Akai GX365 Record level calibration

Its a reel to reel service video, what else!

[@brianwood5220]

Great interesting and educational video as always. Thanks

[@SDsailor7]

Another excellent video! record levels tutorial and back coated tape tutorial and how to identify sticky tape syndrome.Thank you 12voltvids!

[@glenz1975]

Great video, rather ironic that I am currently refurbishing a GX365D at the moment, these machines are built like tanks, good to work on and do sound nice. I knew those tapes were going to squeal even before you hit Play! 😁

[@SDsailor7]

I just got finished servicing mine and it works great! good luck with yours.Cheers

[@Musicradio77Network]

My Panasonic RS-765US also has the bias tuner which is at the bottom of the unit inside where you can adjust the bias and calibration for both recording and playback levels

[@tcourses]

Owned a 4000D from new and eventually began to squeak. It has a pad in front of the heads to which oil had to be applied to stop squeaking. When one of the heads gave out replaced with Akai glass heads with excellent results. I keep applying oil to pad. Still a little squeaking at end of a long tape.

[@zx8401ztv]

Yes akai was a well respected name in home hi fi systems, well worth the time and money to repair them. My frend has a tensai tape deck that supposed to be an akai rebadge, i don't really know if it was, but a well made unit with no cheap parts.

[@Watcher3223]

I'd love to find some individual Akai components just to build a nice little Akai stereo system.

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[@bobbyelian630]

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[@dannyjaar]

you can play sticky shed tapes 1 time if you bake the tape so you can put the information on a another format

[@storm-sf5rj]

i bought a load of 10.5" AMPEX 406 Tape on Metal NAB Reels about 10 years ago from fleabay at a bargain price of about £70 for 8 and they had the same problem so i put the tape in the bin and like you mentioned i bought a few tape pancakes and put them on the empty reels and transferred a few 10.5" plastic reels of tape over to the Metal ones and i have never bought AMPEX Tape again but i think their 456 tape is ok but i now only use Maxell or TDK Tape

[@12voltvids]

Ampex 291 is also shit. That was the tape I tried to record on. 541 is good. No issues with it.

[@pliedtka]

I thought Ampex being a deck producer would make good tapes, but now I learn from you people that their tapes are junk. Thanks.

[@12voltvids]

@@pliedtka Some of their tapes were crap. Others were good.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I had the problem with back coated reel tapes that had Sticky Shed Syndrome. It was annoying while recording a tape. It was junk. I have to unravel the junk tape from the reel and add more refills like a decent brown tape like a pancake or a 10 1/2” reel that won’t fit in the machine to add more tape to the 7” reel, and it would be good to go.

[@Watcher3223]

That reminds me: I wish I owned a nice GX-747.

[@stephendeluca4479]

From my experience: Scotch brand (various stock numbers) from the 60's seems to have no issues with sticky shed. I also have a bunch of Lafayette brand (not sure who manufactured those) that are still fine after 50 years. Also Radio Shack tapes seem to have no issues.

[@12voltvids]

Sony, and ampex had bad tapes as did scotch. It was mostly the high end black back coated tape that had sticky shed problems.

[@SDsailor7]

There are lists in the internet of the tapes that have sticky shed syndrome.Cheers

[@MidnightRambler1964]

Off the topic, I have a Yamaha TX 1100U tuner that has extremely bad reception. It has never been in for repair. I opened the case recently and found the inside of the unit to be absolutely pristine condition! No signs of decaying caps or anything burned. Can you help. Sincerely a dedicated Yamaha enthusiast...

[@txc500]

Do you know if there is a gain control on o e of the boards? I set the tape and source levels to 0 but when I record it seems like the game is way too high it's very bright and a bit distorted on the high frequencies I think, and playback is much louder than any other input.

[@catman58]

I have some tapes like that, they're 40 years old and play fine

[@12voltvids]

For now. Might not play tomorrow.

