How To Clean And Demagnetize Your Tape Recorder
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Here is a 'how to' video about keeping your tape heads clean and demagnetized. There is a lot of bad info floating around on this subject and I wanted to set the record straight. :) JC
We're well into 2020 and i still listen to audio tapes on a daily basis, not sure how many out there that still actively so it but there is still folks out there who keep them going!
They're some of the coolest things ever on the face of the planet
47 year hobby. Over 1,000. Yes the old ones still play and sound good.
A well recorded cassette on good tape can sound just as good as a CD or other digital stuff. Also, no need to convert to other formats if you are happy with what you have. Why change if it is already great? And reel-to-reel still beats everything to this day, but is very expensive and unobtainable for most.
Heck yeah, have childhood tapes that now my kids are listening to!
They're still hella popular too. In 2019 the sales were rivaling thoes of the 1980s
I'd like to mention how professional and well spoken you are in this video. I typically go through several videos when searching for help for a situation due to many being hard to understand or just plain frustrated to follow. This is much appreciated.
I realize it’s been 10 years since you posted this video, and not sure if you’re checking comments still, but just in case...thank you very much!!! I just purchased my first tape deck (an early 90s Sony TC-WR700), and there was a lot of noise on playback. Cleaned as best I could with the 91% alcohol, and used a Marphar Head Demagnetizer I bought on Amazon for $20. Playback sounds great now!! Only the slightest bit of normal tape hiss is detectable. Very helpful video. Thank you again. Cheers!
Thank you very much for this guide. I've used Walkmans for a long time but just bought a Technics last week, very thorough and well explained - very surprised you're still helping people out on this video after 10 years!
Good thing I see this now. I haven’t demagnetized my Cassette Deck in 20 years.
This is great info presented in an excellent, easy to understand, yet not overbearing manner. One thing I would add is to perform any demagnetizing far away from any prerecorded tapes. Thanks for this!
Very valuable info. You can still buy brand new tape recorders and tape from Bush in the UK at Argos and Sainsburys in 2021 so this info is still useful. I recently got a 2nd hand Sony TCM-939 portable and have been following these instructions (it's been so long I forgot how to do it) but I never demagnetized the heads in the 80s and 90s.
Thank you. To me this is still very educational. I have been an audio/hi fi/video hobbyist since 1959. I am actually more interested in demagnetizing the tape heads. I have two rather old cassette decks that I am using to burn my cassette tapes onto CD's so this helps.
Try turning them into mp3 files.. thats what Im doing with Audacity
The original cassette player in my older volvo just started playback with a much muffled sound. Your explanation was very helpful to me, and I thank you for a superb tutorial. It is authors such as yourself that make you tube a valuable learning tool.
i have been into finding and collecting,and refurbishing cassettes with 80's style "boomboxes" and this channel kick ass in helping me to better understand my newly found hobby. Thanks for the info🖒
You've provided a lot of good information here.
I recently picked up a Technics M63 three head cassette deck and found the capstan was covered with a rather heavy coating of oxide. It looked almost like it had rusted, it was so bad. I used alcohol and a Q tip and was going nowhere fast when I decided to use my fingernail to scrape the brown oxide off. That worked very well and the cleaning process went much quicker. I then went over the capstan with the alcohol and Q tip to get any small particles I missed.
I have an old TDK demagnetiser cassette I used on the head, but I really should demagnetise the capstan, like your video showed.
This deck now sounds very nice and works very well.
Regards, Tom
THOMMGB Yeah, sometimes you gotta scrape to get it off if no one ever kept up with it. Glad to hear you got it clean and sounding good. :)
what i need now is a vhs head cleaner for my video camera
yes i did i got the dubbing to work too
Nice to see someone who knows their stuff for a change. I repair consumer electronics for a living and its funny but also sad the bad info out there.
