on the left channel so this will need sorting.
but i'm learning thanks for all the help guys.
Any advice on mics for these machines to make decent recordings.?
thanks
 
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