9/4/2023 0 Comments Tapedeck vintage![]() Checking and adjusting the fast wind tension (the tension used to fast-forward and rewind the tape).ħ. Checking and adjusting the take-up tension (the tension used to spool the tape onto the take-up reel).Ħ. Checking and adjusting the back tension (the tension placed on the tape as it comes off the feed reel).ĥ. Setting the height, azimuth, and zenith of the record and play heads, and the height and zenith of the erase head.Ĥ. Once the transport is in good order, mechanical alignment can proceed. On cassette decks, the pressure pads are part of the cassette tape itself, not the machine. These are not used on higher-quality machines. On older, less-expensive open reel machines there may also be pressure pads, which are felt pads used to hold the tape against the heads. In vintage machines, the rubber components (usually belts, pinch rollers, and idler tires) are always suspect, as both natural and synthetic rubber materials degrade and decompose with age. There are many parts involved that must be checked, including motors, belts, idlers, pulleys, clutches, sensors, switches, guides, levers, bearings, capstan(s) and pinch roller(s), and associated control electronics. The transport must move the tape smoothly and gently at all times, must operate at the correct tape speed and tension at all times, and it must do these things reliably. The transport is the collection of mechanisms and electrical circuits that move and handle the tape, and the tape path and heads are part of that larger system. Once I have ascertained that the tape path and heads are or can be made to be in good shape, the next order of business is the transport. Demagnetization is important because the music on your tapes is stored in the form of magnetic fields, and if any part of the tape path is magnetized it can partially (or completely) erase your tapes! They must also be mechanically aligned with great precision in order to work correctly. The heads must be clean, demagnetized, and not excessively worn. The heads, which are the most critical parts of the tape path, are the small electromagnets that erase, record, and play the audio on the tape. The tape path is simply all the parts of the tape deck that actually touch the recording tape. ![]() The first thing I look at when evaluating a tape deck is the tape path. Open reel decks often have a few extra setup requirements beyond those of cassette decks. Both formats use the same basic principles for recording and playing back sound, and they share a number of areas that must be attended to if proper operation and good sound are to be expected of them. The two most common analog tape formats used in High Fidelity systems are the Compact Cassette (more commonly known simply as "cassette," and the reel-to-reel or "open reel" systems. This work is a specialty of mine, and without trying to create a primer on how magnetic recording works (that's a subject for a future webpage), I'd like to share with you some of the intricacies of making these machines sing. If not, they can sound bad and can even damage your tapes. Analog tape decks can sound very good indeed, if they are set up and aligned correctly.
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