Condition of these heads?
- Thread starter Johnny Vinyl
- Start date
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Something where I can see the center of the head with no shadows/reflection. Need to see if there is a flat spot and how symmetrical it is.
Yes, those photos are not good enough for evaluation. Head photos need to be much closer and without obscuring reflections. Here is a good example.
View attachment 18767
View attachment 18767
The seller tried to take pics, but couldn't get rid of reflections to get a clear image. The unit I'm looking at is in as close to mint as you'll find, so I took a chance and bought it. The price was too good and his trading score is excellent. He's sold several R2R's and all of the comments were extremely positive. I have a good feeling about this. I've walked away before as my gut told me to, but this just feels right.
This is the unit I bought. It's not a Studer or a Revox or an Otari, but I'm ok with that.
This is the unit I bought. It's not a Studer or a Revox or an Otari, but I'm ok with that.
If you ever have head-related problems with the deck, you can send the headblock off to JRF for relapping and realigning. The pinch rollers and capstan belt often go south in this deck: Use Terrysrubberrollers.com to re-cover the rollers and Marrs Communications for the belt. Also, tension-arm switches are a common failure item.
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Thank you very much for the info. I will keep it handy just in case. Much appreciated!
Thank you Steve! I think I'm going to enjoy it.
Don't worry about brand approval. Pioneer made great decks. Trust me, you will love it.
Nice one john, nice machine, join the club
Regarding tapes , ive gotten a whole bunch for free from a guy with a connenction at the dutch broadcasting company they sound great as well , you dont need expensive SM 900 tape to get the tape sound
Regarding tapes , ive gotten a whole bunch for free from a guy with a connenction at the dutch broadcasting company they sound great as well , you dont need expensive SM 900 tape to get the tape sound
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Awesome tape deck John. Glad you finally broke the ice and took the plunge!
Now, get your butt in gear and get some tapes to play on that beauty.
Now, get your butt in gear and get some tapes to play on that beauty.
Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to playing around with it, although that's still a few weeks away. Between this unit and the new TT I'll be a busy camper.
When ordering blank tape should I buy the ones with metal or plastic reels? Does it make a difference storage wise?
I'm looking forward to playing around with it, although that's still a few weeks away. Between this unit and the new TT I'll be a busy camper. When ordering blank tape should I buy the ones with metal or plastic reels? Does it make a difference storage wise?
Thanks guys!
When ordering blank tape should I buy the ones with metal or plastic reels? Does it make a difference storage wise?
10.5" tape will be on metal reels. I generally scour eBay and other sites to try and find old lots of old worthless Ampex (that likely suffers from sticky shed syndrome) tape just for the metal reels. I scored a lot of 15 that the metal reels where all in excellent condition and I got them cheap.
The tape itself is generally cheaper if you buy it on pancake reels. You mount that onto your empty reel yourself and then splice on your own leaders.
Come to think of it you will also benefit from getting a good tape degausser, tape splicer, spicing tape, leader tape and hold down tape. The essential elements of any tapeheads toolkit.
Thanks for that Fred! Really busy right now to start sourcing out any of this, but I will come mid-March.
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