Four Track Cassette Recording, maintenance

[cstocker77]

Anybody have some tips for keepin my cassette four track alive and well? Cleaning the heads? aligning the heads, etc... I've had one for some many years I just want to make sure it lasts, and that I am getting the best sound from it I can possibly get...

I have the 424 MKii. Used to use the 464 but it died on me, the play function stopped working, one day I will fix it up, I love that one. I live in Detroit, there is a place in Warren, MI that still services Tascam/Teac stuff. I also have a very ailing 80-8 that will get fixed up when I have the cashish!

'preciate any advice.

[kevin206]

I've got an old cassette 4 track that was a few years old when I bought it in 1990. I've only had a few problems with it. For routine maintenance I keep it put away when not in use. I try to keep it away from dust. I clean my heads a lot. I usually use a q-tip dampened with isoprophyl alcohol. I use the standard around the house 70% stuff, but a true head cleaner solution is more pure than that and would be preferable. I also clean the pinch roller with the same stuff. I also demagnetize the heads frequently. Usually along with a cleaning whenever I plan to use it for recording. And I use good quality tapes and don't make many passes on them. Honestly, it probably doesn't matter, but if I can't get my basic tracks down by the third take I move on to blank tape space. I've also taken apart the recorder a few times. I usually give it a thourogh cleaning while apart on give the drive wheel or belt a wipe with rubber rejuvenator. I also traced a sporadic speed problem to a group of ground wires that met with eyelets to a plastic post. The screw wasn't secure, so it made an intermittent connection. All the pots/faders get a shot of tv tuner cleaner while apart also.

[cstocker77]

Thanks for a quick response. So should I buy a Demagnetizer as well? Radio shack sells them. I been reading a lot about biasing my two track mix down cassette unit too. I wish I had a three head to make that, and the general sound of the mixdown a bit better and easier to bias.

Thanks again for relpying.

[cstocker77]

Good quality tapes. What do you recommend? And where can I get them?

[kevin206]

I've got a couple of demagnetizers. I think they came from Radio Shack. I like to have them, but I've only noticed a difference on one old cassette player I had. But I consider it preventative maintenance. Mine is a hand held thing and I use it on my reel-to-reel machines too.

I generally use Maxell XLII tapes, but I haven't bought any in a long time. My deck always sounded much better with the type II tapes. It's what was recommended in my instruction manual. i can't recommend a place for cassettes, but I'm sure they're still available somewhere.

Unless you are just a huge cassette fan, I personally would record on the cassette multi-track and mixdown to your computer. I used to do it all the time. Starting around 1997. I just came out of my board and into the 1/8" line input jack of my computer. It worked really well, actually. I used SoundForge back then. Audacity or Reaper would work really well also. With today's modern software, you could mix down to a stereo track and then add extra tracks on top of that in the computer.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I clean my heads a lot. I usually use a q-tip dampened with isoprophyl alcohol. I use the standard around the house 70% stuff, but a true head cleaner solution is more pure than that and would be preferable. I also clean the pinch roller with the same stuff.

Never, ever, ever, ever use alcohol on rubber pinch rollers. It will turn it into a cracked, rock hard hockey puck. Soap and water or rubber cleaner only.

[shedshrine]

I clean my heads a lot. I usually use a q-tip dampened with isoprophyl alcohol. I use the standard around the house 70% stuff, but a true head cleaner solution is more pure than that and would be preferable. I also clean the pinch roller with the same stuff.

Never, ever, ever, ever use alcohol on rubber pinch rollers. It will turn it into a cracked, rock hard hockey puck. Soap and water or rubber cleaner only.

Terry at Terry's Rubber Pinch Rollers says..
"What to use for cleaning pinch rollers and other rubber items
Many people ask me what to clean their pinch rollers with. I wish I had a good super secret formula I used and could tell you about, but I don't.
I see daily and have heard what chemicals do to rubber, and it isn't good. Sooner or later the rubber will be ruined.
Some types of rubber dry out, crack, and get hard, while others get soft and gooey.

My advise and its only my opinion, and I know this doesn't clean as well as some high octaine chemical,
but I suggest just plain old dish soap and water, then rinse well. "

http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/

[ott0bot]

My 424 has a squeaky belt and wheel, and it's in need of lubrication. What do you guys recomend for that? Belt lube like a car, and some lube for the wheel, or is there something better?

[shedshrine]

My understanding is that for gearing and such where you want the lube to stay in place you'd use grease. For something where you don't want any drag, fine machinery oil, like for sewing machines.

With the belt, is it slipping that's causing the squeak? A new belt would be in order right? But if the transport is okay, you sure it 's the belt and not the wheel it rotates around that's squeaking?