You can achieve different sound color or texture with a tape recorder. Especially if you let it distort a bit, it gives a different sound then digital distortion. You can use it for instance to record a song on a computer then run the final recording through a tape machine so you get that tape coloring that most times is better then the digital emulations and then record that back into the computer again.
Yep. That is why I’m here. 👍🏽
I’ve got an antique Sony portable box with proper inputs for studio use.
thank you so much my dad gave me this old tape recorder and i have been using it for about a year and i could never get good sound out of it but after this video i gave the heads a good clean and now it works wonderfully
R.I.P. RadioShack
Nigel Adams it’s really sad, tbh
Outstanding video, my brother! You're clear, concise and precise!
Nice tutorial on cleaning cassette decks. My hat is off to you sir. Back in the day we never thought of cleaning them wirhout the cassette tape for cleaning heads. Thank you.
This is a good intro to tape transport care - besides the comment about issues with using head cleaner on rubber parts mentioned elsewhere, the other thing I'd add is professional cleaning swabs are NOT a waste of money. They are longer for better reach, have lower lint/are wrapped more tightly than q-tips and you need to keep them in the bag they come in to keep them clean until you use them and avoid touching the tip you are going to use to clean the transport. Getting dirt and oil from your skin on something you are going to use to clean delicate equipment is not a good idea and using cleaning solutions designed for the job is a good idea.
Yes. As long as the tip of the probe is covered with rubber there's no chance of damaging the heads. Some older demagnetizers have metal probes that would scratch the heads if they came in contact while they were energized. JC
Just got an ad for Nickelodeon... I don't really think younger kids will be watching this 😂
Your video was very informative and very thorough. Well instructed and very easy to follow along. You sir... are a man who knows how to teach and for that. I THANK YOU. Great GREAT instructive video.
Thanks! :)
back to its old home to stay until the end of its life
2022 here. Listening to my tapes on my old Sony yellow Walkman. Bahaha. Love old school and went power goes out I get my radio going. It all works. Thanks for the vid. I’m one the few who never cleaned and now it’s eating my tapes 😢
Back in the day, I would carry a head cleaning cassette w a small bottle of alcohol with my cassettes. I wouldn't put one of my cassettes in someone's car deck without cleaning it first. I used Q-tips on home decks. I still have cassettes of old progressive rock radio shows from the 60's and from my all time fav Jazz radio station, KRE in Berkeley, which I play every year at X-Mas to keep them in good shape. I have transferred many to digital. Good radio stations come and go; WSHE, WRVG, KFAT, ETC. Some once great stations were neutered by AOR like KSAN & WEBN for instance.
Maybe you could upload some of your digitized tapes to youtube for preservation ?
***** good idea
I am afraid You cann't do this in case not having publishing rights.
mabey I am taping my vinyl onto cassettes
mine that i had taped got stolen
I have a Sony tc-we435 and I am still using mine on a daily basis. Just cleaned my heads and demagnetized them. Listening to my George Strait Greatest hits vol 2 and it still plays and sounds great!!!
@hohum83 That myth about the alcohol damaging the pinch roller just doesn't have a leg to stand on. Alcohol won't damage rubber unless you leave it to soak for a long time. You should clean until the swap comes back clean. It really takes a lot of juice to properly demag,. I don't know if the cassette kind generates enough power to get the job done... Anything is better than nothing, though. :) JC
Nearly 15 years alter and this is still a great video. Would you consider doing a follow up/sequel and actually show us how to use a demagnetizer in video form and not just stills?
I don;t even have any tape machines anymore.
My cousin put a fridge magnet inside my grandmother's tape deck when we were kids. Me and him lived in town but it took a month and a half for my uncle to be there for Christmas and figure out why her tapes were getting so weak and staticky
I got the Audio brand head demagnetizer 400 and it still works after I plugged in. I demagnetized these heads on both reel-to-reel tape recorders including my Akai 1721W and my Concord 220T and it does the job done since I moved slowly to demagnetize the recording and erase heads without getting it touched, so that it won’t damage any of the heads. I have to leave the machine off or unplug while I’m demagnetizing the heads.
