Teac A-4010S reel to reel

[JimNallsBoy]

Hello my name is Joseph nall I have just recently gone through my dad's old teac a-4010s while I may ave messed up some places basically the head cover,.. but to me is still aesthetically pleasing to me because what it's been through... I would like to get the metal reels for it with the large center hubs any suggestions and I'm serious I could put pictures on here all day I completely gutted it replaced 2 diods that were puffed out that freaked me out a little.. fine sanded and polished all the heads both belts both breaks freed two motors lubed everything polished the face plate fixed the auto stop and tension arm it recorded beautifully and plays clearer that the CD player in my car.. only problem I'm having is the Mic in which even with an adaptor you can't use a new Mic lol I only have my head set Mic no go but I can talk into the headphone and it works but seriously if anyone can give me a clue on metal reels with the larger mounts and the larger hubs I'd appreciate it btw here it is. And yes I sanded and re stained the cabinet

 

[rojoknox]

Greetings from RojoLand!

"I would like to get the metal reels for it with the large center hubs any suggestions…" — The A-4010S is limited to seven-inch reels and cannot accept the large-center-hub NAB 10-1/2" reels. For that you would need a larger machine such as Teac A-6010S (A-4010S' larger brother), or better yet a newer model like the A-33xx, A-3440, A-6100, A-6300 etc. (I have an A-4010S like yours, plus an A-3440 and A-6300 among other R-2-R decks.) You can fit metal 7" reels though — but be advised they are spendy these days as collectors love them. The metal Teac RE-711 is probably what you're after: https://www.ebay.com/itm/263823417719

The original Teac plastic take-up reels were RE-701 and RE-702 — and those aren't cheap now either. Example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/113152354227

"…fine sanded and polished all the heads…" — You used *sandpaper* on the heads?! I'm glad to hear the machine recorded and played well, but you could very well have ruined those hard-to-replace heads with that treatment. Please don't do that again. Heads are usually cleaned with isopropyl alcohol or dedicated head-cleaning solutions. Abrasives are bad news! There is a procedure called "head lapping" that's done to remove wear grooves and such, but that is best left to professionals. I have been working with tape machines for 51 years (since the A-4010S was brand-new), have done my share of head replacement and alignment (both audio and videotape), but have never tried lapping heads myself.

"…only problem I'm having is the Mic in which even with an adaptor you can't use a new Mic lol…" You can use newer mics on the A-4010S but only with a matching transformer. That deck requires high-impedance (10k ohms) mics. I have a couple of 1970s-vintage Radio-Schlock dual-impedance "super-cardioid" mics that work well with my A-4010S (as well as my tube-type machines). You might look into a couple of those yourself; there are a buncha buncha them on the Dock-o'-the-'Bay (eBay). Look for Realistic 33-992. Just noticed — later models 33-992C and -D are ONLY 600-ohm [low] impedance and won't work. You need the older ones with switchable impedance. Mine look like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/253754976678

Take care,
—
J. E. Knox "The Victor Freak"
(I'm a JOE too!)

 

[JimNallsBoy]

Hello rojoknox,
Yes yes I know the sanding and polishing would freak a lot of people out but I learned to work on this stuff very young, my dad was a musician, fm radio dj.. I actually have a reel of the 1969 plymouth's radio plug comercials that was ordered destroyed from where he use to work.. moving on
No the restore was just one part of a long thing there are reels that went through a fire he even left 5 sealed scotch reels with the lead tape on them now let me ask.. this was also in the box... does this make since

 

[rojoknox]

Greetings from RojoLand!

Looks like a low-impedance dynamic mic often found with low-to-mid-level recorders of the early 1970s (not unlike the Realistic 909B I bought new in 1972). I see you have a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) adapter on it; why? That won't do any good with the A-4010S. Its inputs are TS (tip-sleeve) mono 1/4" jacks, just like the mic's own plug (or is that mic using a 3.5mm [1/8"] plug?). I don't think you'll have much luck with that mic on the Teac deck, but it would work OKeh on later rigs. It's certainly no Neumann. (!)

This Teac deck is one of their earliest solid-state units and uses PNP germanium transistors, unlike later units which use NPN silicon parts. It's rather unusual that a solid-state set would use high-impedance mics, but those are what was in use with tube sets so they were common.

"I actually have a reel of the 1969 plymouth's radio plug comercials that was ordered destroyed from where he use to work." Nice! Hang on to those. I have a couple similar reels for 1978 Buicks. A '69 Plymouth beats a '78 Buick any day and twice on Sunday. (But I'm not a MoPar guy.)

