The kid's on a roll........

[30Weight]

Stopped by my friends vintage guitar+audio store just to bs with him and the hang-arounds that idle there. Talkin' some tunes. Someone mentioned my interest in R2R decks and one of the guys said he had a couple of R2R decks he wanted out of his way. They were given to him,smoke damaged from a previous owners house fire. He couldn't recall what type they were so I followed him to his house to have a look. Picked up a Technics 1506 and an Akai GX-635D for $100.SCORE! Sold them to me as pictured,reels,NAB hubs and all. I've already rebuilt a GX-635,usual transistor fail issue,so I know what I'm in for there. Always wanted a Technics R2R to play with. The heads on both look good. Don't know what lies within but other than a couple of missing knobs and the smoke stains they don't look like they were ever abused......or at least not much. Got a busy project week ahead of me.......

 

[laatsch55]

Damn Lee, the price was right!! Any water damage? What do they look like inside?

 

[30Weight]

Hey Lee,I thought so too. They're worth far more than that in parts. Gonna try to resurrect them 1st,salvage them if I can't do that. I haven't "split the cases" on them yet,just downloaded the manuals. Currently finishing up some paper-less paperwork for work at the moment,then I'm gonna open up the Technics. Start on it 1st. The seller is a really nice guy. Would have given them to me for less,but I'm not that way. I thought it was a fair enough deal. I must have 20+ of the things,all working. Didn't need any more,just had to feed the addiction further. He's looking for a functioning R2R,wants to get into tape. I'm gonna make him a good deal on one of my working,low end decks in exchange for the deal. He doesn't know that yet. Just a karma thing,I know you understand.

 

[laatsch55]

Yes Lee, I understand that very well.....

 

[eminence1963]

I'm jealous
I want to hear and see that 1500 when you get it up and running

 

[30Weight]

Hey Bob,been in the basement giving the Technics a good cleaning and overall close appraisal. Took 2hrs to clean the transport path and heads. All sparkles now. Someone along the ownership chain owned cats.....Not too encouraged by the updated power cord. The input fuses were both OEM and good.Whew! De-oxed the pots and controls. Soaking the pinch rollers currently. Haven't popped the back panel off yet to look at the top end. Kinda beat now. That smoke stain is tough to remove,this is the 3rd cleaning of the front panel. If all goes well you'll be listening to it thru the Pagodas.

The only way I can afford this hobby is to employ cheap labor.........

 

[Nick Danger]

Stopped by my friends vintage guitar+audio store just to bs with him and the hang-arounds that idle there. Talkin' some tunes. Someone mentioned my interest in R2R decks and one of the guys said he had a couple of R2R decks he wanted out of his way. They were given to him,smoke damaged from a previous owners house fire. He couldn't recall what type they were so I followed him to his house to have a look. Picked up a Technics 1506 and an Akai GX-635D for $100.SCORE! Sold them to me as pictured,reels,NAB hubs and all. I've already rebuilt a GX-635,usual transistor fail issue,so I know what I'm in for there. Always wanted a Technics R2R to play with. The heads on both look good. Don't know what lies within but other than a couple of missing knobs and the smoke stains they don't look like they were ever abused......or at least not much. Got a busy project week ahead of me.......

View attachment 19208

Lovely score! Don't suppose you have some pics of the 635D transistor repair that you did, 30Weight? I have 3 that need transistors at this time.

 

[30Weight]

Hey Nick,I hope all has been well with you. I recall doing a write up,with pics,on the Akai repair when I did it about a year back (or so). I believe it's on Tapeheads somewhere. You might have to search threads for my name,might not mention the 635 in the thread header. If you can't find it there PM me and I'll look thru the archives here,see if I can find you some pics of it. If you'd like I can do another write up here on this Akai when I finish the Technics.