Thanks for the incredibly thorough video....
I never cleaned my 4 track before and oh my god there was so much gunk on the pinch roller and heads. Thank you for this video.
@olderngod I'm glad you found the video useful. If you are not having any problem with your machines and you're not allowing them to be close to anything putting out a strong magnetic field then you most likely don't have to worry much about degaussing the heads. I mainly do it when I get a used machine and I don't know where it's been. After that, I do it maybe once in five years, if that. :) JC
Thanks for this video , now I know exactly how to use my newly acquired wand demagnetiser.
A much easier way to de-mag the heads is with a TDK HD-01 cassette head demagnetizer. You have to change the battery every few years but it is simple. Just pop in the cassette shaped demagnetizer, press play and a little light will go on when done. I've had my HD-01 for over 35 years and it works.
I've never heard of this procedure before. Traditionally, you bring the demagnetizer tip in slowly with it turned on. You sweep the head(s) or metal parts back and forth with the tip for five seconds without touching anything. For each piece you do, you back away from that piece to like a meter away before you shut off the unit. Rinse & repeat for each piece you demag.
Thanks! It fixed my Yamaha K-60 cassette deck that was eating tapes. The rollers were pretty ugly but they cleaned up well.
Nice, never really understood how to de-mag the heads properly, good video :-)
in 2017 radio shack no longer exists. sad.
Anthony Rock it really is
Still open here, 1702 N College Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72703
i mean theres still apparently a good amount of them within an hour of nyc
Very nice demo, very useful information. I need to get a head demagnetizer I gave mine away many years ago.
Joe, you are the man ! All hail JC ! Hereinafter to be called Sir JC.
+MusicJunky3 Thanks... I think. LOL :)
mine i bought it
Very good tutorial in a field of very bad information. Thank you so much.
thanks, very professional, and you cleared up questions I have had for 30 years.ty
Thanks for the demagnetizer tips!
I was always a bit concerned about how to do it properly...
Do you have any brand/model suggestions?
*winding the tape around them. I was worried it might be a bad belt which is something I had no idea how to fix, but thanks to you I'm pretty sure I just need to clean it... My radio hack ca
August 2021 and I use and love audio cassette tapes, I record all my "old school of heavy metal bands " (end of the 60s to middle of the 70s) and N.W.O.B.H.M. bands (1979 to 1985) onto cassettes and they sound great and loud (too bad for my neighbours).
2009 Radio Shack still had a lot of neat stuff, nowdays my Radio Shack is getting rid of a lot of things it's not the same store anymore since Sprint took them over.
Im sadly reminded that Radio shack is gonnne
Great video thank you!
Nice demonstration how to clean a cassette tape head and erase mechanism. Thanks very much.
I have a loud buzzing noise on my old JVC boombox. Tried the cotton swab and alcohol. Looks like I will have to try with the demagnitizer now, as the problem is still there.
@Mico284 The tape has either gotten overheated and is damaged or the transformer in the amp partially erased it with its magnetic field. There's not much that you can do to fix it but you should try playing it back in as many decks as you can get your hands on and which ever one gives the best image should be used to get a copy of the tape. :) JC
Distilled water would not dissolve the binder that comes off of the tape. You must use a solvent to get that to move. :) JC
I have two reel-to-reel tape recorders including my Akai 1721W and my Concord 220T and it plays great, and the heads are getting low and very hissy. But I don’t have my head demagnetizer yet, but I will someday.
Should I unplug the deck before demagnetizing or does it matter?
Can I use normally alcohol too ???
vinyl is a trend right now but im sure tape will have a strong comeback in the near future
Thank you for this video. I would like to note that isopropyl alcohol has a limited shelf life and if a really old, opened container of it is used, it might be something more like acetone than alcohol.
