I’m wondering if any tape decks were ever built that allowed for some tape manipulation during playback? I don’t know if any that allow you to play back the audio backwards, I know it can be done easily with reel to reel. Along with backwards playback I’d also like to have speed and pitch controls.
Maybe this is something that is just technically not possible with cassettes?
I have a SANYO Model RDW686 double cassette deck. I have had it for a few years and I am starting to notice it plays the majority of tapes almost a semitone higher than the original recording. I opened it up and it's clean inside. I did not see any issues with the belts. Is it another issue? Does anyone know what troubleshooting I can do, or do I just not have a good quality deck?
Made many tapes with a TEAC V3RX deck in the pre climate change days. What deck should I get to play them back now? I wish I had Dolby C instead so I could be looking at Naks. Or should I consider getting a deck without DBX and get an external DBX to compliment?
This is the second modern(ish) (ie, late 90s) deck I've tried to repair. This one is a Yamaha but is using the same mechanism as the previous deck as well.
With the previous deck, I tried replacing the belts but after but after putting it back together, I was running into weird (what I thought were electronic) issues where I'd just get a lot of clicking and sometimes trying to use deck A would trigger deck B and in a bout of frustration I figured I screwed up something else in the process so just trashed it.
Then I picked up this one. And it also needed new belts. So this time I very methodically went through taking each mechanism out carefully, replacing each belt, cleaning everything, then carefully put it all back together and...VERY SIMILAR ISSUE!
So I seem to be missing a step, perhaps, in all of this? The issue is that after replacing the belts, which I can easily manually test by spinning the flywheels and seeing everything moving fine as well as the motor shaft, I can't play tapes.
I *can* push up the tape detection levers manually and hit play/ffw/rwd and the deck does its thing, but once I put in an actually cassette, it all goes to hell. Something seems to bind the flywheels and the solenoid arm (?) tries clicking maybe 5 times and then gives up. And then the tape is stuck. And I have to go in and manually release things to get it back out.
Both decks are behaving EXACTLY the same way. So it feels like there's something I'm supposed to reset? Or double check?
Here's a photo that might help:
https://i.imgur.com/hwrzKEU.jpg
It's hard to see but there's an armature under the wire wrapped solenoid(?) (red circled area) that will click on/off / up/down maybe 5 times before giving up. While it's doing that, the motor is spinning and clearly trying to move the flywheel, but it barely moves as if something is binding. The cassette then becomes stuck and I can't eject unless I go in there and manually trigger the eject release while putting a bit of pressure on the back of the cassette to get it out. However, after resetting it each time (manually removing the cassette, power on/off), the flywheels spin just fine.
So I'm completely stumped. Anyone have any idea what's going on here? And what I'm screwing up each time?
It's a Tascam 688 Midistudio, and was working fine until it was transported in a house move. Maybe something got knocked offline? Any ideas what I should try?
Many thanks!
I have dozens of modded variable speed cassette decks available with a very wide tuning range. These are great for experimenting with LOFI music production. I’m open to trades for most pedals! I also have tape loops to toss in and units with more premium features available too.
I own a 1992 yellow Miata, and I am having some troubles with my cassette player. It will accept the tapes almost completely (the cover flap doesn't go down when the tape is in), but the display just reads "tape" and it does not play. Does anyone else have this problem? How much would a repair cost- or is it simple enough I could potentially do it on my own? Thank you!
Been thinking of getting one since I got a really cool cassette for Christmas, and I was just wondering for the whole sound situation, I have a guitar amp with an aux in port, I'm guessing I cant just plug that in and it works, or would I need some other stuff?
Say I get a second hand deck for €40-€50, how much would I have to spend on sound stuff if the guitar amp won't work.
Thanks guys :)
I've recorded a couple tracks in the past where I used a cassette deck as an amp, and it had a very distinct sound to it. Unfortunately my tape deck no longer works, but it would be better to have a pedal for live performances anyway.
Here's an example of the sound I'm talking about (the guitar solo at 2:04). Another example is the beginning of The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones. Note that I'm not referring to recording to cassette with the gain up, but running the guitar through a tape deck as an amp. The most notable thing about this sound is the way the timbre sort of shifts as you sustain a note. Are there any pedals that sound like this? Or any suggestions for shitty amps? The cheaper the better, of course.
