[infinitesymphony]

Obviously this isn't a popular format anymore, but I'm still interested in it. What sort of maintenance should be performed to ensure that my new (used) deck lasts as long as possible?

Are there any recommended cleaning supplies or techniques?

 

[memepool]

What kind of deck is it?

you should clean the tape heads, pinch roller and capstans regularly either with isopropyl alcohol and q-tips ( they make special long wooden ones for this purpose) or else with something like the Allsop 3 system, if it's still available.

It's generally good practice to get them calibrated every 5 years or so at the very least by somebody like http://www.eslabs.com/ as there are loads of moving parts and complicated circuitry inside that is very specialised and needs regular attention.

 

[Old Pa]

Head cleaning would be the most important, as this playback system has actually physical contact and stuff from the tape gets onto the heads and can block signal. De-magnitizing is usually an every twenty-five hour choice. I always used a de-magnitizer that plugged into the mains as the unpowered cassette types never seemed effective for me. It's like bulk erasing a tape; you energize the demagnitizer at least a meter from that which is to be demagnitized and bring them slowly together. Close, but not touching, you allow the de-magnitizer to move around that which is being demagnitized and the s-l-o-w-l-y take them apart back to one meter before de-powering the de-magnitizer. Chanting is at your option.

There are rubber cleaner/conditioners which work better on the pinch rollers and other rubber drive surfaces than the alcohols. The alcohols also leach materials out of the rubber and will make them hard and brittle over time. This is probably not a good idea with parts and service for cassette machines now largely being made of "unobtainium".

Try PartsExpress.com for supplies.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

memepool, how much does cleaning/maintenance service typically cost? I bought the deck for cheap, and it's by no means a Nakamichi Dragon.

Old Pa, now that you mention it, I remember one of my professors talking about how the rubber parts of a studio tape machine turned to mush after a few months of cleaning with alcohol. I think that my class even had a test where one of the answers was "don't use alcohol to clean rubber."

How expensive is a demagnetizer like the one you mentioned? PartsExpress seems pretty bare in the tape department--just a few Tech Spray cleaning bottles.

------

The deck is a Pioneer Elite CT-W59. It's a fairly recent player (mid- to late-'90s), and I bought it mostly with GAF and eventual WAF in mind.

It also has a somewhat unique feature: it uses Burr-Brown 20-bit A/D and D/A converters to facilitate some sort of magical DSP that supposedly makes tapes sound better. Normally I wouldn't be interested in "voodoo," but even some studio guys have admitted that the technique works surprisingly well.

 

[memepool]

Interesting that it's got a DAC. I nearly bought a rack full of old Akai studio decks at an aution once just out of curiosity, because they also had this, but then common sense and low WAF prevailed

I'd say you're pushing your luck in this dept these days unless she happens to have a large cassette collection...

If you want to have a deck for playing back such a collection, or for the occassional recording the main factors are really to do with build quality.
Decks from the '90s are pretty poor in this dept, even the Nakamichi's, and try to make up for it with clever electronics which is all well and good until they go out of alignment, which they inevitably do much more quickly, and then they cost even more to service.

Unless it's something really expensive like a Dragon then it's really not worth it quite frankly.

I'd use this Pioneer until it gives up the ghost and then if you still want a deck, go for a 2nd hand Nak, Studer, Revox, Tandberg ...etc. Pioneer did make some fine decks but the best stuff as I mentioned is late '70s to early '80s. Build quality nosedived around 1982-3 for economic reasons. Bang and Olufsen Beocord 5000 is a bit of a sleeper if you want something top class but less expensive.

Professional servicing is going to be expensive anywhere. Several hundred USD at least and if you pick up a deck other than from a service agent it's going to be necessary too.

That said you can pick up tapes in thrift stores almost for free these days and with a really good properly set up deck there is not much if any compromise of quality over CD or vinyl.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by memepool /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say you're pushing your luck in this dept these days unless she happens to have a large cassette collection...

Hahah, I'm very thankful that she actually thinks my audio hobby is cool. We're both musicians, so it's easier for us both to hear the difference between good and bad equipment (which means that spending money on better equipment is okay! ...maybe).

Quote:

I'd use this Pioneer until it gives up the ghost...Pioneer did make some fine decks but the best stuff as I mentioned is late '70s to early '80s.

