Thank you for watching. I'm sure you'll meet, and exceed, all of your goals, especially if you never allow those who would criticize your efforts to be a discouragement. Just smile confidently and go about your business, excellence is its own reward.

Thank you!

Thank you for your comment. Is that you on the piano?

@@asbcustom It's a piano accordion. I wish it were me. I play button accordion.

Ah, I saw someone playing a piano, anyway, thanks for watching.

Thank you! Some heads can't tolerate even a single relapping, others, maybe two. It all depends on their condition and design.

Well done, leaking caps are no fun. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching!

Thank you, yes, pietermol8508 down below also posted the part number. I have acquired several and plan on doing some tests in a future video. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Thank you!

Thank you for your kind comment. You may contact me through the "About" link on my home page. I look forward to hearing from you.

@@asbcustom Did that, looking forward to hearing back. Thank You !

Ugata, I just found your reply in the "Held for Review" bin, I cannot find and e-mails from you, please try again. Thank you.

I have a spare head I'll send to you for lapping with your "way quicker and easier" method, then I'll compare it under the microscope with my method, which you belittle with laughter. It will make a fun video, e-mail your address to me on the about page. This is assuming of course, that you've actually lapped a head at some point in your life, and not just regurgitating Internet fodder.

@@asbcustom I didn't poke fun at your lapping process. Just the risk posed to the head by drilling out the welds for the tape guides which is totally unnecessary when you can just bend them out of the way with needle nose pliers.

You obviously didn't watch the video closely or if so, didn't understand what you saw. Seriously though, have you ever actually lapped a cassette head with the guides bent over as you suggest, or is it something you saw someone do on the Internet and believe that the least amount of effort put into a job is always the best? Be honest ...

Thank you for watching. Bending guides is a very poor practice.

@@asbcustom Most people who relap tapeheads will bend the guides. Even at JRF magnetics on non screwed tape guides, they bend the guides when relapping and bend them back after they re done, so it's fine.

@@RDM-CassetteDeckRepairs Thank you for your comments, I'll be interested to test your capstan motors when available, please put me on your prepurchase list. It may well be true that most people bend their guides, I don't have any data on that but in my work, bending sheet metal 90° one direction, then bending it back, is strictly prohibited. I like to carry through best practices no matter what I'm working on. I'm curious about your claim regarding JRF, do you have first-hand knowledge of that?

@@asbcustom Few years back i ve e-mailed them about relapping a Pioneer head, and they told me that on that head, the guides are glued on and the best option would be to bend them and warned me there s a risk the guides can break off (in that case i d pay nothing). My capstan motor were unfortunately half a failure, so no more of that till i find a reliable source that sells motors of good quality. I d happily send one or two for free after i finish "prototype two". If you know any (standalone) motor that comes from the factory, with the standard screw mount distance (used in most cassette decks, that is 25mm) it would be of HUGE help!

@@RDM-CassetteDeckRepairs Right, the operational phrase here is "can break off". I have the equipment and training to do it the proper way, if I didn't, I would either acquire those things, or not do the job. Good enough, in my shop, is never good enough. If your only motor obstacle is the mount, I could machine an adapter plate. It wouldn't need to be more than about 1mm thick and any deck I've ever seen could easily accommodate that small addition. I'd be happy to help you with that, let me know.

That's good to know, thank you.

Yes, definitely right! At this stage, however, this is the best new head you can buy. So cherish it, most of the world's magnetic head manufacturers have basically closed down or switched to producing other electronic components.

How to classify the M5820 Series ?

Thank you for watching. It is a lot of work yes, but work has never scared me. What would scare me is finding myself getting lazy and complacent, and not doing everything I can to bring a deck into spec or better. If I ever catch myself in this plight, that will be my last one. Regarding 2-head decks, some of my clients are only concerned with playback, a 2-head deck can sound remarkably good on playback. I would pit the repro sonics on this machine against any stock 3-head deck around that hasn't gone through a similar restoration. Recording is not as good no, but playback on this one is excellent.

@@asbcustom Makes sense, You do have the knowledge and tools, This shouldn't be an obstacle for you.

That's true when the head is in the hands of a brute, I recommend you never attempt it.

Good questions, all, and thank you for watching. Rocking the head is always an issue, yes. I lap, or hone, or similar processes in the shop every day so I have years of experience with it. The head will have a groove in the middle but retain its original profile on the edges, so forms a natural guide. A simple confirmation check might be to dye the head with Sharpie marker, then check it frequently while lapping to pick up on any skew, then correct it as the process continues. I reattached the guide with metal epoxy, I was able to align it in its original orientation because of the precision witness blind bores left in the shell. I believe it was outlined pretty succinctly in the video. I have never used pinch roller retreads, no. I have used Terrys, and they are excellent, the polyurethane ones from Athan are also very high quality and well suited to machines with easy access to cleaning. I find the poly rollers to build up debris more quickly than rubber, so need much more care. That's fine in an open reel where they are easily accessed but many cassette decks are too difficult for the average owner to fuss with as often as needed, and they become frustrated. If at all possible to save to factory pinch roller, I resurface them by precision grinding, the same process performed on the new, high quality ones. I've shown it in parts of other videos, here's one dedicated to the process: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e7-pd6hhvquRmmQ.html. Scrubbing with dish soap, warm water, and a stiff brush can bring many back that seem bad. Never, ever, ever, attempt to sand them, I know people do it all over KZfaq, but don't.

Thank you for watching Josh. Machine lapping soft heads like these is tricky and I avoid it. I will sometimes do the harder ones, and reel heads on a power lap, but when they're small and soft like this one, I feel more control by hand. The lap is not bowed, it's very flat and run parallel to the direction of tape travel, never at any appreciable angle. Good luck on your Superposition project!

Many thanks for the reply! I’ll definitely stick with doing it by hand, I agree. Better to go by feel than machining. My Otari MX 5050 BII arrived today so going to have a look and feel the heads. Your video here is the highest authority on the subject so I’ll follow it carefully. Much appreciated!

That's a very worn head there Rick, I suppose anything is possible, but I would just remove the head and lap it or possibly try one of the replacements available from the usual suspects.

@@asbcustom hmmm....I see. I may try to lap it, and get some practice. Gotta start somewhere I suppose. Once it's done and back in can it be dialed in by ear? I'm happy if it just plays even on both channels. I'm not planning on recording anything spectacular. You mentioned the usual suspects....is that China Town? This is a MX metal type head/chrome etc. What would be a good replacement head if all else fails with my lapping? Cheers, Rick

Oh no, sorry, I thought you had the gear to set up heads. You'll need at least an M-300 gage and azimuth tape to R&R a head. I don't know which is the correct replacement, I would search online for that answer and hope someone has posted it.

@@asbcustom This may make you wince, but what if I used 3000 grit and managed to wet sand that part of the head while it is still in the deck? If I can get that area polished smooth would that not give some improvement compared to its current condition? I'm a bit limited on options as nobody around my area does any older audio stuff, and I don't have the proper equipment to remount and calibrate the head, even if i lapped it correctly.

Have you ever lapped anything before?