"…I learned to work on this stuff very young…" — So did I. I was 12 in 1967 when I started out with a 1951-vintage Webcor 210-1 tape recorder (if you've seen "M*A*S*H", it's the one that Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester used frequently). Oh, if I only knew then what I know now…!

Be careful with those fire-survivor reels. As you likely know, heat is not necessarily a friend of recording tape (sticky-shed tape notwithstanding). What type of Scotch tape are those sealed reels? Certain types such as 226 and "Classic" suffer from sticky-shed syndrome, while others are just fine.

Take care,
—
J. E. Knox "The Victor Freak" (Webcor Freak too)

 

[JimNallsBoy]

Greetings from RojoLand!

Looks like a low-impedance dynamic mic often found with low-to-mid-level recorders of the early 1970s (not unlike the Realistic 909B I bought new in 1972). I see you have a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) adapter on it; why? That won't do any good with the A-4010S. Its inputs are TS (tip-sleeve) mono 1/4" jacks, just like the mic's own plug (or is that mic using a 3.5mm [1/8"] plug?). I don't think you'll have much luck with that mic on the Teac deck, but it would work OKeh on later rigs. It's certainly no Neumann. (!)

This Teac deck is one of their earliest solid-state units and uses PNP germanium transistors, unlike later units which use NPN silicon parts. It's rather unusual that a solid-state set would use high-impedance mics, but those are what was in use with tube sets so they were common.

"I actually have a reel of the 1969 plymouth's radio plug comercials that was ordered destroyed from where he use to work." Nice! Hang on to those. I have a couple similar reels for 1978 Buicks. A '69 Plymouth beats a '78 Buick any day and twice on Sunday. (But I'm not a MoPar guy.)

No it's for the 69 barracuda valiant wagon fury then just the all line plug it's kinda cool though

"…I learned to work on this stuff very young…" — So did I. I was 12 in 1967 when I started out with a 1951-vintage Webcor 210-1 tape recorder (if you've seen "M*A*S*H", it's the one that Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester used frequently). Oh, if I only knew then what I know now…!

Of course I've seen M*A*S*H I was born in 80 so about 87 was best time of reruns and spin offs.. well compared to now..

Be careful with those fire-survivor reels. As you likely know, heat is not necessarily a friend of recording tape (sticky-shed tape notwithstanding). What type of Scotch tape are those sealed reels? Certain types such as 226 and "Classic" suffer from sticky-shed syndrome, while others are just fine.

Scotch brand 60 min. 211 Low noise dynarange they come with a plastic case that slides open on the side the pictured is one of the cases that survived are in cases like the pictures shown... I opened one to play with and it's perfect I swear it sounds better than digital crap... I can't wait for my new projects to get her guessing late 60's early 70's Fisher record player. And "supposidly" old pioneer reciever...
Take care,
—
J. E. Knox "The Victor Freak" (Webcor Freak too)

 

[JimNallsBoy]

But they are sealed and this is what the reel looks like I took out to play with.. original lead and all

 

[rojoknox]

Greetings from RojoLand!

That Scotch 211 should be good stuff. Came out in 1972. The 3M tape list states it's the same as 176 (228 also the same). I have some 176 and similar 177 here which seems to be good.

"No it's for the 69 barracuda valiant wagon fury then just the all line plug it's kinda cool though…" Those are all Plymouth models, of course. Just imagine a ’69 ’Cuda with a 383, four-speed, Cragars etc. That would have been all the rage at my high school (it came out in late '68 which was my freshman year). But I digress.

One thing about tapes and the A-4010S: You may hear on this board and on Tapeheads.net (which you should consider joining as well) about current-manufacture tapes. Good stuff, but not all will be suitable for your deck. The A-4010S came out before "high-bias" tapes were available. Later 4010s (A-4010SL, A-4010GSL) have updated electronics to deal with it, but our earlier models don't. So look for "standard-bias" tapes rather than the likes of SM911 or similar "mastering" tapes.

There was one earlier 4010 — the "plain" A-4010 (and its cousin, the A-4000 which is just the transport mech and playback pre with no record amplifier).

Take care,
—
J. E. Knox "The Victor Freak"

 

[JimNallsBoy]

Ty very much. I could literely drone on and on about this for hours. I'm glad I found someone to chitchat with it about you are good people mr.knox