2023: How to Adjust Your Cassette Tape Azimuth WITHOUT Special Tools

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

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[@jmp01a24]

Would it not be better to use a azimuth tape with special signals (like the Shado Azimuth tape) and use with the osiloscope to tweak the tapedeck into right positions? I assume those tapes have signals that are easy to identify as 0 or 1 (low signal vs high).

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

@@jmp01a24 Yes it would. However, most people cannot afford to get the tapes and oscilloscopes so this is an Easy and Cheap way of getting a good result.

[@DaveZula]

Very informative. Thanks!

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tropicalbobcat4301]

i tried adjusting my walkmans azimuth and turned the screw on the right, now it sounds like a garbled fast forwarded mess, is there any fix for this or is it destroyed? i would be super grateful for a response🙏

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Have a look at the tape you have used and look for anything wrong, like creasing or rippling. The playback head should exactly aline with the tape housing. So look to see if it is at a funny angle. Azimuth is difficult to get right because it is a very slight adjustment. Literally a flex of your fingers on the screwdriver. Feel free to come back if you need more help.

[@Niran333]

Much thanks, fixed my deck’s muddy audio when the head is spanking clean. 🙏

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I am glad you got some use out of it. Cheers.

[@ACURAOCULTA]

Very very good my friend

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Thank you very much

[@19april]

I ended up getting Nak with azimuth knob on front panel. I own a few home dubbed demos from 90s and was amazed how different the azimuth setting on each. It takes less than a minute to set properly once you figure it out

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Nak with azimuth knob! It's always interesting to see how different settings can affect the sound quality. Glad to hear it's a quick and easy process once you figure it out! but for the rest of us.............

[@LoveElectricStuff]

I had a new Walkman with good azimuth. Purchased a studio recorded copy of Fleetwood Mac Rumors. Side A was perfectly crisp and clean. Side B was muffled. Adjusted azimuth to make side B sound crisp, and side A was muffled.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

The tape may be running off true. This could be because it is dragging in the cassette.The azimuth on a pre-recorded mass-market cassette will always be accurate because they are record both sides at the same time.

[@danzam1556]

Hi Gary, I have an Aiwa system and the erase head's alignment fork just felt out. The head is LE15B, but I did not find an exact match and replaced with an LE17B. I just replaced it, thinking there is no spring for adjustment on it. However, it had one underneath the left screw of the head. Is there any setting to do for this, please? Wold there be any difference between the performance of the LE15B and LE17B? Thanks, for nay help.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

That is unusual to have an adjuster. Do you have a service manual. There is normally adjusters for the erase current. Without the spec sheets I could not give you a definite answer. The angle /height of the head needs to be adjusted. Without the service jig it is a case of trial and error.

[@danzam1556]

@@GaryKeepItSimple Hello Gary. Thanks for the reply. I have managed to find the service manual (I can send it, if you like), which shows an exploded view of the tape mechanism, showing also the spring. However, I cannot find any info on setting up the erase head. Also, I cannot find any data sheets on both heads LE15B and LE17B to at least try to find the impedance.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

@@danzam1556 You an send me the manual and I shall see if I can help

[@danzam1556]

@@GaryKeepItSimple Great great thanks, Gary. Email sent.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

It appears that the Replay head and the Erase head work as a pair. The setup is all based on the principal that the Rec/Pb head is set correctly and the erase head will work. If the replacement one you have found is not compatible the setup will not be able to come into spec. That is the only way that I can see it will work. A "try it and see" situation. If you get it to work then alignment of the erase head is just a matter of trying it to check it only erases the one side and not spill over to the other tracks. The reason for the alignment on the erase head is because the mech is not precision, and is really not precise enough to have simple studs that are in the correct place in production. Sorry not able to give a precise answer. If you follow the setup adjustments, it may well work.

[@Jeffreythomas59]

What’s the app name specifically? Cannot find on App Store.

[@roopeturunen1167]

Havw you figured it out?

[@MigzGagan]

I messed up doing it I adjusted my walkman head azimuth with a magnetic screw driver and now I think I messed up the head how do I fix this

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

First, do not panic. The head will not be ruined. But if the head is magnetised it will suffer lower output than normal. If it was mine I would follow the procedure I show you using a non-magnetic screwdriver and get the best results. then if you are sure it is still a problem get a Demag wand and do the Demag. BUT a wand is a mighty tool and many people mess up more with that than the screwdriver. So time is your friend. Set it correct, then decide about the Demag. If you do do a Demag-- Practice first.. on a spoon or similar. I hope that helps. I am Happy for follow-up questions. Good luck.

[@MigzGagan]

@@GaryKeepItSimple thank you very much for your comment it really helped me thankss

[@Mikexception]

The problem always is in trust to one choosen brand cassette azimuth. In my practice I always check/adjust azimuth to each tape which I play because I have tapes as old as 40 years ago purchased in different places and within 35 years made recordings with 5 cassette recorders each of course with a bit individual azimuh. Now I still play them perfect. I developed quicker alignment with use of that tape which I am going to listen, thus adequate for it. . It is based on ear phase comparison between both channels., Playing any tape it requires to switch speakers/headphones between mono and stereo reproduction and then having trained ear catch apparent change of reproduction in upper band. For backup of azimuth setting for actual recordings it is good to have tape with noise recorded with used actualy alignment - then it is easy to return at best accuracy. . When pahases are not coherent then at instant change there is noticealble difference between two modes which is characteristic for no coherence in phase When head is adjusted, phase between both is coherent which is to be obtained by turning azimuth screw. it is indicated by the same timbre and of course it means best azimuth which for ears do not affect quality. In fact using pink noise accuracy is even better than it is noticeable in music. The last operation is to set back stereo mode with button on amplifier

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Thanks for sharing

[@jeffdowning4877]

Would it not be better to use pink noise, steady and equal in all frequencies, to maximize the high frequency response, as opposed to a song. which is going to bounce all over the place?

