Mystery Deck #2

[BlazeES]

Does NOT look like the back of a Japanese deck. Not with that warning. Not the Nakamichis I've seen yet tonight. Not Sony, Alpine, maybe not Tandberg.

Let's just hope it gets here without damage.

I've been collecting everything 'Sony' for pretty much my entire life ... so I can guarantee that I'm not picking up another one of those.
Truly a "been there done that..." with Sony gear.

I wouldn't ever touch an Alpine or a Tandberg. Alpines are too obscure and probably a service nightmare ...
Tandy's are over rated in my book and the insides look like bowls of spaghetti.

 

[orange]

Like classic Pioneers, eh?

 

[BlazeES]

Demo'ing this bad boy on the 'Mystery Deck' ...



The 10CC cuts sound like I'm spinning the actual LP.
Amazing.



I spilled my coffee moving to "A Latin Break"

 

[Elite-ist]

Tony: That was a long time ago since we last exchanged mix tapes. It didn't seem that long ago. I have a number of other commitments to get recorded, but it would be nice to get another tape exchange going between us. I only recorded two copies of that particular project "Untethered."

I'm not successful in nailing down which model of deck you just bought.

Nando.

 

[Elite-ist]

Have a story later about this newest acquisition:

Nando.

 

[orange]

John: You have unrealized income potential in all those TOTL decks you own. I know you've already sold a few, but you've been holding back on some of the reserves.

Nando.

Guess who bought a few of them?

My niece has the JVC.

 

[BlazeES]

It's a great tape my Elite-ist friend and it really came to life on the 'Mystery Deck' ... not that it was a slouch on 'the Beast'.
It's just that new rig is extracting so much more out of it, as well as my other Metal Master creations for the past 2 decades.
The Dolby C performance is spot on accurate which is a hard thing to do between two decks, but that's really a great testament
to your 'Eso' and the sublime Sony XR stock ... what a sleeper tape that fly's under the radar that is !

I'm looking forward to another exchange in the near future too. Lot of options, lots of great tape stock to work with.

Tony: That was a long time ago since we last exchanged mix tapes. It didn't seem that long ago. I have a number of other commitments to get recorded, but it would be nice to get another tape exchange going between us. I only recorded two copies of that particular project "Untethered."

I'm not successful in nailing down which model of deck you just bought.

Nando.

 

[BlazeES]

Nice score. That's a great deck ... remember it well.

Have a story later about this newest acquisition:

Nando.

 

[BlazeES]

The Reveal ...




1985 vintage, haven't opened up the back of the cassette well to determine if it's tire or gear.
Original owner, original rubber, original box with inserts, the works.
The dude hardly used it. What a shame (for him) ... but not for me.
I haven't even wiped the face plate of finger prints and bygones, because I'm simply
enamored by the reproduction this thing is putting out with each new tape I pop into it.

And I have a product brochure that I cleaned up too.

View attachment Nakamichi_BX-300_Brochure_Enhanced.pdf

I have a multitude of Nak stories, dating back to the mid-nineties when I owned a bunch, sold a bunch, helped others locate a few and baby-sat a fair number of others.
The only other deck that came close to sounding like this one was a Dragon from 1988 but that one didn't 'extract' like this one is doing now.
It's a compatibility wizard ...

 

[Elite-ist]

Tony: The back panel image threw me off, but it's a pleasant surprise to find out you did get a BX-300. Like you, I look for the original-owner-components. I found that those are the ones most worth owning. And it doesn't necessarily mean you will pay the highest price for it, either. The BX-300 continues to be a good bargain with stellar performance. I believe it's less complicated than many of the other Nakamichi decks up the model line, so less to go wrong. And I always love hearing about a perceived lesser deck able to go toe-to-toe on playback & recording against the Dragon.

Nando.

