Teac x1000 Sound issues poor Hi frequency response (please read)

[jan_stevns]

Originally Posted by jayk

maxell tape-ok
concertape-NOT ok. has 'sheddicus maximus'. (it sheds big time. i found out the hard way, took me 30 mins to clean gunk off machine.)
scotch 207-not sure re shedding.

Why on earth did you put a concertape on any deck to begin with

[macman007]

Unit and heads. Sorry bout the pix quality.



Thanks,


Phil

[jayk]

Originally Posted by jan_stevns

Why on earth did you put a concertape on any deck to begin with

welllllllllllllllll, ummmmm, ahhhhhh, oh, i know.

it was a year and 5 months ago when i dug my first akai 630dss out of 18 years of storage. and i had no other decks at the time, so no reason to lookup all this good info on i'net re r2rs.
so upon powering up the akai after the long term storage (tapes too) and having no info re shedding, i naturally had to see what my maxell and concertapes sounded like.

and that's how i put concertape on my akai r2r and why i spent 30 mins cleaning the gunk off.

but lesson learned; never again.

now i do it with scotch 226 (last month). it too shed but i just had to test it-hoping i'd get lucky.

[macman007]

Seriously, I have only had 1 shred from the 1/2 dozen or so I own and it wasn't bad, just a little squeak from time to time. I removed and trashed it when that happened. Cleanup was easy 90% isopropol and on the road again.

I had a Scotch 206 do it and a few Basf, but just 1 of the crappy RS concertape. BTW I used it for band rehearsals and such, nothing important or played a lot. Just "junk" tape to use for miscelaneous audio stuff. Maybe thats why only one shred so far..

I'll check them over for anything important and archive it to Dat for now, then trash em. I wouldn't miss them..they were cheap...I'f you say they will shed and stretch if used regularly they are history. I can put the saved stuff from Dat back on open reel when I sort these other problems out.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll tell dad too, he has stuff from the late 60's and 70's on concertape...piles of em...mostly radio and live stuff...never told me of any shredding issues. He listens to them time to time, I never heard them shread...maybe he's one of the lucky ones. You know what they say, ignorance can be bliss....here's a few for target practice


Phil.

[jayk]

Originally Posted by macman007

Seriously, I have only had 1 shred from the 1/2 dozen or so I own and it wasn't bad, just a little squeak from time to time. I removed and trashed it when that happened. Cleanup was easy 90% isopropol and on the road again.

I had a Scotch 206 do it and a few Basf, but just 1 of the crappy RS concertape. BTW I used it for band rehearsals and such, nothing important or played a lot. Just "junk" tape to use for miscelaneous audio stuff. Maybe thats why only one shred so far..

I'll check them over for anything important and archive it to Dat for now, then trash em. I wouldn't miss them..they were cheap...I'f you say they will shed and stretch if used regularly they are history. I can put the saved stuff from Dat back on open reel when I sort these other problems out.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll tell dad too, he has stuff from the late 60's and 70's on concertape...piles of em...mostly radio and live stuff...never told me of any shredding issues. He listens to them time to time, I never heard them shread...maybe he's one of the lucky ones. You know what they say, ignorance can be bliss....here's a few for target practice
Phil.

hey, more power to ya if your c'tapes don't shed. i'm just going by what happened with my c'tapes and what i've read.
maybe some batches of it were better than others.

[jan_stevns]

Originally Posted by jayk

welllllllllllllllll, ummmmm, ahhhhhh, oh, i know.

As we say here in Denmark _ been there, done that - got the T-shirt

...... i have a lot of them

Know the feeling "one" get's when a tape shed's, and "one" is looking very nervously at the shelf, spotting a load of tapes from the same batch - "one" do not have the happy face turned on ....

... and back on topic. Saw the photo's of the heads. hard to se because it seem's the blitz fired.

[goldear]

Do not pass go. Throw-away the concertape immediately! That is the worse tape ever made in my experience, bar none.

