Reel to Reel

[gartenman]

l was just given a Teac Reel to Reel GX-220D. Hooked it up and it plays but sounds very muddy. Anyone here have any knowledge about these things, as is it worth restoring, how do you clean the heads, etc.? I know this is a Klipsch forum but I've seen plenty of technical questions about products other than Klipsch.

[WMcD]

Back in the day I used a Q-tip with denatured alcohol to clean the heads of tape units.

I believe any type of alcohol will work.

Later I cleaned video tape units. (0.5 inch and 0.75 inch tape reel to reel). The manufacturer provided a little felt tip wands. The theory was probably that the cotton fiber of a Q-tip could catch on the very small head and the felt was less likely to do that.

For the big audio heads I'd say a Q-tip or even a piece of cloth is good.

Wm McD

[gartenman]

thanks to everyone!!

[Marvel]

Make sure you clean the tape guides as well. Get all the junk off the tape path that you can. As Gil suggests, a cloth will also work. The less water content in the alcohol the better. Just don't flush out any of the lubricant on the bearings.

You don't someone will get tired of their Studer 820 and pass it on to me, do you? Nah, probably not.

Bruce

[JL Sargent]

Most often its the tape that's gotten muddy and not the player. Record to a good tape and then see what you've got.

[djk]

" I believe any type of alcohol will work."

Never use rubbing alcohol.

Tapes that stick due to dried-out backcoatings (lubricants) should be baked for one hour in an oven pre-heated to 150°F, then allowed to cool. Rewind before use.