 

[BlazeES]

Indeed Nando. No auto tape selection sensor switches to go dead, which can be a common problem on 30+ year old decks. No auto-cal. No auto switching between source & tape. No powered door ... although this one is nicely damped. It does have auto fader controls but I typically don't use those except for live recording editing. And researching service discussions, this has to be one of the easiest Naks to work on from a maintenance standpoint. Back tension belt, main capstan belt and tire are all really easy to do. The only fault I can find with it is a some static on the upper extreme of the output slider but that's easily remedied with some Caig or 3M spray.

Playback on this thing comes across damn near perfect so I don't see a reason to send it to Willy just yet ... then again I've not put it through any serious paces with regard to recording on my favorite stock.
Willy gave me such great advice I might just have him do a complete run through regardless, since he's so close and much more reasonable than ESL. Maybe in a few months.

That thing folks talk about so much, on how a Nak can make pre-records sound so sweet - that's true story material.
I've been playing my Windham Hill tapes and auditioning via headphones and they sound truly amazing.
Chrome stock but recorded at 120 μs EQ with Dolby B. I have a renewed interest now to begin searching for more of those tapes in the coming months.

I believe it's less complicated than many of the other Nakamichi decks up the model line, so less to go wrong. And I always love hearing about a perceived lesser deck able to go toe-to-toe on playback & recording against the Dragon.

Nando.

 

[orange]

I've never had ATS go bad on any deck I've owned. Never had an auto calibration function go wonky. Freaked out once for a minute with a Pioneer until I realized the voltage selector was set at 220V (no WONDER it was choking).

Belts and tires, just like a car.

 

[Elite-ist]

I've never had ATS go bad on any deck I've owned. Never had an auto calibration function go wonky. Freaked out once for a minute with a Pioneer until I realized the voltage selector was set at 220V (no WONDER it was choking).

Belts and tires, just like a car.

If you own a deck with a powered cassette door and ATS, this can be a problem with damage being caused to the fragile leaf switches when engaging the power close button. I prefer to have manual calibration over automatic. I can see the results while going through the calibration procedure.

Nando.

 

[BlazeES]

If you own a deck with a powered cassette door and ATS, this can be a problem with damage being caused to the fragile leaf switches when engaging the power close button. I prefer to have manual calibration over automatic. I can see the results while going through the calibration procedure.

Nando.

One additional thing about this BX-300, with the independent tape setting selectors, I'm eager to try some FeCr stock I've been hoarding.

 

[orange]

If you own a deck with a powered cassette door and ATS, this can be a problem with damage being caused to the fragile leaf switches when engaging the power close button. I prefer to have manual calibration over automatic. I can see the results while going through the calibration procedure.

Nando.

Silver things aren't that fancy and those that I have which are have open bays and say Pioneer.

I have a lot of decks that are FeCr capable, metal capable or not. I too have saved up more than a few ferrichromes, including that NOS Sony C-60.

 

[BubbaH]

Ah yes. They do play pre records nicely. This thread reminded me that I still own a BX-150, but its been on loan to a friend for some time. Definitely one of my favorite decks that I have owned. Just something about a Nak. My brother bought a CR-1? I believe, based on my experience with the BX-150. If I remember correctly he shares a similar sentiment about the Naks. Just cool f@cking decks really.

While many manufacturers made really cool decks, Naks always seemed to me, as the top dog of cassette decks...IMO of course.

 

[Elite-ist]

Some may think having the auto tape selector and auto eq/bias is ideal on a cassette deck. But, I think it's the other way around, as having the ability to manually select those settings can give you some interesting results on playback and recording.

I have a BX-125, BX-150 and RX-505. I, even, used my Nakamichi BX-150 in the TH's "Travelling Nakamichi Tape" project three years ago.

Click on image to play video:

Nando.

 

[Elite-ist]

Playing back an old mix tape recorded for me back in the early 80's:

Click on image to play video:

Nando.

 

[BubbaH]

Cool vid Nando.

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks, Ben. Looking over the J-card for the Travelling Nakamichi Tape you will see Rob's contributions with his CR-1A. Now for the cold-beverage-with-gear photo:

Nando.