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Print-through on my Teac A-4300

johncool

johncool

New Member
I've noticed that when recording a reel on my Teac, after I record side B, side A gets some high levels of print-through (either in forward or reverse play directions) from what's just recorded on side B on quiet passages or between songs.

Funny thing is... if I re-record side A, the previous print-through I had from side B disappears and I only get a very tiny print-through barely audible and the same thing will happen on Side B. Just barely print-through.

The previous recordings weren't recorded with high levels. Some barely go over -3dB. I'm recording stuff with peaks of +1 dB with no distortion whatsoever, and amazing sound quality.

The tape path is aligned (at least to my eyes) and even 'though the reels I have are in unknown condition, I don't know how many times they were recorded, they're good tapes (Maxell UD, TDK GX). What makes me unsuspicious of the tapes is that this happens in every tape.

I need to get a virgin tape to see what happens then.

The recorder
 
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How old are these tapes, and are they a thinner formula? Are you the original owner of the tapes? Reason I ask is, if not, you have no idea how those tapes were used or stored in the past. Just a thought, and I am certainly not an expert. I've never had this problem with recording tape and I've got Maxell, Quantegy, and Basf in my collection. Now I have run into one pre-recorded tape that had severe print-through. It was fast rewind when I received it. Meaning it had been stored tightly (the tape) for many years. As a result the print-through was quite bad.
 
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That is not print through. Print through is when the magnetic recording is transferred to the next layer of tape underneath, same tracks.
This is crosstalk, and usually caused by misalignment of the heads or guides. The top edge of the pole piece of each head should just align with the top edge of the tape. One way to check this is with a clear leader, or scrape the oxide off a section of tape. The height and tilt should be aligned in this manner first, then the azimuth. The erase head height could be off, but on many decks it isn't adjustable.
 
ShaneR2R said:
How old are these tapes, and are they a thinner formula? Are you the original owner of the tapes? Reason I ask is, if not, you have no idea how those tapes were used or stored in the past. Just a thought, and I am certainly not an expert. I've never had this problem with recording tape and I've got Maxell, Quantegy, and Basf in my collection. Now I have run into one pre-recorded tape that had severe print-through. It was fast rewind when I received it. Meaning it had been stored tightly (the tape) for many years. As a result the print-through was quite bad.
Click to expand...

I have no idea on how old they are, I'm not the original owner. I've got one reel of Maxell UD-95 (blue box - latest version, I believe) and a couple of TDK GX and also one BASF (unknown date... LP26). But I also brought 2 Maxell's XL1 from my parents' house that were recorded only once and the same behaviour occurs: I record both sides, then when playing first side I hear what I recorded on the reverse side on quiet passages and between songs but in a level that's audible. If I re-record the first side it disappears and everything's fine.

I'll post pictures of the tape path later on. Yesterday evening I went for my camera and the batteries were discharged. Left them on charge this morning.
 
Heads clean and demagged? Probably have to be pretty nasty to cause any of this though.
 
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