@MrChroissant Sounds like a mechanical issue. You'll have to pull the player out and open it up to see what's going on. The cleaning process s the same for car players. It's a bit more of a pain, though, since you have to drag the whole thing out of the dash to get to it. You can use a wet cleaning tape to maintain it but you gotta yank it and really clean it once in a while. :) JC
Thank you very much for this video! I’ll have to clean my tape deck (a Technics from a small stereo system "SC-HD 350“), and now I know how to do it. I hope it’ll work, because the tape deck sounds VERY muffled (there’s no more treble in the sound). The deck, however, is closed up and it has like a slot-loading interface, so I’ll have to open it up…
Thank you for this demonstration. I am elderly and have a hearing problem, and I appreciate your perfect diction. So few people know how to speak these days.
I have several tape decks and have always maintained them with the denatured alcohol cleaning and the cleaning cassette. They sound fine. If i'm having no problems, is there any need to demagnetize? I have a bit of a tremor in my right hand and would be scaared of doing more harm than good with a demagnetizer!
I like this one... I got it from MCM Electronics. Radio Shack used to make some nice one's too. I see them on eBay every now and then but the new ones are relatively cheap and one like this should last you a lifetime.
:)
JC
You are actually touching the head with the demagnetizing tool? I have a 3 head Akai, and the same demagnetizer. Seems like the instruction said don't touch the head but rather hover and move the tool in a circular motion. AKAI 870-D. I'm confused.
@localdummiesguy I'm glad the video helped. Please let me know how the machine does after a good cleaning. :) JC
@neantradical Since only one track is giving you trouble, I would say the heads are very dirty or there is a misalignment between the erase head and the record/play head. Demagnetizing is a good thing to do but I don't think it will solve the problem. Heavily magnetized heads have a tendency to add noise to tape and can actually partially erase a tape after several plays... They ordinarily do not prevent a machine from erasing tape completely. Clean the heads and see if that helps. :) JC
Thanks for the video. I bought a boom box on eBay identical to one I had as a kid out of pure nostalgia. The decks work, but the pinch rollers were sticky and were win
@JDTV1995 Cleaning never hurts. Your recording issue is most likely a mechanical or electronics problem, though. :) JC
Nice! I have a B&O Beocord 5000 cassette player and it worked perfectly just some months ago then I haven't used it. Just moved it. For some reason when I turn it on, now the capstan is spinning when power on? and when I press in a tape it tries to play and 1 sec after it just shuts off? Any idea why?? All the best!
Your Teac machine used AC erase and AC bias but the deck you used for your demonstration uses DC erase and DC bias, making demagnetising pointless. During record the DC erase head magnetically saturates the tape thus erasing it, the DC bias (with audio signal superimposed) applied to the record head takes the tape out of magnetic saturation while adding the audio signal, that's why the polarity of the connections to the record head (using DC bias) was important, if the polarity was reversed you would get poor or no audio playback. Magnetised heads are usually microphonic if tapped with something non magnetic or when cleaning with a Q-tip.
This Radio Shack machine is AC bias. They made some very nice portable recorders in the late 70's and early 80's. This is one of them. :)
Joe Collins Sorry, my mistake, I was so used to seeing similar machines using DC bias and it was a long time ago !!
mine is a panasonic slime line my brother bought it for me because i am pregnant
Sir it is realy great and informative thanks a lot l have a double cassette Deck and even now l am using it very comfortably
I know that this video is 10 years old now but still... Like you, I'm a tape head too. Yet, I'm more in the studio multitrack recorders. However, I want to do some experiments with cassettes. Can I use my HAN-D-MAG demagnetizer for demagnetizing the heads of a cassette recorder too or is it possible that the HAN-D-MAG is too strong?