I had a roll of concertape split in two one time! The Oxide came-off in flat sheets that separated right at the first tape guide. It looked like the tape had dumped all over my floor. But the tape had not dumped, the mylar had simply become completely separated from the oxide layer, leaving a gigantice pile of oxide that looked like a pile of tape! I've never seen anything like it, either before or since.

[goldear]

Regarding the heads: It is very hard to tell from your pictures. But I think that I may see a flat surface on one of your heads. The rest are too blury to make-out, but I expect that they will show similar wear.

[macman007]

Which heads..outer 2? They are made that way...hard to describe...inner 2?... your eyes are way better than mine! I need to get a different lens out and a tripod, so I can shoot it super close up without a flash...in person they really dont look worn to me but,

...we'll see. I wont give up no matter what if you guys don't! If its heads, whatever..Just gotta get 'er back up to spec!

Thanks,

Phil

[jan_stevns]

Originally Posted by macman007

Which heads..outer 2? They are made that way...hard to describe...inner 2?... your eyes are way better than mine! I need to get a different lens out and a tripod, so I can shoot it super close up without a flash...in person they really dont look worn to me but,

...we'll see. I wont give up no matter what if you guys don't! If its heads, whatever..Just gotta get 'er back up to spec!

Thanks,

Phil

here are a pic of new head, and worn ones ... to give you a hint of what to look for. the second head is a pretty worn record head

[macman007]

Ok, the shiny rectangular area in the middle I have on all heads but not as bad as the one's you show. Should there be any shine anywhere or look like dull aluminum all over the head? The black lines (pickups?) going left to right on your new head are sharper and newer looking than my heads.

These are the best pics I can get W/O taking things apart...better?

If my heads look even remotely like your "used heads", am I screwed?

Can they be replaced by me or does the unit need to be shipped out?

Can I buy a complete alligned headstack with all the heads and install myself like other units I have seen?

Are they available still?

Anyone on AK repair Teacs. I would prefer an experienced tech.

Should I still bother buying the demag unit or hold off?

Thanks Guys

Phil

[goldear]

Originally Posted by macman007

Ok, the shiny rectangular area in the middle I have on all heads but not as bad as the one's you show. Should there be any shine anywhere or look like dull aluminum all over the head? The black lines (pickups?) going left to right on your new head are sharper and newer looking than my heads.

If my heads look even remotely like your "used heads", am I screwed?

Screwed is a little harsh. But yes, flat spots are not good. And the wider, the worse.

Can they be replaced by me or does the unit need to be shipped out?

If you have to ask this question, then the answer is: Probably not.

Can I buy a complete alligned headstack with all the heads and install myself like other units I have seen?

Not from the factory. But there is an outside chance that you might be able to do this from some other sources.

Are they available still?

Yes. Teac still sells these heads, and they are reasonably priced as well.

Anyone on AK repair Teacs. I would prefer an experienced tech.

Yes, there are a number of us. But you probably will want to find somebody local though, as these units are a pain to ship.

Should I still bother buying the demag unit or hold off?

You need one. But when you decide to buy one is a personal choice.

[macman007]

Proceeding to demag....warp 2..lets try the cheap fix 1st.




Thanks,
Phil

[jan_stevns]

Originally Posted by macman007

Proceeding to demag....warp 2..lets try the cheap fix 1st.

Thanks,
Phil

based on what you pic's look, i don't think your heads are to blame, the "mirror" looks very even, so despite looking like they did run some hours, my opinion is they aren't completely shot.

btw - does it record bad in both directions ? can't remember it that has been asked before....

[goldear]

I tend to agree. Your latest pics look like the heads probably have minimal wear.

This tells me that internally your bias and/or record EQ has probably drifted significantly out of calibration over the years.

FWIW - Demanetizers certainly help. But if you aren't hearing the highs on your initial pass, then something is wrong beyond simply magnetizexd heads.