Do NOT clean pinch rollers with isopropyl alcohol! It will eventually dry them out and they will crack. Instead use rubber rejuvinator. Iso is good for heads.

Hi Michael, that is a great video. I used to repair Audio in my college time and those Technics decks you have there where so nice to work on. Everything well build. If there was one of those in the shop, I always tried to get it. With the ISO-Propranolol alcohol, just call it by it's abbreviation "IPA" or I.P.A. if you prefer :) Now that you mentioned it: Some tips for people getting in to this, bad belts and also bad pinch rollers are the main reason that cassette decks eat tapes. If you get a Deck from e.bay, check that the pinch roller is not bloated, it should be a flat surface touching the tape. Also get a disposable tape to run the deck trough it's paces before trying your cherished tapes in it. I also feel if the wind up spool has enough torque. (It is slow wind up spools that destroy the most tapes). Finally, if you have a belt out of the deck and you want to know if it is good, drop it on a hard surface from 30 cm height. It should drop dead, like a dead weight. If it flops or bounces around it is bad. Sadly many new Chinese belts don't even pass that test. Also a good belt is not very elastic, if you can stretch it almost like an elastic band, it is bad.

Great tips as I own 6 tape decks. I had to perform maintenance (belts and idler tire) on all but two after purchase. I own Nakamichi, Akai, Technics, Yamaha and JVC.

Buy a mid-80s Japanese deck that's still running with little to issues. Those are the good ones. If you're literally overhauling a deck, realigning/replacing parts, just know that you'll need to do it again at some point. But if it's gone 40 years without much needed other than a good cleaning, a fresh new belt free of soft spots may be all you need for years to come. Never use alcohol to clean rubber/pinch rollers. Use Windex for general maintenance or Rubber Renue if it's the first cleaning in years. Happy taping. :)

Great primer video….Being a child of the cassette era I bought a few cheap decks last year to tinker with out of nostalgia and every single one needed work. I had about a 50% success rate getting them working. I found reel to reel easier to work on just down to the size of the mech.

Another excellent video! Many late 70’s and early 80’s Technics decks can be found branded Panasonic or National with alternate model numbers (Panasonic RS-619 is the Technics RS-M5 etc.) This is worth noting as you’ll more often find the Panasonic/National models for a bit less than their Technics counterparts.

Brilliant video Michael-thanks! I’ve learned so much about tape deck features and maintenance. I recently bought a vintage 70s pioneer deck and it is sounding dull. Can’t wait to follow your cleaning tips and head adjustment to hopefully liven up the sound.

Great Video Michael I Have An Old Low Hours Nakamichi BX-100 Thats Waiting Me To Fit a New FF/RW Idler Never Used Much As I Dont Play Many Cassetts But a Decent Sound All The Same Bought From New Thanks For Uploading Regards mike.

Some great tips for first-time buyers there, Michael. Belts are probably the bigger source of woe with cassette decks with Pioneer, Sony, Aiwa and Trio/Kenwood being the most prone to belt rot. Not all later cassette deck mechanisms are trouble-free, however: for example, some late-80s Technics RS-B models have a plastic gear which is prone to breaking. The previous RS-M decks, though, seem to be bulletproof - as are JVC's KD-A series. One additional thing to look out for is dead analogue meters, which are practically irreparable. Bar-graph meters are a safer bet, as well as being more accurate. Are 3 heads better than 2? I've had both types and, tbh, the premium you pay for a 3-head deck probably isn't worth it. You soon learn to set the record level (and bias, if the deck has this feature) using the meters and the Mk.1 ear. You really don't have to be a god-tier expert to get good recordings from a 2-head machine. As for noise reduction, Dolby B (or JVC's ANRS, which is compatible) makes little difference to most Type I tapes as they don't have much high-frequency audio anyway. Other forms of NR that use compression/expansion (dbx, High Com, adres for example) handle high frequencies better, at the expense of compatibility with other decks and prerecorded cassettes. No NR leaves the high frequencies alone, but the hiss can be really irritating, especially on metal and pure chrome cassettes. It's horses for courses. Speaking of metal tapes, once you've seen how much the damn things are being sold for you may quickly decide that metal compatibility isn't a must-have feature after all! Finally, a word about head wear: the most prone to wear are made of permalloy. Sendust heads are much more hard-wearing, and most mid-level decks had them. Sorry this is a bit long but, as you say, there's a lot of ground to cover with cassette decks! My advice to a newbie is to get a simple deck to start with - there's less to go wrong, and you can always upgrade later if the bug bites you.