They are all basically the same... I think it should be fine. :)
Thanks! The Sony would be a good choice as long as the noise level is low enough. Sometimes you'll get hum or buzz in the signal from portable machines. If you have access to more than one cassette machine, I'd plug them all in and see which one sounds best. A mono player would be good if your family tapes were recorded in mono... There are a few mono portables on the market now that you can get for cheap. You may want to consider getting one of those. :) JC
So pleased I don't have to take the machine apart like my VHS players!
VCRs are usually not a big deal to service since the covers are easily removed and all the inner workings are accessible inside.
Hi Joe, when I play a casette the sound is garbled. What can I do to make it sound normal ?
@MacPhantom You can get a wet system cleaning cassette to do regular cleanings. That way, you'll only have to open up the deck every once in a while to clean it. That's how I maintain the tape deck in the car. :) JC
Just a few additions:
1. When demagnetizingdegaussing make sure that you are nowhere near speakers, audio equipment, credit cards or anything else that can be affected by the magnetic field of a demagnetizer (take your wallet out of your pocket, and leave it in another room!)
2. One should run the demagnetizer over the transport mechanism in one direction (the direction of travel of the tape).....
3. Tape cleaning fluid can dry out the rubber roller - specific cleaners are available.
Good vid. Usefull info. I have an echoplex EP3 I need to do this to. I found the exact demagnetizer you have for $9 on Amazon.
You pretty much have to work the mechanics by hand until it will let you get the tape out. The tape gets pretty well eaten up in the process so I doubt you'll be able to use that tape again. :) JC
Not sure if this is on topic or not, but do magnetic phonograph cartridges need to be demagnetized as well? Heard some people do that to remove excess noise.
great info JC. At work we repair data recording tape drives. Most of them currently use a ceramic hear with iron or ferite cores. Theses are seriously tiny. Wuold this help with high error rates?
Also, could a tape deegousser be used to demagnatise the read write heads?
@Vinylrecordsneverdie No! Acetone is way to corrosive for tape heads! It's fine for pulleys and other parts but heads are delicate and acetone will deform and permanently etch the relatively soft plastic parts in most erase heads. Nail polish remover is also loaded with perfumes and other additives... Pure or 91 % Isopropyl is best. It's your machine but I strongly advise not using acetone or any other strong solvent on the heads... :) JC
allright i'll look for a new one, thanks a lot JC!
Ben
hi joe, hope you read this and could help me. since I'm a 25-year-old dummy, and just starting to learn and collect cassette tapes which is why I don't know much about it. I've bought a portable cassette player and had the brilliant idea of cleaning it, (after changing belts and cleaning it). anyways, I've cleaned the pinch roll and the head with alcohol 70% (thinking it was 99%) and also cleaned a cassette tape with all the q tip and rewind technique, and now that cassette tape (and only that one) plays at a fluctuating speed, iv tried other cassettes and the same player and the speed is constant, but the one wich cleaned wrong doesn't, it even gets stuck sometimes. I hope you could help me fix this problem since is an important tape that my mom gave me from her younger age stuff. and sorry for the bad English, I'm still learning it.
Thanks for the info. That's why they pay the pros the big bucks
I've had mysterious faults in stereo tape decks that leave rhythmic soft popping noise on RH tracks of tapes played through that deck, it only audible on blank portion of tape, so why would a unit like this infect a recording ? the same tape will still produce this noise on other players so the faulty deck actually imprints these nuisance sounds on the tape as it is played. the first pass produces the noise audibly, if you run it without a tape nothing is heard, possibly there may be static coming from erase head. this was a top load Sanyo cassette deck
@btown2011 Acetone was recommended for some early recorders that had all metal parts in the tape path bu8t it will eat a modern machines plastic parts. You really don't need to demag for each recording. Once a year is plenty. :) JC
So, am I demagnetizing a 4-track or disassembling a live bomb?
exactly how I feel
Cut the red wire first.
Hey thanks a lot! My music doesn't sound like it's being played under water anymore.
Hello,
This is very informative video about cleaning your heads and parts.
What is the model's name of your demagnetizer in this video?
