Are Tandberg Decks Known To Be Unreliable?

[braxus]

After the long going saga with my 3014A deck, Im getting frustrated with it. The deck has been to the tech twice and may need yet another visit. And the deck was rebuilt to as much as it could be with what was available to the tech. My deck seems to be very finicky with the tapes it uses and likes to either crease tapes or just lose tension causing the sound to drop out. And the motors have been rebuilt. Plus the capstans and heads cleaned.

From what I've read over quite a few owners and techs who have worked on these decks, it seems the most common complaint is they are very unreliable. The only exception to this is Dolph who has gone on record saying he's never had a problem with his Tandberg. But the overall opinion seems to suggest otherwise. Im tempted to send the deck back to the tech and then sell it. But I know I'll never recoupe the money I've spent on the deck which kind of pisses me off. I've had this happen to me on an Aiwa deck before too. I lost $1300 when I sold that deck.

Sad thing is- is the 3014A deck is the best sounding deck I've ever heard, which doesn't make me want to get rid of it for something else. Its hard to replace what some people call the best consumer made deck in the world. So I'd like opinions on owners or techs who know these decks. What is your opinion on Tandbergs?

 

[mhardy6647]

Touchy, I'd say. They certainly weren't built for pro/commercial (ab)use.

 

[dshoaf]

The prevailing attitude and concensus back in the 70s when I worked on a bench was the Tandberg open reel decks were quite finnicky - or Touchy, as Mhardy said. This wasn't a problem with how they handled tapes but the fact that they were difficult to get set up initially and that playback of recorded tapes seemed to need lots of initial adjusting.

Once set up and left in place, however, they were top-end performers. The Touchy stuff came if the tape deck was moved or shipped anywhere requiring that it be bounced around much. Then the whole setup exercise would be required again. I did this on a few Tandbery open reel decks. I got to where I'd ask the customer if there were plans to move it again when it was brought in for adjusting. If so, then I'd suggest they save their $$ until the unit could be left in place.

BTW, this didn't apply to cassette decks or their receivers - just the open reel decks. Can't recall the exact model numbers but it was the mid-70s stuff.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

David

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Another major thing to know, Tandberg gear demanded careful owners who maintained them well and used them regularly. They were not forgiving of poor care.

 

[braxus]

Another major thing to know, Tandberg gear demanded careful owners who maintained them well and used them regularly. They were not forgiving of poor care.

Depends what poor care is. I haven't exactly been beating on this deck. Just trying to make some tapes. Granted I don't use it all the time, but now and then. Maybe that is where the problem is.

 

[tube-a-lou]

I think all decks that are not well taken care of, don't hold up well, I had a run of
Naks and Tandbergs that just went bad, but I picked up a Nak BX 100 for $10.00
and it's great, I think if you stay with the later model the ones in the late 80's or
90's they seem to hold up better. One Tandberg to stay away from is the 3034
deck it was a horror, really bad even rebuilt it and pop! stay away.

Tube

 

[Sam Cogley]

My 9200XD seems to have survived quite a lot over the years, and still has excellent playback. I need to fix the optical tape brake, though.

 

[Jonny Ramone]

You may want to consider rebuilt/new pinch rollers. You're still using the originals, right? It might be a good investment on a deck of this complexity.

 

[guiller]

You may want to consider rebuilt/new pinch rollers. You're still using the originals, right? It might be a good investment on a deck of this complexity.

Good point, IMHO.

 

[mhardy6647]

... but I picked up a Nak BX 100 for $10.00
and it's great, I think if you stay with the later model the ones in the late 80's or 90's they seem to hold up better...

Plus, perhaps the fact that they're 20 or more years newer than the "classic" decks might have something to do with it as well.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

The best Tandberg cassette deck for reliability was the TCD 330. From there, they became more delicate and repair prone. You don't take poor care of your machines, you know better. Many owners did not maintain them and used them until they had issues.

 

[braxus]

Guys- the deck was rebuilt 2 years ago with new pinch rollers, rebuilt motors, replaced caps, new belts, etc. There is no reason this deck should be doing what its doing. I clean the pinch rollers and heads quite often.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Something then didn't get adjusted right.

 

[jdurbin1]

+1

I don't have these problems keeping my Tandberg decks working or servicing the ones that pass through. If you replace the bad parts and don't screw with what you don't understand in the tape path, they work just fine.

John

 

[braxus]

I don't play with the transport other then cleaning it when needed. So I don't see your point there.

 

[jdurbin1]

Wasn't necessarily directed at you, other people had responded.

I do think there are decks that are more DIY friendly, but I would also say that about a number of other high end machines that sparkle when running correctly but don't respond well to amateur maintenance or service.

High performance cassette decks all need to be operating precisely within their mechanical and electrical limits or bad things happen. I don't personally think the 3014 and 3014A are defective by design or in construction, but as with any other finely tuned machine they cannot achieve their potential when there are worn or damaged parts in them or have been poorly aligned, modified, etc.

John

 

[braxus]

Well I ran into the problem again today when doing the same tape that failed yesterday. But today I had to re-record it 3 times due to the levels being low, and the sound just not being quite right. On the third attempt the sound problem reared its ugly head again and the sound dropped out. So I did a simple test. I tugged on the left spindle to take up slack to see if the sound qould come back. No difference. So Im starting to think its not the transport at all. Being this problem happens when the deck has been used for a bit, Im starting to wonder if maybe a bad electrical component is happening once it heats up and then fails. Sort of like a bad cap. Im not sure if all the caps in the deck were replaced or not. I know some were. In the right channel it almost sounded out of phase too when listenning today.

So I can live with a bad electrical component as long as the transport is not failing. If it is what I think it is- then the deck is worth keeping to me and a simple fix is in order. A bad electical component could also be what is causing the static sound I've been hearing since I got the deck back.

 

[guiller]

Hope you've got the correct diagnosis.

 

[tube-a-lou]

What kind of tape are you using in the Tandberg?

Tube

 

[braxus]

The tape I have been using lately that I can confirm having problems are the 1986 XLS series tapes, being XLI-S and XLII-S. That said I use every common brand under the sun.