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I hear what you are saying BUT. Where are you going to get a Tape that has been recorded with pink noise? You cannot record it yourself as any tape you record on that machine will have perfect Azimuth to the recording as it is that head that recorded it. SO you would need to get one from a source that was making recordings guaranteed to be correctly set. Pink noise is not the ideal. The correct way is to get a Azimuth test tape which is normally a 10Khz Sinewave tone. And using an oscilloscope to adjust for maximum output and zero phase error. Using a tape of brightly recorded music from a commercial recording is the next best thing.

[@binagarten4667]

I had an ex Aiwa tech set my head azumith who put on a pair of head phones and just fiddled with the screw till he got the best top end sound. He said job done and charged me £80 for the effort.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

So now you can do it yourself, and save a few quid.

[@GingerNingerGames]

I need to replace the head on a deck I have, I believe it has chips out of it that gather crud when playing tapes, after cleaning the head the sound is perfect, then as the tape plays the output from the left channel just slowly drops. Clean the head and it's bright, clear and loud again. Frustrating to say the least, it's a very nice deck. It makes it difficult to record a test tape though because the output drops over time. But, using the "known good tape" method should work, because I have exactly 1 known good cassette tape. So I should be able to get somewhere, I also have a little desktop recorder that from what I've listened to has very good alignment with my other decks, so I might try making a test tape with it too.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Where are you getting a new head from? It needs to be an exact replacement and then it will need physical and Electronic realignment and calibration. Not an easy job. Try polishing the head.

[@GingerNingerGames]

@@GaryKeepItSimple I might try polishing it first, will still need removal and reinstallation, so at the very least alignment. I have an old AKAI deck that's pretty damn good quality that I can pull one from, the deck was, unfortunately, completely dissassembled when I was a kid before I knew how to fix things. So it's a good candidate. Assuming it's the same.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

If you polish the head gently and try applying some silicon dry lube. you may have a better result than all the fuss and expense of replacing the head. It is worth a try before you commit to the big job. Also is the pinch roller good. That can confuse the results sometimes.

[@GingerNingerGames]

@@GaryKeepItSimple Pinch roller appears good, soft enough to be rubbery, not sticky, looks square. It's an odd set of problems, sometimes when I lose the left channel I can stop and play again and it'll bring it back, sometimes it won't, but every time I clean the head the left channel comes back slightly stronger than the right then slowly over about half hour of play the highs fade out and you're left with a very muddy sounding left channel. Best result I got cleaning it, I found some hard build up on the head, scraped it off with a plastic scraper, very gently, and after that it lasted I think 2 60 minute cassettes before the left channel went, and there was build up in the same spots again.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I assume the tapes you are using are not defective. If you watch my video on the Thats type 2 Metal tape kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5KqZZyIoL-Zb7s you can see the sorts of problems that a stiff tape can cause. That included 1 channel being low. It was also different from 1 side to the other. Cassette deck performance is affected by so much now. Age of tape, storage of tape, condition of machine. the list goes on and then you have to add humidity and temperature at the time of playing. The same tape will perform differently on different days because of the weather. ( It was not a problem when they were new but ageing has some funny effects, There is a thing called sticky shed syndrome. I hope you can get to the bottom of this. Feel free to get back to me.

[@Jeffreythomas59]

Sorry I seen it now. Maybe not available on os .

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

The apps come and go but any audio app that shows the size of the signal will do for this job. Even just a voice recorder with a vu display would do. I hope that helps.

[@kevinandmorph]

why u need to adjust ??

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

There is no need to adjust the Azimuth on 99% of decks. The exception is if the deck has been dropped or somehow the chassis has been distorted. There is another reason: when someone goes onto Facebook and says "I have a new to me deck, and what do I need to do to service it?" Some silly person will always say "Adjust the Azimuth". This is not good advice. If the seal on the screw is still intact and the deck has not been bashed around there is no reason to adjust the azimuth. If you do decide to adjust it then you need to follow this video for how to do it.

[@mohamedeissa8058]

The problem is getting a good reference tape that was recorded on 100% calibrated deck

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

It is not hard because the Azimuth is only the angle of the head relative to the tape. .Any commercial tape is accurate enough to do this adjustment with precision. ( the quality of the recording is not important) but as I said a "Bright" recording is easier to set up with.

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

Scope=special tool. Most folk don't have one.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

That "Scope" is a cheap Android phone or tablet. I have the app on both and they are at least 10 years old. They have equivalent apps on iPhones. I am sure most people do have a phone, and it is not a "Special Tool". My 8-year-old granddaughter has a better phone than the one I used. see this video for apps kzbin.info/www/bejne/np_IpnuJqt1pmbM