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A Few Questions Relating to Tape and TEAC

vinyldavid

vinyldavid

Collectorius Giganticus
Subscriber
1) I just full-erased an old (exact date unknown) Sony PR-150 Tape at 7.5 ips on my TEAC A-3340S. To test the recording, I just taped from a cassette onto the reel, but when I played back the reel, it sounded MUCH BETTER than the cassette I taped it from. Why is this?

2) My reel turntables are off-center and wobbling on my TEAC. It is the turntables, as I have eliminated the reel possibility. What should I do about that?

3) I have recently found some what looks like NOS Scotch No.111 on 10.5 inch reels amongst some free stuff. I think it's NOS because all the other reels had characteristic signs of playing: bad alignment and such. Also, no writing on the boxes. Is this stuff any good? The reel it's on looks really good to me. I also have some of the used ones. Is this stuff good for taping long programs off the radio with?


When I get these problems solved, and some more tape, I think I will have found the perfect format.
 
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I'm amazed that your PR-150 reels have lived long enough to tell the open reel story (my pr-150's all bleed light brown dust). You have discovered that "warmth" that people refer to when they talk about reel decks. It's all a matter of preference--I think reel to reel is the best. Some of the digital guys like a recorder to reproduce exactly what it hears--I like that added analog bump--maybe I'm just strange but I like that extra stuff.

Scotch 111 is oooooooooold tape, it might not be too good on your heads...The Scotch tapes that I trust are 206, 207, and CLASSIC. (808, 809, and 996 don't have longevity)

As far as your wobbling goes: My A-3340S sadly had a take up reel motor that was bent (the silver rod pole thing inside the motor with the armature around it). I had to swap it out for another motor--easy if you can splice wires. If the spindle on the reel table is not true (usually from lousy shipping/packing) then you can replace or try to bend it back (if you are as crazy as I am). Take the 3 screws out, remove the reel table, place on your kitchen table and study it--it could be bent.

Good luck...
 
These that I got are for the most part still in the original Sony bags. I have found a local TEAC authorized service center (or at least they used to be). I am going to take it into them for a complete service. It was sitting for about 25 years or so before I got it, but only had about 10 hours on it....:D. So with a service, I believe that it will be PERFECT.
 
I find it hard to believe that the reel tables THEMSELVES are warped. I say this because they are held on with three equidistant screws. So if there was any warpage, it shouldn't be able to stay on. The LIKELY culprit in this case is probably the SPINDLE (or cine is it is technically known as). If that is bent or off center, then a 7" reel would indeed wobble. Same story with a 10" as the spindle is the only thing holding the hub adaptor on. Cause could be anything from a careless former owner to the deck being dropped in its face at some point in the past. The obvious solution would of course be to replace the spindle. But I don't know if they are still available new or not. The only other solution I can see would be to sit there with a pair of pliers tweaking and bending the spindle and testing it until you get it as straight as possible (determinable only by laboriously loading a reel, running it, removing it, etc.) and the wobble either goes away or is reduced as much as you can get it.

As for the recording sounding better than the source, umm....probably not. Not unless you did some fancy equalizer work during the subsequent dub and/or playback. A linear, unmodified dub is only going to sound as good as the original. In all honesty, the "betterness" of the sound was simply psychosomatic driven by "new toy" giddiness and excitement (and every one of us....myself included...has suffered from this).

I too am amazed that you were able to get a good run out of a Sony tape. Most flavors of Sony (SLH, ULH, etc.) are known "sticky-shed" offenders. But if you got a good one, more power to you.

That's great you got yourself a Scotch #111. But do yourself a favor: Don't get attached to it. As noted above, that's very, VERY old tape. Use the one you got just to familiarize yourself with the deck. There are no shortage of much newer and better tapes out there to do your serious recording with.

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DL-Feeling wobbly. Was it those 11 scotches I had?
 
Should I just cut the tape off of one of the 111 reels that's used?
I do not as yet have hub adapters (on the way) and I have no 10.5 inch takeup reels.
 
