Monster TEAC Z-7000, now what?

BilboBaggins

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
i was browsing around a local online selling app, and discovered a TEAC Z-7000 tape drive for sale. It was huge! It looked impressive though, so I started researching it. I arranged to try it out about 6 weeks ago, and it was even more impressive in person than it was in pictures. Unfortunately, it didn't play. So the seller offered to look into it, and if it was simply belts, he would replace them and I could try it out.

On the weekend, I was notified the belts had been changed. I checked it out, and it appeared to be running, and there was some output on the headphones, but not a lot. Figuring the price was good, and I always wanted a TOTL tape deck, and it had features like indexing that I loved in my beta version, I decided to go for it. I was hoping I would just need to deoxit the controls.

So I opened it up yesterday, and sparingly used deoxit on a few of the controls. Alas, no. I think I am suffering from the well known alps potentiometer issue.

So I could try and dig into it, and it isn't any more intimidating than the fully loaded microvax 2s in the late 80s, but my specialty was digital, not analog electronics, and to be honest, I really haven't done any troubleshooting to the chip level in many many years.

So now my challenge is to find someone who has the skills and knowledge to work on one of these beasts. Preferably without leaving Canada, but I would consider it if necessary. I got the remote, owners guide, and schematics along with the original box.

I have to get it fixed! My wife actually said it's really pretty, even with the lid off!

IMG_3977.JPG IMG_3978.JPG
 
WOW! No doubt it was/is state of the art! Good luck getting the bugs out!

Complexity of this thing exceeds reasonable limit. Component quality does not match design - look at all these poor trim pots. Most of them likely need adjustment or replacement. Probably does not worth the effort.
 
It is a lot of components stuffed in there. And the weight is there to support it.

But I've been doing a lot of research since I first got wind of it, and it is worth the effort. And for my wife to say it is pretty, that is unusual. She hasn't said that about a lot of gear I've bought, and she wants us to keep it. But first to address those issues.

Anybody know of a good cassette tape Drive tech in Ontario, Montreal, or New York State? Preferably someone who knows these Teacs.
 
If you can't find anyone closer to you, you might contact Hionfi in Syracuse NY -- I have no affiliation, I'm just a satisfied customer. They are (or at least used to be) members here, so maybe you can contact them here via message.

They deal in vintage stereo equipment and have a repair department. I'm sure they will tell you whether it's something they can work on, or give you a lead on who might.
 
Thanks! That's exactly what I'm looking for! I don't think we have anyone in Ottawa I would trust this job to. Montreal or Toronto would be ideal. My eldest daughter lives in TO. I don't want this to be hit or miss. I want the right tech working on it. The one I do trust in Ottawa might not take it on and I already have one of my jobs in his queue which I don't want to delay. Tape drives are a specialized expertise.
 
Nice find! I had a friend years ago with one of these. I still remember the impressive size matched with truly impressive sound. While I can't recommend a shop in your area, you are making the right choice spending what it takes to restore this one. I've lived (Summers only thank God) within Ottawa and outside (near Smith Falls) and know the struggles finding competent and available repair help, but I can offer my encouragement to keep at it! Your naked pic shows it is well laid out, clearly thoughtfully engineered and likely reasonable to work on. I disagree with the comment about component complexity and trim pots...where do you see them arranged so logically and accessible? In any event, best of luck with this piece of audio art and PM me should you give up on this unit....I would love to own one.
 
Nice find! I had a friend years ago with one of these. I still remember the impressive size matched with truly impressive sound. While I can't recommend a shop in your area, you are making the right choice spending what it takes to restore this one. I've lived (Summers only thank God) within Ottawa and outside (near Smith Falls) and know the struggles finding competent and available repair help, but I can offer my encouragement to keep at it! Your naked pic shows it is well laid out, clearly thoughtfully engineered and likely reasonable to work on. I disagree with the comment about component complexity and trim pots...where do you see them arranged so logically and accessible? In any event, best of luck with this piece of audio art and PM me should you give up on this unit....I would love to own one.

I'm really happy with it, despite the issues. I agree, those boards are really well laid out. But I'm not going digging in there. I would be afraid that the experts would reject it after I got started. I'll leave that to someone who knows what he's doing, such as Russ. Now I know how to contact him, I'll give him a call and see what he says. We do have some great techs here, but I don't know one I would trust with an electro mechanical device of this caliber. Except maybe leestereo, and I'm not even sure he would touch it. I'm not about to ask since he's working on something else of mine this fall.

It's not the cold in the winter that sucks, it is the humidity. I'm fine in minus 30 if it's dry and I'm not dealing with a wind. It is like that sometimes near Calgary. Here it is humid because of the valley. I spent many a week in Colorado Springs and absolutely loved it there! Skied quite a bit in the winter time. I even had my best run of all times there.
 
I would rather give this machine to some experienced with it. I considered local options, but there is only one I feel comfortable with for a beast such as this, and I'm not asking him. I already have work for him in the queue.
 
Update on this tape drive. I spoke with Russ at NJFS this morning. They no longer service these beasts. I got a contact in Chicago that I may try calling, or I may go to plan c? What is plan c you may ask? I'm not quite sure, but I'll let you know when I decide. I have some thinking to do.
 
Only one place I'd take this. Sam Palermo in Chicago. Was the lead tech for Teac when they had operations in the Chicago area. I am certain he is backed up from a timing standpoint but well worth the wait in my experience.
 
Someone else recently checked with Sam about having a deck serviced and I understand his response was he was so backed up he was not accepting any more units for service at this time. You could always contact him to see if this is true and if so, when he thinks he would be able to work on it.
 
I can tell you with the resurgence in analog the techs that are good are overloaded with work. I wish I knew more about repair or was close to somewhere I could get trained and do this kind of work. Careful what I wish for...
 
Russ gave me Sam's number. I'm planning on calling him.

The good techs in this area are quite busy. It can take from a few weeks to months. For something particularly difficult, it has taken up to a year! Mind you, that depends on how the tech works. Some do one job at a time, and some do multitasking to reduce the shipping costs. I'm pretty patient, or perhaps more slow motion now. I know that slow and steady gets the job done. But ooh, man, I would love to have it at its best!
 
Update on this.

I found a place in the Toronto area that has actually done a Z7000 and documented the restore. Spoke with the owner and brought it to him last weekend. Nice guy and very much into tape decks and pro audio. I’m figuring it will take him a month or more, but we’ll see. Very excited to see the end result!
 
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