[@thomasraden]

Do you do azimuth adjustments or do you leave it out? I guess the problem is what is the reference that is right? Else, there is apparently programs that can adjust and correct the azimuth from tapes that are played back, I doubt it will be possible to recreate the frequency loss for a bad alignment. To playback a tape for transfer, in my opinion, there will always be a must to adjust the azimuth first. The challenge to do it as you will not have a high frequency tone to guide you unless you are an experienced one that hunt for the bias frequency. I do my azimuth adjustment by connecting both channels together and judge it by that when adjusting the head but it might be other tricks to do it.

[@12voltvids]

Rule #1 when working on tape decks. If the head is paint sealed from the factory, the azimuth is CORRECT. If your pinch roller is worn it can skew the tape and make it sound like it is off, but the alignment will never shift unless someone screwdrivers it thinking toucan improve on the factory setting. The only time it needs to be done is after head replacement. Now, some machines that rotate the head to play the reverse side the auto reverse mechanism can start to wear, and that needs addressing but that won't change the head alignment. The akai gx260d was an example of the best ever auto reverse design. Center mounted capstan and pinch roller. 3 heads, erase record and play on the left side for forward, and 3 more heads erase record and play on the right side of the capstan for reverse. This silly machine reverses the motor and "pushes" the tape in reverse and the play head is physically shifted with a solenoid. Tape tension over the head is maintained by a free turning roller that is driven by the tape passing over it. In all my years, I have never seen alignment issues unless someone messed with it. The proper way to do this is by playing a full track mono alignment tape and connecting the scope to both left and right outputs and adjusting using x-y mode on the scope for no phase shift and maximum output on both channels. On mono machines just maximize the output.

[@thomasraden]

@@12voltvids Yes, adjust that O shape to a / shape on that scope. Its so good that we know somebody who knows that tech knowledge still out there. Keep out the good work and wear that tuk!

[@12voltvids]

Right and you need to use a full track mono tape to get it exact.

[@bob7872]

I've gotten RS ConcerTapes that are like yours, black on one side and brown on the other. Those behave, but the ones I bought on my own in the early 80s that are black on both sides are the terrible ones (I only got them for the price- $2.49 + tax for 1800 feet) and now I'm regretting it.

[@bujoodmohamed4795]

hi ... good jop ...i have a problem with (FWD) the Sound Rotation model that never works no( play it). Everything else is good .. Is there a motor in the middle that doesn't turn? Why? akai x360 model ... Please Help ..Thank you

[@MrPaultheguitar]

hi Just got myself a Akai GX1820D Reel to Reel I noticed the right meter level volume pots do not match the Left on input can you advise what my solution to fixing the problem to balence them

[@madpom2]

that looks very heavy

[@12voltvids]

It is heavy

[@SDsailor7]

its about 40lbs

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Here is a man I wish I could post my tascam to...

[@danieltaphoto6341]

Hello Sir, I'm Daniel, I'm living in NJ. I have a problem with Capaciti 2.0 uF, 1.0uF, C, 250WV AC 1970 of my Akai GX365D, wax comes out. Do you have that replacement capacitor ? Or do you have the order can be fixed? Please help me! Thanks in advance Sir.

[@bob7872]

And forget about playing acetate tapes on the glass head machines, it will scrape the recorded coating right off. I know cause it happened when I gave one like that to a friend to play on his deck. It was an AKAI also.

[@12voltvids]

Correct. The glass head was not all it was cracked up to be. About the only good thing is they didn't wear out. Sound quality wise they were only average as they were just a ferrite head. Sendust and permolly had much better electrical performance.

[@Synthematix]

try with a square wave tone

[@mikek5633]

I have an Akai GX-210d machine. It needs work. Is that machine worth fixing?

[@SDsailor7]

If you are doing the work yourself yes if you are sending it out probably not might get expensive. I think it is an older machine.Cheers

[@joseone69]

Lol, i thought i was the only one with a cat that likes plastic but i guess im not alone, my cat always licking plastic bags. I call her the plastic junkie! 😂

[@bones007able]

Are those record level adjustments true for all R2R? ... my Pioneer 707 recording it hits the red constantly... but on playback it barely moves the meters half way...bad tapes? before you toss them use auto polish with silicone , and run the tapes back and forth like you were doing till all the residue is gone... it revives them ...per Tapeheads.net

[@12voltvids]

They are more accurately the record level indicator calibration as according to the manual, you play a reference tape, and set the playback gain so the reading is 0. Then load a blank tape and put the unit in record, in tape monitor mode and set the recording level with the controls on the front to read 0 db on playback. Then switch to source and calibrate the meters so the show 0. This way when a 0 db signal shows 0 on the meter on source it will show 0 on playback. Now since I do not have a factory calibration tape to calibrate the playback amp, I didn't touch that. I assume it is correct unless someone monkeyed with it prior to me looking at it. Client wanted the record level calibrated, and that is what I did.