[ott0bot]

My understanding is that for gearing and such where you want the lube to stay in place you'd use grease. For something where you don't want any drag, fine machinery oil, like for sewing machines.

With the belt, is it slipping that's causing the squeak? A new belt would be in order right? But if the transport is okay, you sure it 's the belt and not the wheel it rotates around that's squeaking?

I think that the wheel is probably the actualy culprit....as the transport funtions normally.

Thanks for advice...I need to take it apart again and check it out.

[cstocker77]

I went to radioshack and bought a cassette head cleaner/demagnetizer. From my research, i get the feeling that the "demagnetizer" part of this maintenance device isn't the same thing as what someone above was talking about (and what I read about on other threads). You were talking about something that plugs in? An actual electronic device?

I also read that the alcohol would destroy the rubber and I kept my alcohol away from it.

I like mixing down to two track tape (cassette), i just like to keep it old school. Someone donated to me a Denon DRM 700, it's a 3 head machine with Fine Bias. I'm researching and figuring out how to use Fine Bias, it's fun to explore this older tech. Instead of bouncing to tracks on the Tascam, I like making a mix of the four tracks to two track tape, then sending that tape mix back to the four track, often just as a mono one track. I fatten up the bounce back through a compressor and through a mixing board's (Studiomaster 16x4x2) EQ if needed. Then i have 3 new tracks open for over dubs.

Yes I will eventually mix the final thing to either tape>pro tools, or just straight to pro tools.

I liked Maxell XLii back in the day of Grateful Dead bootlegs, they were the best for that application, but I can't find them anywhere. I'm sure online there is somewhere, just another thing to research. If i find a place I will be sure to let this thread know.

[ott0bot]

Another 4 track thread had a link for a place to purchase cassettes.

http://www.tapes.com/audio-cassette-tap ... eea045c7ff

seems to be decent prices. I personally have a stash of the maxel xlII high bias tapes at home.....so if you are really in need I can send you a few to get started for a couple bucks.

[kevin206]

Never, ever, ever, ever use alcohol on rubber pinch rollers. It will turn it into a cracked, rock hard hockey puck. Soap and water or rubber cleaner only.

I knew someone would bust me on that one! I know it's not recommended, but that's what I normally do. I've done it for years that way on a bunch of machines, and that's not even strong enough for some of the old 8-track cartridge players I run across. I've been real lucky, I suppose. Or it may be that I'm normally using 70% alcohol. Now that I've seen an expert advise soap and water I'll start doing that.

For lube I have some tubes of grease and of oil that came with a set of hair clippers. It's real convenient to have in my tool box, BUT it doesn't work the best. The best I have found is white lithium grease applied with a toothpick to gears and, as mentioned earlier, a light machinery oil applied to bushings and stuff. Something like sewing machine oil. I knew someone that told me about thinning the oil down. I think they used mineral spirits or lighter fluid. I can't remember what they told me or even who it was that told me!

I've mixed down to cassette and back to the 4-track also. I've done it so much that things even became inaudible, but in a cool way. I like the sound of cassette recordings, but I don't think that we are supposed to like it in this day of digital.

On a side note, I've picked up some old consumer reel-to-reels over the years. I remember mixing down to that and back to the 4-track to get some extra tracks. My 4-track was 3 3/4ips, twice a s fast as a standard cassette. The reel was 7 1/2ips, twice as fast as my 4-track. I can't explain why, but I swear it sounded better mixed to reel than back to cassette than it did in the first generation.
I also used to do the same bouncing trick using a VHS vcr. I would even set the vcr up as my recorder and do a stereo capture of shows or rehearsals. It worked great.

[Teacher's Pet]

I would even set the vcr up as my recorder and do a stereo capture of shows or rehearsals. It worked great.

Yes! I do this all the time. It does work great.

- Robin

[CBA713]

Resurrecttttioooonnn!


I just went to Radio Shack and asked the nerd there for a demagnetizer for a cassette deck. He showed me a cassette shaped "cleaner and demagnetizer" so I bought it. He also recommended the "universal cleaning solution" and, me being a sucker, bought that as well. $26 but oh well. Yes I know that's a lot. The solution is fatty alcohol polyclycol ether, and C9-16 ehoxilated alcohol, whatever those are.

So yeah, I guess I'll go ahead and cram it in my 424 mkII. I bought it off eBay and I've done some recordings with it and it sounds great and it's in very good shape. I've never cleaned anything on it though, so I figured I'd try it out.

I've read that demagnetizing isn't horribly important, and that you can do a lot of damage if you don't do it properly. So I guess I'll go with this RS thing and see what happens. I'll report back later.

C