That's what I thought... The old Pioneer CT-F line seems very popular, with tons selling on eBay every day. I thought about buying one, but it really deserves to sit alongside other heavy aluminum '70s components. That silver faceplate and the huge knobs would probably tax the GAF more than the matching black Elite stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by memepool That said you can pick up tapes in thrift stores almost for free these days and with a really good properly set up deck there is not much if any compromise of quality over CD or vinyl.

Well, I don't expect miracles... I have a few tapes that could use digital conversion and restoration, and some other friends and family members probably have tapes that they want preserved, too, so that's my main reason for buying the player. Plus, tape must play into the digital-versus-analog debate, since it's also generated from a tape master like vinyl. I'll bet there are some tapes kicking around that sound better than either the initial vinyl release or (especially) a later CD remastering.

 

[Herandu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by memepool /img/forum/go_quote.gif Unless it's something really expensive like a Dragon then it's really not worth it quite frankly. Build quality nosedived around 1982-3 for economic reasons.

A bit strong that. I bought a Hitachi DT-220 and used it for close to 20 years without any problems. Pioneer made some very top flight decks around that time that were built like tanks. One was the Pioneer CT-F1250. Other decks I rate from that period with a sturdy mechanism were: Dual C839 RC, JVC KD-A8, LUX 5K-50, SONY TC-K88, TEAC C-2, TECHNICS RS-M63.

 

[memepool]

All the decks you mention are from the late 1970s / early 1980s which is my point. After that the build quality went down hill and so even though many of the later decks may outperform the older ones in the short term if properly set up, if you are buying your last deck ever, given the expense of servicing something like the Sony TC-K88 would be a better bet than a 90s Pioneer Elite series, just because it's a more heavily engineered product.

I have a Nak CR7 and a 581. The CR7 is flimsy by comparison even though it's regarded as one of the best Naks made. The 581 just keeps on going and still sounds almost as good although it lacks remote control azimuth adjustment ...etc

The early Tascam 122 studio workhorses are great too. I have a 133 and it's never let me down. Built like a brick sh**house. If you get something like that set up well by an engineer it will last and last so long as you remember to use it occasionally.

 

[tjohnusa]

I also have a Nak 581 and love it. Used to have a 600 but got rid of it long ago. If you use alcohol to clean rubber it actually dries out the rubber and can leave a film on the head. A great chemical to clean heads is acetone but use with great care because it will melt plastic.

BTW I got my 581 off of ebay for $40 and I buy my tapes at Goodwill for 50 cents apiece.

 

[cleophus]

"Cleaning Tape Drives - submitted by Dave Campbell
A common mistake in tape deck repair (both audio and video) is to use the fluid supplied with cleaning tapes or cleaning kits (OR alcohol). Most cleaning fluids contain mostly alcohol. Alcohol is BAD for rubber parts. It actually makes them get harder. Not only should we be cleaning off tape residue, but we should also be softening the surface to better grip the associated idlers, capstans and especially the pinch rollers. Houshold Ammonia works infinitely better for all rubber parts. You will find it nicely softens as it cleans. You can even soak parts in it. It will not degrade the rubber as many solvent type cleaners can. DO NOT clean the heads or metal parts with it as it IS corrosive. If you religiously clean the pinch rollers with Ammonia you will see a marked improvement in the performance of all tape drives and many less machines that eat tapes."
Quote from www.anatekcorp.com

 

[infinitesymphony]

Interesting article, cleophus. So, for the cleaning of rubber parts, ammonia is recommended. What's recommended for cleaning the heads?

Old Pa (and others), is this the type of demagnetizer that works well?

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Old Pa (and others), is this the type of demagnetizer that works well?

The tip looks a little big, but that should work.

 

[infinitesymphony]

I found a nice little article on another forum that compiles all of the recommendations you guys have mentioned:

Cassette Tape Deck Cleaning.

It was just posted three days ago, too. Great timing.

 

[fuzzy fuzzbucket]

hmm.. my neighbor just gave me a deck.. double deck. unfortunately the left deck will only give out output to right chanel and the deck on the right will only give output to left chanel. so what is wrong with it????? oh man...

 

[memepool]

well I guess you could do some funky phasing effects by playing two copies of the same tape simultaneously

or maybe high speed dub some copies of Jet Set Willy for that retro Spectrum gaming experience

I seriously doubt it's worth repairing though, dual well cassette decks were almost a byeword for poor sonics when new.

You are better off looking for a better quality machine like those mentioned above if you want to explore the format.