Tape deck is driving me crazy!

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rememberthrough

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I just got my first open-reel deck, a Teac 6010. I ordered a reel of Quantegy 456 tape, and it came in today. I threaded the tape, hooked up my mixer and mic, hit record, and when I finally played it back, I found that the recording was unbelievably quiet. I could barely hear it with the machine set to full output.

Any idea what I am doing wrong?
 
rememberthrough said:
I just got my first open-reel deck, a Teac 6010. I ordered a reel of Quantegy 456 tape, and it came in today. I threaded the tape, hooked up my mixer and mic, hit record, and when I finally played it back, I found that the recording was unbelievably quiet. I could barely hear it with the machine set to full output.
Any idea what I am doing wrong?
Click to expand...
This is a silly question, but it does come up - which side of the tape is facing the heads... the brown side or the black side? It's supposed to be the brown side, but lacing it up the other way will give the effect you've described :D
 
actually, the right side was towards the heads...

Is there anything else that could cause this?
 
rememberthrough said:
actually, the right side was towards the heads...

Is there anything else that could cause this?
Click to expand...
The heads themselves. What do they look like? Are you sure they aren't totally clogged with shed oxide? My TSR-8 came in that condition, although fortunately I knew what I was seeing before I tried to use it. The Tascam 32 wasn't so lucky - I replaced the record head before realising that what I was seeing was deeply-ingrained shed. It took a day or two but it came out in the end - and now I have a spare head.

Have you got a picture of them, by any chance? I think that's about the last simple fix - after that it's more likely to be the electronics :(
 
I just looked at the heads... they look pretty bad. Any tips on cleaning them?
 
rememberthrough said:
I just looked at the heads... they look pretty bad. Any tips on cleaning them?
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Isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds or q-tips. Cotton buds are easy enough to come by, and I believe you can get the alcohol from a chemists. Alternatively, cleaning fluid for cassette-heads will work, although not necessarily as well.
In the UK, Studiospares carry isopropyl - otherwise someone else will have to answer.
 
In the US, try a chain drugstore like Walgreens or CVS. You will have to ask to get the 91%+ alcohol...dont use the 70% stuff.

Nother thing to check.... make sure the tape lifters (the metal bars that lift the tape away from the heads during stop and fast wind) are fully retracting. On older machines these can get gummed up as well, and not let the tape fully contact the heads.
 
thanks for the advice on the alcohol, technoplayer. I checked the tape lifters as well, but they're working fine. I am wondering though... will a microfiber cloth work the same as a lint free cloth on this?
 
I never have used microfibre. I don't know if it wicks liquid the same, and it may be too slick. You need a little "tooth" to the cloth to remove the gunk from the heads. A slick cloth would not do this.
 
okay, I found some lint-free wipes and 91% alcohol... I was able to clean out three of the four heads. The first one seems to be caked in rust. What does this head do? It is smaller than the others, and I really don't know if I will ever be able to get this one clean.
 
rememberthrough said:
okay, I found some lint-free wipes and 91% alcohol... I was able to clean out three of the four heads. The first one seems to be caked in rust. What does this head do? It is smaller than the others, and I really don't know if I will ever be able to get this one clean.
Click to expand...
The first one on the left will be the erase head. You can probably score a replacement from TEAC if need be (although you'd have to make sure it's properly aligned with the other heads afterwards...)

I didn't want to suggest this at first but when it comes to kill-or-cure I have actually used those green plastic scouring pads before now :eek:
 
Yes, microfibre should work, especially on something like a tough to clean head. It does soak in alcohol. I wouldn't give up on that last head. Just keep cleaning it in the direction of tape travel. I had to do that very same thing with a TEAC recorder I got a couple of years ago. I went through a couple of dozen wipes and applied some pressure when cleaning but it all came out at the end. The oxide was also pretty much caked in and hard.
 
alcohol and a old toothbrush work great on the stubborn or old crusty stuff.
Dont worry, it wont scratch the heads, ferrite is very hard!!!
 
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