akai mg416 repair/sale.

Steenamaroo

Steenamaroo

...
Hi folks.
I don't often come around these parts, but i have some business for anyone who's interested.

I've come into possession of some equipment that i'm asked to test and sell.

A family member was fanatical about audio back in the day, but now it all has to be cleared out.

I'm in debate about whether or not some of the stuff is worth repairing and thought this would be the place to ask.
If it was mine to keep i would, but sadly that's not the case.


The first item i'm dealing with is an Akai MG416 cassette tape four track recorder.

This is in mint condition to look at, in the original box, with the original manual.

The one fault that it has developed is that the tape speed switch has no effect and the tape will be chewed (if it's at the start).
The tape is fed through faster than it can be taken up.


I've inspected it myself and it's out of my knowledge, but my question is two fold.

Is this worth repairing in terms of sale value, and

Does anyone want it?

Thanks in advance!

akai.jpg
 
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Some people love the Akai 4-tracks. I think Gearslutz would be a better place to ask this question.

Since "Akai" is now nothing more than a badge owned by a Chinese holding company that gets stuck on gear by other manufacturers, a real Japanese Akai product may be worth something on the vintage market.
 
Hey, a UKer called takkin on Gearslutz was looking for one of these last year. See if you can still reach him over there.
 
That's real purty. I'd at least give it a good cleaning and change the belts. That would cost $20 US at the most. Maybe the tape speed switch really works but some electromechanical component is gummed up.
 
You're right, the switch itself works fine.

I had hoped for old belts or dirt/gumming up inside, but this thing may as well be new inside and out.

I was actually disappointed at how clean it is. I'd hoped for an easy fix :(

The gentleman who owned it almost certainly never used it. i think he was a 'novelty use' owner.
 
It sounds like a problem one of our analog gurus ought to know the answer to then. Or if you just want to get rid of it without the hassle of fixing it, go ahead and shop it around GS.
 
I've posted at GS. Thanks.

Personally, i would love to fix this for sale since it's so close to mint.

I'm selling on behalf of trusting relatives and really want to do my best for them.

My garage is like a 1980s repair shop atm!!
 
I would love to buy it, but the shipping costs would probably be prohibitive. Of course there's always a chance I'll say f*** it and go for broke anyway. :laughings:
 
Well, i'm not looking to milk anything; My pricing is in the hands of the forums (within reason).

Everything else i was able to price, but i couldn't find ebay sale examples or other classifieds for this model.

How much are they worth?

UK to USA shipping of 17kg is coming in at a minimum of £110. with our royal mail.
Haven't checked other providers.
 
I can't find any completed listings on Ebay either. I saw one asking price of 100 GBP, but that sounds rather low. I keep seeing references to this machine as "the Rolls Royce of 4-tracks", which implies to me that it is a coveted item and could fetch a handsome sum.
 
That's what i had hoped.
I'm in no rush all the same. Plenty of other gear to fix! lol.

I've a teac 32-2 here that needs a new solenoid (i guess) for engaging the rollers. Think the motor might need swapped out for rewind too.

Eugh,,,labour of love huh?
 
I have an A-4300SX auto-reverse deck. The pinch roller seems to only engage in the reverse direction. I have to start playback in reverse and switch to forward to make it engage. It doesn't seem like the solenoid would be bad, otherwise the roller wouldn't engage at all, right? What else could be causing that?
 
Diggy, you've seriously over-estimated me! lol.

I'd love to offer help, but i've just spent an hour 'hoking' to find out why the 32 wouldn't record or erase.



Then cleaned the heads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

booooo.
 
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:laughings:

Well, it was worth a shot. I ordered a bunch of cleaning supplies, a belt kit, and a reel table to replace (I hope) one with a bent spindle. Maybe I'll accidentally fix the problem. :D
 
who knows! good luck man.
I fixed my solenoid problem for like a second by oiling the mechanisms, so i think i'll strip it down tomorrow.

Gives me confidence that it's physical resistance rather than a weak part.
 
Thanks Diggy.

I know i told you, but for anyone following this thread, Grease on the joints and on the solenoid and repeated working of the mechanism sorted it out.
Same happened with the break release for RW.

The machine's getting nippier with every use! :)
 
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