[@pliedtka]

@@12voltvids I think is 250nWb for playback level, I just don't remember. But most R2Rs don't have noise reduction, so back compatibility with other machines the levels are not that important. I had JVC TD-V541 3header cassette deck that for some reason with Dolby C sounded like s... It used Sony Dolby chip, but other machines used the same thing and played OK in C. I got calibration tape to check if maybe something is out of ordinary, but everything was like service manual said. Could be the HX Pro was underbiasing the tape, who knows. In Dolby B it was awesome, especially with TDK MA-Xs, unfortunately the heads were permaloy and wore in a few years, maybe 'cause I used Metal and Chrome formulations, mostly TDK, Maxell, some Sony. I know now that some of the X-tall Glass head from Akai, Sony equivalents and Amorphous heads can last for decades. It's funny how you rewind the tape by finger. Actually, l would like to learn more why some heads are worse with certain tapes than others, when you mentioned that Glass heads causes sticking with the last tapes you played, especially the one that caused the squilling noise. There's always something new to learn that nobody else talks about.

[@12voltvids]

@@pliedtka sticky shed tapes are far worse on glass heads because the glass is so smooth. Metal heads the metal is rather porous and the tape doesn't stick as easily.

[@pliedtka]

@@12voltvids Thanks

[@SDsailor7]

I did that with some tapes but like you say it takes time.I do apply it to the heads and guides to help with wear on the with any tape that I use.Cheers

[@infinitecanadian]

Hey, don't knock nostalgia; these tapes are also used for computer programs for computers such as the Altair 8800 (of which a clone was manufactured in 2015). I think that there are people who repurpose tape for other uses, which is good, because there is enough plastic in the environment already. Please upload a recording of that radio programme to your Patreon page or something; it is good to remember. Also, Super Valu is still in business in certain cities, including one in Burnaby.

[@12voltvids]

Yes I was going to archive that radio show today on my gx265, if it works when I turn it on for the first time in 2 years. With my luck it will go pop. This one probably sounds better as the owner totally recapped it and mine has 50 year old caps in it, but I don't use tape, will never use tape again. Keep the machine just for archive and because it looks cool. Unfortunately I can't post the music from it because it would pull a copyright strike. I could put up the old commercials and dj talk.

[@12voltvids]

Super valu is owned by Loblaws and did close most of the stores in the 80's. The larger stores were re-branded "Real Canadian Superstores" and others "Extra Foods". They still own the name, and some smaller shops have opened up in small communities branded Super Valu. All the smaller independent shops have been bought up by the Sobeys, Loblaws and Pattison group. They close the old stores and axe all the workers, many unionized and open up under one of the other brands as a non union store paying bottom dollar for their workers.

[@12voltvids]

I'll put up a video of the talking and commercials of this tape. Will bring back memories of some of the personalities at CFMI, many whom are no longer with us.

[@infinitecanadian]

@@12voltvids Thanks. Better times, in many ways.

[@infinitecanadian]

@@12voltvids But it still exists.

[@catman58]

I have two Akai 747s that is doing the same thing

[@virgilwilliams2378]

I had a bird who had a thing for eating paper. Lol

[@uwtitanfan]

that squeaking hurts my ears! I've seen similar trying to digitize 3/4" tapes. Play 15 seconds, stop, clean the tape path, repeat, then vacuum out the oxide from the bottom of the transport and splice all those 15 second clips together and explain there's nothing you can do about the wobbly picture

[@12voltvids]

Sony Hi8 tapes. :(

[@gbowne1]

Solution there would be to get a plastic cat :) lol