Yes, tapes with music should always be stored tails-out. And hold down tape should be used. It stops the tape from partially unwinding on the reel.
For hold-down I use those little post-it note tabs that have a colored non-sticky portion. Place it with the colored tab away from the end of the leader and it's easy and quick to peel off. Re-usable many many times.
Arggggghhh. Buying used audio equipment from the auction style sites are Always a roll of the dice. So many thing can happen, so many variables. Turntables and Reel to Reels check all the boxes in Bold when it comes to risk. Which card or cards will surface? Such a gamble! Luckily this is the last piece of equipment that I really ever seeing myself buying used again. I picked up a back-up Sansui QD-5500. My original Sansui QD-5500 was my second reel player and the one that set the hook. (My first reel was a Toshiba 4 channel, which I recked taking it apart, but that’s another story). This one looked quite nice, was within budget what I was willing to pay, and would out a stop of me searching for a back-up. I just so happened to see the Fed-Ex Ground pull up in front of the house. Wasn’t really sure what he was delivering or if it was for a neighbor. Then my eyes started growing big as saucers. The delivery guy started rolling the box, end over end out of the truck and on to the dolly. I was in a bit of shock, WTF? Then I saw the dolly make it’s way to my front door. Still in shock, I scrambled to get off the couch and look for my shoes. Too, late for shoes, I then ran to the front door, opened and saw him start to roll the box end over end on my porch. I yelled STOP! That is Delicate as F! He then said “It is really heavy.” WTF a second time! I told him to wait there as I went back inside to grab my phone and a knife to open the box in front of him on the porch. He then stated it didn’t have any Fragile stickers on it. I just had to sigh, this was a lower case wtf, but out of bafflement. He was correct. So I open the box if front of him, another wtf, but now its a WTF. The seller just wrapped it in bubble wrap, no double box, no other support around the Sansui. I unravel it and we both see the damage. Do you want me to send it back asked the driver? That’s when my defeat solidified and my dang justification mechanism took over. “No, I’m going to deal with it.” I sign the Fed Ex handheld device and the delivery man walks away. This Could Be The Last Time, This Could Be The Last Time...I Don’t Know. Actually I do know and the same reason why I decided to keep it. Never again, unless it’s in its original box. So the damage occurred right before my eyes. End over End rolling by the delivery man. My biggest concern was the spindles, those get bent, screwed. Then comes a multitude of other factors. The most obvious damage was to the back cover and frame/support. I am Ok with workwork and could make a new backcover, so that I knew would just take some time, but first before anything, time to plug her in and see if she even turns on. Well, passed that test. Next up was to load up a reel. Whoa Nelly. Passed! Sorta flabbergasted by that one. Now on to the case before going Wired for Sound.
So It was time to inspect and clean. I only know how to clean electronics and mechanisms, or least a little bit, so I gave it a good once over. Miraculously, none of the front corners were damaged on the box. The inside frame on the back had catastrophic damage. Upon looking at it and going over different sensrios, I settled on an approach that would work. Glue and re-staple. The inside frame is now strong, maybe even stronger that previous, the back cover, glued, but will always carry the battle wound. One thing that lifted my spirits throughout, the smell of the unit. Another head scratcher, no smoke, dust, or even a hint of mold smell. It smelled like flowers. Gentle flowers, and still does. Sorta that warm blanket from Grandma...everything is going to be alright. I was honest and did recuperate a large amount of the total cost of the unit.
Wow. Infuriating. Glad you were able to make the best of it. Looks like a nice deck. I had a similar experience when fedex delivered my Yamaha AS-3000. I watched him roll it on the front porch. He just looked goofy and says "hey dude, nice sweatshirt!". I was contemplating punching him the face. Fortunately the factory box and packing was stout. No damage done.
Go to Guitar Center, buy a 1200 Mk 7 (or GR if you have the cash) and then pop an $11 dollar Ebay AT 3600L cartridge and needle on the supplied Technics head shell if you are on a budget. Then buy some re-issues from Barnes and Noble. You will be much happier in the end. In other words even at 7 1/2 isp schmaltz is still schmaltz. Last week I opened a sealed Darkness On The Edge Of Town factory reel and put it on my Akai-635D....the tape sucks...major wow and flutter...must have been a Columbia Record Club edition. The factory reels are just too $$ and too much of a gamble...and the youngest consumer decks are from the early 1980s. The good 7 1/2 ISP tapes are uber expensive, and a lot (but not all) 3 and 3/4 tapes sound pretty awful sometimes. The above is condensed from my testimonial at last week's RTR Anonymous session where only cds and vinyl are served.
