Post by Admin on Jan 29, 2021 17:20:27 GMT
If you ever see my studio/workshop, you'll immediately realize I Love Reel-To-Reel tape machines.
I have Tascam/Teac 3340 SimulSync, 2340 SimulSync, A4070, Fostex R8, Akai, Panasonic, Lloyds and a couple other.
When I was 17, working at a discount department store, the Electronics dept. had a Concord 509-D tape deck on special. Since the guy knew me he knocked a couple bucks off the sale price and that was my first "nice" reel-to-reel.
I had that deck for several years until it bit the dust.
Fast forward about 30 years, while driving I spotted what looked like that tape deck sitting on the curb for trash. "Screeeeeeech"! I jumped out and grabbed it. It was a Concord 510-D, same transport and case with a couple differences.
It didn't have a headphone jack but it did have a sound-on-sound function. Other than that it looked identical to the 509-D.
Gave it a going over, cleaned the case and tape path. I ran a tape through it and son-of-a-gun, the thing works. The levels right/left were off and the high frequency response was very bad on one channel. The record/play head was obviously worn very badly. There was an obvious groove worn into the head and that was only found after diligently cleaning all the built up gunk from it.
It sat on a shelf for a long time but recently I pulled it down and started looking for a head. All I could find were either record heads or play heads but not a record/play head. None of course were for that deck.
So, I figured what the heck. For about $20 bucks I got an Ampex play head and McGuivered it into place. It played really well but recording was another story. The level was probably 20db down at max. So I started thinking again.
Now I know worn heads can be relapped but that is supposed to be done by a professional with all the proper equipment to do so. My thought was, why not give it a go. If I screw it up, no real loss.
So let's see what I have to grind out the grooved surface. I used to have some polishing compound for making telescope mirrors but not to be found. What's this in the back of the cabinet. Ahh, some 3M fiber-optic polishing disc papers. Ultra fine abrasive material for polishing fiber connectors.
So I went to work on it. I used up 6 polishing discs, starting on a padded surface and finishing up on the hard, glass topped cook surface. The head looked very promising. There was still one minor divot on the edge of one channel's gap.
I put the old head back on the machine and gave it a whirl. The playback sounds great to my old ears. And surprise, the record levels were back up to snuff. Success!!!
So I know you're not supposed to relapp heads when you don't really know what you're doing but, live and learn I say.
Here's a picture of the relapped head. It looks better in person.
I have Tascam/Teac 3340 SimulSync, 2340 SimulSync, A4070, Fostex R8, Akai, Panasonic, Lloyds and a couple other.
When I was 17, working at a discount department store, the Electronics dept. had a Concord 509-D tape deck on special. Since the guy knew me he knocked a couple bucks off the sale price and that was my first "nice" reel-to-reel.
I had that deck for several years until it bit the dust.
Fast forward about 30 years, while driving I spotted what looked like that tape deck sitting on the curb for trash. "Screeeeeeech"! I jumped out and grabbed it. It was a Concord 510-D, same transport and case with a couple differences.
It didn't have a headphone jack but it did have a sound-on-sound function. Other than that it looked identical to the 509-D.
Gave it a going over, cleaned the case and tape path. I ran a tape through it and son-of-a-gun, the thing works. The levels right/left were off and the high frequency response was very bad on one channel. The record/play head was obviously worn very badly. There was an obvious groove worn into the head and that was only found after diligently cleaning all the built up gunk from it.
It sat on a shelf for a long time but recently I pulled it down and started looking for a head. All I could find were either record heads or play heads but not a record/play head. None of course were for that deck.
So, I figured what the heck. For about $20 bucks I got an Ampex play head and McGuivered it into place. It played really well but recording was another story. The level was probably 20db down at max. So I started thinking again.
Now I know worn heads can be relapped but that is supposed to be done by a professional with all the proper equipment to do so. My thought was, why not give it a go. If I screw it up, no real loss.
So let's see what I have to grind out the grooved surface. I used to have some polishing compound for making telescope mirrors but not to be found. What's this in the back of the cabinet. Ahh, some 3M fiber-optic polishing disc papers. Ultra fine abrasive material for polishing fiber connectors.
So I went to work on it. I used up 6 polishing discs, starting on a padded surface and finishing up on the hard, glass topped cook surface. The head looked very promising. There was still one minor divot on the edge of one channel's gap.
I put the old head back on the machine and gave it a whirl. The playback sounds great to my old ears. And surprise, the record levels were back up to snuff. Success!!!
So I know you're not supposed to relapp heads when you don't really know what you're doing but, live and learn I say.
Here's a picture of the relapped head. It looks better in person.
