GrundigTK20: Recording a Rolling Stones 45rpm single

[@Jangalene1]

I had one of these in the 70's...I think i've still got the operating manuel to this somewhere?...Great little machine'...Brings back fond memories...Thanks for posting.

[@clt008]

@CommanderKrail It may be due to the wiring of your 3-pin din, I wired up two 3 pin din plugs (purchased from e-bay) one I connected to a 1/4" jack for line out, and one with the live on the opposite hand pin for line in connected to a 1/4" socket (1/8" socket for line out from the computer?). Neutral goes to the centre pin for both, I've a diagram somewhere I'll dig out for you if it'll help Try searching 3pin din on Wikipedia for diagram (it shows 5 pin but can be adapted for 3 pin)

[@CommanderKrail]

@clt008 Thans for the advice. I am determined to get there in the end, but I don't think it will happen without some overhauling of my machine. I now have a vintage microphone for it, but I'm having a heck of a job getting decent recording levels without distortion even from that. Do you have any advice for adjusting recording levels? I've noticed that in your video it doesn't seem to be set very high, yet the magic eye is touching beautifully.

[@CommanderKrail]

Just a wild guess, but could it be as simple as a difference in voltage between the TK20 and my laptop? In a pointless experiment to see if I could record "Edge of Glory" onto a spare reel, I managed to get a clear sound by using my DIN connector in the TK20's line-in socket, but it was not very loud and made no impression on the recording level. When I plugged the DIN into the microphone socket, there was some recording level, but the sound quality was very poor.

[@CommanderKrail]

@clt008 Sounds like good advice. I am just hoping I won't have to open up the thing and replace all the capacitors, as that is likely to result in a trashed Grundig, knowing my technical prowess ...

[@clt008]

I've never had to set the record level above 2 or 3 using line in or the original Grundig mic. Have you cleaned the heads recently with IPA or head cleaning fluid and cotton buds, if not do it lots of times. I've demagnetized cassette heads before with a special cassette but never done an open reel machine, if you do a search there's a lot of good advice to be had. I almost gave up on my old vintage Akai cassette deck but got there in the end cleaning, demagnetizing, cleaning etc.

[@CommanderKrail]

I've been trying to record from computer onto mine (via audio cable), but though I can get a good sound from the Grundig's speaker I can't seem to get a flicker of activity from the magic eye, and the tape remains stubbornly unrecorded. I would welcome any suggestions you may have.

[@clt008]

Ah yes I bet that's it - I remember using one of my microphone pre-amps to boost the line in to my Tandberg one time. If you do a search for HDT Home Theater Direct and look at their LGB-1 (line level gain boost) that should do the trick, but is a bit of a risk at $35. I used an ART tube amp (about £35 in the UK) which I have for my condenser mics with variable gain. I tried my phono pre-amp once but that gave too much gain and distortion.

[@CommanderKrail]

@clt008 Thank you. :) It might be helpful to see a diagram (if only to show it to the electrician who actually wired up my 3-pin DIN for me just to check that he got it right. I wouldn't trust myself with a soldering iron ...).