Just tried to remove the lead of the tape, AND THE GLUE THAT KEEPS THE TAPE IN THE REEL INITIALLY IS STILL INTACT.
 
Are there any reasons that the adhesive could still be there, besides not being used? The Open reels I have of this do not have the adhesive or little scotch tab.
 
vinyldavid said:
Are there any reasons that the adhesive could still be there, besides not being used? The Open reels I have of this do not have the adhesive or little scotch tab.
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You are probably correct that this indicates that they are NOS. However, in the case of the 111 at least, you should probably toss the tape. Tape of that vintage is going to be acetate based, and is not going to last very well at all, as it has proabably already evaporated around 50% of its original weight away.
 
Just a note on these old tapes....

vinyldavid said:
Could I sell these?
I am 15 and have NO MONEY WHATSOEVER. These tapes were toss ins for transferring a BUNCH of reel to reel tapes for my Temple (I am Jewish). I will talk to the people I got the tapes from if they are worth anything. ARE THESE WORTH ANYTHING????
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I tested out a TEAC 3340 this week with Scotch Classis tape on a 7 inch reel. Watch for iron oxide coming off the tape. You wll see a lot of it (rust color) on the heads,guides and the pinch rollers. That old Scotch, a lower end BASF was crappy too. There better tapes (NOS) are fine. I use them on my TEACs. If you use your tapes keep the heads clean. Clean them each time you run your deck.

Been recording LPs this week. I have tried a lot of TEACs but this 3340 is one sweet sounding deck. Any help drop me a line.

Eric:music:
 
Stereofisher, what is the best solution to clean the source-tape switches?
They switch between the source and tape sound, but the meters don't like to switch without some serious jiggling. PITA when setting up record levels.
 
Minor point, Scotch 111 was introduced in 1948 but yours was probably manufactured in the 50s or possibly 60s.
 
Sound wise, my 3340s was the best sounding machine I ever had, it added a crispness and warmth to the original recording, that made it sound better than the original. I later got a A-3440 and several Tascam 34b's and all sounded inferior. The only tape machine that came close was my Tascam 48 8 track, that cost thousands more than my 3340s.

As far as your reel problem, make sure all the screws are tight including the screws that hold the reel table to the motor shaft.
 
Des_Lab said:
As for the recording sounding better than the source, umm....probably not. Not unless you did some fancy equalizer work during the subsequent dub and/or playback. A linear, unmodified dub is only going to sound as good as the original. In all honesty, the "betterness" of the sound was simply psychosomatic driven by "new toy" giddiness and excitement (and every one of us....myself included...has suffered from this).
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IT was just a phychosomatic "new toy" response, but I still marveled at the quality I was able to reproduce. After I took the screws out and reinserted them, the reel wobbles went away. Weird.
I have heard that PR-150 was a Pro archiving tape that had a lifespan of 50 years.
 
PR-150 Tape

Sony PR-150 was their basic or regular tape w/SLH being the high and then came ULH (seems very similar to SLH). There was also DUAD (or FeCr as it is called in the US). PR-150 was Sony's answer to the old polyester Scotch 150.

I too started my reel to reel hobby when I was very young--just keep your eyes open for some tape at thrift stores, garage sales or other places--they may turn up. Maxell is my favorite used tape--and it holds up well. Just be careful about what "regular (tan or reddish)" tapes that you use on your TEAC deck (I think the heads are permalloy on that model)--some of those old tapes are very abrasive to your heads. Good luck.
 
I wouldn't mind having that 111 tape. It was, in fact, the first American made tape widely used in pro applications, and a deck properly biased for it can get a remarkably clean recording from it. (My Ampex 354 certainly can, and with the modifications I've done on it through the years, it is also at home with any of the newer, 'hotter' tapes as well!) Not the highest MOL out there, but capable of excellent sound if handled with care.

I've never seen any Scotch 111 that's gone bad (yet) and even have some dating back to the early 1950s, the oldest from 1950. What of it I have that's messed up is so due to having been too-tightly wound at one time. I've transferred rolls of it for other people and all of those were fine too.
 
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