Beginner advice on Akai 1800D-SS Reel-To-Reel

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matt_macfarlane

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Hello,

I just purchased a used Akai 1800D-SS Reel-To-Reel machine for 30 bucks, mainly for the purpose of archiving finished mixes of original songs out of my PC, so they get a bit of analog warmth & punch.

I've long used cassette-based 4 & 6-track recorders in conjunction with digital editing, but the Reel-To-Reel world is totally new to me. Is there a beginner's guide online that anyone has found to be a good introduction to this type of thing? I don't even know if this machine has all the parts or capstans it needs, i'm just messing with it trying to get it to do something.
So far, the tape moves, but only at playback speed; rewind and fast-forward are not playing along. All the inputs work, but I can't get it to record. I don't want to just take it somewhere and pay 200 bucks to have someone fix it; I'd like to make it a fix-up project. Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks,
Matt
 
Can you post a picture of it so we can see if anything is missing or looks suspicious, seeing as you don't know?

Cheers! :)
 
And as far as guides go, the best one would be the owner's manual for the machine.

Do you have it? If so, that would cover all the basics of operating and trouble shooting it.

If not, hunting one down would be a good start.

Cheers! :)
 
thanks for replying.

since the first post, i got it to record & play back, rewind & fast forward. but sometimes the tape is getting a warbly pitch-shifting sound. am now trying to determine if it's RECORDING that way, or only playing back that way. of course, i'm using the tape it came with at the pawn shop, so i have no inkling as to its quality. it came with two full rolls spliced together, so obviously whoever was playing with it knew even less than i. speaking of splicing, know anywhere online to order a splicing block (or whatever that's called)? i made a crude one out of plywood & rubberbands, but a real one would be nice, assuming this thing might work eventually.

i'll try to get a picture of it up in the next day or two (still stuck in the film world, but luckily i work at a photo lab so getting a shot developed & scanned won't be a problem).

regards,

Matt
 
manual

i found a service manual through www.servicemanuals.net for 16.99, is that a decent price? anyone know if that's a reputable company to deal with? they want my credit card info as part of the login process- i've only purchased items online a few times, but i've never seen that before. i'm probably just being paranoid.
 
matt_macfarlane said:
i found a service manual through www.servicemanuals.net for 16.99, is that a decent price? anyone know if that's a reputable company to deal with? they want my credit card info as part of the login process- i've only purchased items online a few times, but i've never seen that before. i'm probably just being paranoid.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with the company but, if they are a legitimate one, they'll usually also offer a telephone number and address to communicate through alternate methods to appease those out there who are suspicious.

Failing that, look for a seller of the manual on Ebay and pick one who has many transactions with a good feedback record and that should cover that.

As to the issues in your second post, you really need to find a fresh reel of tape to test the machine out with properly. Old spiced together tapes are not what you want to use as your yardstick.

As for splicing supplies, I use a place called Tele-Tech in Markham, Ontario, Canada.

Here's their site;

http://www.tele-tech.ca/

They sell new tape too and have it in stock at this moment in time.

Cheers! :)
 
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