A good effort on a multi -faceted topic, sir. I have one more thing to point out that applies to JVC DD decks and that it is common for a certain capacitor to be the primary culprit when the deck does not play consistently. My DD-7 was afflicted with this problem and a good electrolytic cap took care of the problem. The machine was cleaned and set to new specs. I have a spare set of heads just in case! This deck ran for 40 years, infrequently I am certain, before I purchased it on eBay and I will be happy if it makes it another 40 with proper environmental conditions and surge protection. Enjoy your cassette deck and you might find some rare songs that never made it to digital.

Thanks for the good tips. I'm looking for a deck at the moment and this will help.

i would also recommend decks that have higher speed choices. i have modified my 3 head tape deck to run at higher speeds this makes the high frequencies very powerful and clear. i than use and eq to drop them back down and this also drops the tape hiss down as well.

Thanks! That was very helpful.

hi have alot of decks over time i record at x2 speed 3 3/4 ips i only buy ones i can do up later one's can have bad gears in them they go soft over time beware of the tascam 238 234 they have poor servo in them i record my cassette 1/8 tape on a 1/8 reel to reel as it has 3 heads i know you say there never was one wroung there is i know my gear like otari dp2700 tape loader i have some the tascam 234 can run at 7 1/2 no lie i service my deck 10k res on a new motor a and belt doe's same as the old servo went bad yes i re cap all the parts still played up again great video

Anyone suggest a semi modern deck in silver. Has to sound excellent. Any suggestions would be appreciated budget under £500. Currently have new denon 800 series amp and cd deck in also silver

Thanks for posting this informative video, much appreciated! How necessary is a balance control knob in a tape deck? I found a JVC td-w220 that only has the input level control on it, is it a decent deck?

hi watch out for decks that a powered of a amp as deck come of a hi fi deck some need 12v ac x 2 you know the decks i buy them and power them on one power unit like when used with a amp i had top line decks in past

What does numbers on cassette tape head means ? Are they numbers for different model and make should the numbers match with the replacement head ?

The optonica/sharp rt3838 is the best sounding machine ive ever heard, its an awesome deck, however the best noise reduction system is dbx, the glass heads may last forever but they can destroy tapes, ferric tapes can squeak like hell too on glass heads.

Decades ago, there were cassettes and cassette decks that allowed you to listen to only the vocal or instrumental part, or both together. I still have many of those special cassettes, and I would like to enjoy them again. What sort of cassette deck has that capability? I want to buy one, but I'm afraid of buying on that won't allow me to play the bands separately, OR together. (Fri Feb 10, 2023)

Thinking about getting this cassette deck not sure how good it is though teac v-1050

what doe's help a full track test tape why you all say easy went you put it in you can use it to check all the play back levels are right in the play back pre amp if i did not have one in the old day i would find the audio lines from tape heads tap in to where they plug into and wire them in to a head that loop around alll the time it works on old reel to reel decks very well copy cat mate got one

thanks for the emails nice to talk to a real hi fi man i been working on recorder from 16 years old work got in the way of have a youtube channel in the past i could have out done the techmoen there's alot out there that could do video like you red tape gets in the way video to 99 work for him self moving files his fee's are to high video only some do sony pcm 701 es is a hi-fi unit i used them before bob

Hi Michael, do you have a contact email? I want to send you a photo of an old cassette deck I'm trying to identify. Hoping you might be able to help? thanks

Skip that and buy a cheap decent DVD player in the charity shop for £10-£15 and buy CDs for pennies second hand.

My cassette format journey ended in 2001!