Can you provide the brand mane of this tool and the link where I can find this tool.
Can I use the same demagnetizer for my Nakamichi CR2 and Uher CG356
Thanks for your help
@airconguy1 You can find kits with an assortment of belts on the web. Replacing the belt is probably your best option. :) JC
@BadEditPro Thanks for the info about demagnetizing, you say that moving the demagnetiser too quickly can cause problems, what sort of problems can this cause and can permenant damage be caused by this?
Your instruction movie seems to imply you use alcohol on the pinch roller, or is it a clean cotton swab you're using? I was hoping to find an alternative to what John Peel suggested: saliva. Like yourself, Joe, my L8 partner who was 60 years in the UK electronic servicing trade told me to go nowhere near the Pinch roller with any alcohol as this would shrink it and cause cracking.
Alcohol won't hurt the pinch roller if used sparingly.
So if I can ask a question, I've got a Portastudio 424 MKIII. Works great, but channels 3-4 have big problems with recording and playback. Almost no sound at all, no matter what I do with with the channel faders and master volume. I'm new, do I need to just clean the heads do think?
Hello, I have a problem...When I play a cassette there is some distortion that comes from the right speaker on side A but side B plays perfectly. What can I do to eliminate that distortion?Thanks.
im having a couple of issues with my tape deck... im wondering if you can help me. 1st:when i rewind tapes it works while the tape is half way but as one of the reels start geting emptier it starts slowing down and just stops. 2nd: when i play tapes on the 2nd deck, the deck litraly starts damaging/breaking the tape. how can i fix these issues???
So it IS safe to touch the heads with the demagnitizer? I have a bunch home recording books and the verdict is uncertain. Some say get it as close as you can, others say touch the head.
I have a similar RS demagnitizer and it has the same red rubber tip. I recently bought it on ebay and I have a few machines I need to demagnitize.
Well, how about a slow circular motion over the head. Seems like the old instructions (from what I remember and it 40 yrs old almost) said to use a circular motion then slowly remove.
@neantradical Aliening erase heads is tricky... I'd just start looking for a new machine because if it constantly slipping out of whack that's an indication of a mechanical weakness in the system and it will just keep doing it. :) JC
Joe, I have an old JVC boombox from the 1980s and it is making a funny noise when I try to play a cassette tape in it.
I tried alcohol on a cotton swab and there is no difference.
What else can I do to try and make it sound better? I can hear the audio on the tape playing but the noise overpowers it.
No clue. I can't hear what you're talking about about. You might want to take it to a tech and have it looked at or just find a refurbished deck. The machines are getting old now and they do funny things. :)
I got a Sony TC-199SD a couple of months ago and this morning I played back a tape I recorded of Lara Fabian and she sounded superb. Clear as crystal. The thing is, I have not done anything to this machine since I got it and wondered if this means it is ok and for how long?
JAZZ MAN It depends on how often you use it and the condition of the tapes. When the audio starts getting muddy than it's time to clean it.
thank you i agree
Thanks for the video. Question: How can you tell if a demagnetizer did the job? Is there a safe way to know whether your heads are magnetized at all?
I always hear people say things like, "For a reel to reel, those cheap $20 ones on ebay won't work; you need to get a Han-D-Mag." Why is this?
beagleguitar Well, I don't know if that's true. These little guys seem to work fine. We used them on cart machines and reel machines all the time in radio stations. You might notice less noise and clearer details after a demag but the main reason you need to do it is to keep your tapes from getting messed up by magnetized heads. :)
yeah the pin broke and i went and bought one four 14. 99
great video, thanks for the info. Great voice/narration too.
So you don't have to make small circular motions in front of the heads and metal posts like I've read about and seen other people do? Just touching and holding the probe for the 10 seconds on each metal object s well as the heads as you recommend sounds alot easier.
Actually, too much movement is not a good idea because you may permanently magnetize something. Your motions should be very, very slow and deliberate. :)