Reel to Reel decks?

Postby **lukpac** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:09 am

A few months ago I picked up a Teac 1230 from a friend's dad. I've picked up a few 7.5 IPS tapes on eBay, mostly for entertainment value, although I am interested in the sound quality aspect too. In general the sound seems to be very good, but I've noticed that the left channel seems to be brighter than the right channel. As I've never done it, is that something that demagnetizing might help? Or is there any way to tweak the machine itself? I've already made a few adjustments to the playback head, one of which I'm assuming is azimuth.

Also, there's a bit of hiss whenever the thing is on, even when it isn't playing a tape. Is that just the nature of the beast?

Anyone have suggestions for good (and hopefully cheap) RtR decks?

balthazar · Postby **balthazar** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:43 am

My parents used to have an Akai (I think this one: http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/St ... ck_web.jpg ), but they were about the only people I knew that had one, so I can't offer any comparisons. I remember it being pretty sturdy and reliable. I never used it with headphones, so I don't know if it produced any hiss on its own. Their stereo in general had some hiss, but I think it was mostly because of the sheer amound of equipment involved.

Like the rest of their old stereo equipment, it was lost in a house fire in '98.

Postby **lukpac** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 12:04 pm

Well, you can check it out the next time you're over...

Patrick M · Postby **Patrick M** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 1:05 pm

Have you asked Lovely Bob?

Postby **lukpac** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 1:06 pm

John Buchanan · Postby **John Buchanan** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 4:46 pm

Luke,
have you cleaned all the heads?
Wear of the heads will do this also, as well as uneven tension across the tape width.
I'm not an expert however. Maybe a professional check could be in order?

Patrick M · Postby **Patrick M** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:57 pm

Suggest talking to Lovely Bob.

Postby **lukpac** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:41 pm

Yeah, I've cleaned things. This doesn't *seem* like an alignment issue. I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't switched back and forth between the channels.

If I get any time I'll put up a clip or two.

damianm · Postby **damianm** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:32 am

There are these tapes called 'MRL' or some such, that some of the folks who owns reel decks over at SHtv mention from time to time.. from what I understand they're some sort of alignment/calibration/test tone/etc. tape, and they talk (type) about them as if they were the very best out there.

At least once someone was offered a copy, publicly even, so I don't think it's any sort of big deal- you might want to look into it.

Hope it works out for you. I've wanted to have one of those since I was, uh.. 3.

Postby **lukpac** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 7:34 am

Alignment tapes are certainly standard fare for pro machines. I honestly don't know how much they get used on quarter track consumer decks. I also don't know if there's any way to adjust things (at least on this machine) if you have such a tape.

damianm · Postby **damianm** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:13 pm

Good point.

Re: my post, 'folks who owns'. Yeah :roll:

.

Ess Ay Cee Dee · Postby **Ess Ay Cee Dee** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:22 pm

Luke, if you want to get any serious use out of your Teac, I'd recommend having it professionally cleaned and/or serviced. There are so many things that can go wrong over the years.

I have this one:

I picked it up at a church rummage sale a few years ago for $5. I haven't used it in ages, though, so I'll probably be putting it on eBay sometime soon. It's a lot of fun to play around with, but for me the novelty wore off rather quickly.

And, yes, mine hisses too even when it's not playing anything. Par for the course with a pre-Dolby machine.

Postby **lukpac** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:28 pm

This hiss seems to be more from the electronics - like the noise I get from my amp of the same vintage. The actual tape hiss itself doesn't seem too bad. I really only have a few tapes to judge from at this point, though.

I think the previous owner seemed to take care of it. Mechanically it seems to be in good shape, other than the fast wind noise.

damianm · Postby **damianm** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:48 pm

Luke, check this page out. I just remembered about it, I was lucky to find it again. It appears to be pretty comprehensive.

Postby **lukpac** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 3:23 pm

Not that anyone cares, but a few bits...

This is a clip of the various noises involved. First, just the noise from my A/D chain. Then, the noise from the tape deck in "line" mode. Then the tape deck in "tape" mode, and finally actually playing a tape (no idea how many generations of tape hiss that is). Each bit is about 5 seconds.

Here's Two Hangmen, both from CD and 7.5 IPS tape:

One Way CD
WB 7.5 IPS tape

There's quite a bit of hiss, but the master itself has quite a bit of hiss too.