If there’s nothing to tweak in life, it’s lost my attention. It is sorta funny hearing people point out inherent problems with RxR. It’s just who we are...cars...women...houses...booze...style. The boat floats.
After two plus years, I'm going to have to be so bold and say I'm not a Reel to Reel Newbie anymore. The kids must think its a sickness, the wife, still not sure on that one... I think she sees it as Aces back-to-back up her sleeve. To date I have 5 Reel to Reel decks. Technics RS 1500 - 2 Track rec/play - 4 track play 10" & 7"(My Favorite) Akai GX 630D-ss - 4 Track, quad, 10" & 7 " (Second Favorite) Akai GX 270D-dd - 4 Track, quad, 7" Sansui 5500 - 4 Track, quad 7" (First Love) Teac 3340S - 4 Track, quad, 10 & 7 inch. Today I spend 6 hours giving the Akai GX 630D-ss an over haul. But a bit of history... I've actually cracked opened the back 4 of the Reel to Reels I own. All but the Technics. The Technics I drove up to LA to have a pro go over it and he did a stellar job. Each time opening them up it's like diving into the deep end. You got to have some balls, but of course the more you do it, the less scary it becomes. Each peel becomes more familiar. My first peel of the vintage audio onion was replacing belts on 1980 fully auto turntables. Thinking back, stellar introduction to audio mechanics. Turntables are a breeze in my mind...but then again, not so much, just less stuff going on and in a tighter space. I have yet to use a soldering iron to any audio competent I own, I'm not there yet, and yet I do own one - but that's another big pool and a bit apprehensive. I do feel that I have a pretty good sense of the mechanical intricacies of reel to reels. Deoxiting, Oil/lithium/greasing, cleaning, contact cleaner, reel heights, and even taking out the reel spindle and putting it in a vice to straighten it out so the reels are much more centered as they spin if they have been whacked in their life. Going forward, replacing capacitors and transistors is on the horizon...but lets say I'm not exactly jogging towards that horizon at the moment. All of the above is really unnecessary regarding reel-to reel ownership. What is necessary is a splicing block, razor blades, leader tape, splicing tape and having them at the ready when dealing with new tapes. Then there's the bulk eraser... I own two now. 3 3/4 or 7 1/2 pre-recorded albums? Poor 3 3/4"s - It seems they have gotten a really bad wrap in threads I read. I will have to say, in my experience, I have some 3 3/4" that sound fantastic. Do not dismiss them completely, not fair. For Blank Tapes. I've been a bit of a hoarder, just like tee-pee during Covid-19. I've had no problems at all with Maxell's, TDK's and Scotch 207's. This brings up another point...tapes take a lot of space and are Heavy!. 10 1/2" is even worse. Records I thought were a bear, wait till the Tape bug hits....LOL. Start thinking of excuses now.
Ha. Might as well continue on... ___________________________________ This is my Bulk Eraser. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Bulk Eraser is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My Bulk Eraser, without me, is useless. Without my eraser, I am useless. I must handle my eraser true and flat. I must hold the trigger tighter than the contents who are trying to preserve. I must eliminate them before they taunt me. I will... My eraser and myself know that what counts in this endeavor is not the laughter of the on looking family, the reverberation of the magnetic force, nor the pain in our thumb. We know that it is the slow approach that counts. We will be sloth... My eraser is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its pull and its force. I will ever guard it against its duty cycle as I will ever guard my hip, my wallet, my eyes and my pacemaker against damage. I will keep my bulk eraser clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will... Before God, I swear this creed. My bulk eraser and myself are the defenders artifacts. We are the masters of crosstalk remnants… We are the saviors of my memories. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no distortion, but Music! ______________________ Note... the Magnesraser hand held bulk eraser is my grandfathers. When he passed I thought it would be cool to have to erase hard drives. Never knew I would follow in his footsteps and get into Reel to Reel. Wish I knew what type of rxr he had. I remember he liked showing my dad the front cover models on some of the pre-recorded tapes though.
I'm not sure how you're able to work on the floor with a hammer but hopefully you got it done. Nice looking deck by the way. We have the same degausser.