 

[Nick Danger]

Hey Nick,I hope all has been well with you. I recall doing a write up,with pics,on the Akai repair when I did it about a year back (or so). I believe it's on Tapeheads somewhere. You might have to search threads for my name,might not mention the 635 in the thread header. If you can't find it there PM me and I'll look thru the archives here,see if I can find you some pics of it. If you'd like I can do another write up here on this Akai when I finish the Technics.

Cheers. Will give a peak over there when the time comes for the repair which will be soon(I hope). Have a bunch of the transistors and a clean workbench, may need to get cracking.

 

[30Weight]

If I recall the biggest trick was to not put them in backwards I had to unsolder a couple of wire wrapped terminal strips to remove the amp board,made the repair easier. A couple of the transistors were also covered/obstructed by a slide switch,they were a pig to access. Can't remember now how I got to them,I'm sure I'll relearn the process.

 

[30Weight]

The Technics plays well with me. Haven't tried the record function yet. Didn't see any internal water damage when I pulled the BP off. The dust was still dust,hairballs still hairballs. No dried,smeared stains or clumps of grunge anywhere. Lotta smoke residue present internally. Vinegar worked well cleaning the exterior,wiped it down with a hot,wet rag after the vinegar application. Counter belt was even good. Some corrosion on the fuse block clips and fuses. Wire brushed right off. Repaired the power cord properly. Eventually I'll replace it. Have to source a pair of feet,one broken, and some matching switch covers,one missing. Just love the exposed transport/head block with the red led in the bottom.....too cool.

I'm more than $50 worth of pleased with it........

 

[fitz43]

The Technics plays well with me. Haven't tried the record function yet. Didn't see any internal water damage when I pulled the BP off. The dust was still dust,hairballs still hairballs. No dried,smeared stains or clumps of grunge anywhere. Lotta smoke residue present internally. Vinegar worked well cleaning the exterior,wiped it down with a hot,wet rag after the vinegar application. Counter belt was even good. Some corrosion on the fuse block clips and fuses. Wire brushed right off. Repaired the power cord properly. Eventually I'll replace it. Have to source a pair of feet,one broken, and some matching switch covers,one missing. Just love the exposed transport/head block with the red led in the bottom.....too cool.

I'm more than $50 worth of pleased with it........

View attachment 19317 View attachment 19318

It's a very attractive deck!

 

[30Weight]

I thought so too. Technics seems to have a good esthetic design dept.Their top end stuff always looks right, and just seems to have a good working layout. Build quality is top notch too. I can understand the high prices they draw. The little red led is part of the strobe setup for dialing in pitch control,just like a Technics turntable. Have some occasional bleed thru on playback,seems to be associated with the 2track/4track switch on the head block. The vu meters are sleepy,particularly on record function. Have to t'shoot thru those issues next. Seems to have been sitting unused for a long time.

I also like that it matches these.......

 

[laatsch55]

Gotta love an amp who's face is nothing but meters!!

 

[30Weight]

They're sure easier for old,tired,bleary eyes to follow. Cleaned that switch,seemed to clear the bleed thru...at least I haven't heard it for awhile. The meters are starting to liven up and become more active. Turns out the guy I bought them from douched them randomly with a big can of de-oxit. Left a film over everything,meters,heads and all. He's now just applying it to controls only. Been listening to it for most of the weekend and it's starting to loosen up,sounds real sweet. Fascinating to watch,somehow calming also.

I gave Cory,the seller, a Sony TC-388-4 quad deck with take up reel and some 7" tapes. Free-n-clear. I restored it awhile back,needed the room for the new ones. Didn't have any money in it,just a lot of labor-n-love. He'd been looking for a R2R but was priced out of the market. He was quite tickled,and I made a friend. Turns out the Pioneer SX-980 I recently bought for $50 from my friends store is traceable back to him too. The protection relay was stuck,just required a cleaning. The Pioneer works great after that. Just returning the karma......

I "enjoy" working on the other gear too but R2Rs are my 1st love. I kinda like the electro-mechanical madness of them.

Gonna start on the Akai today. That one is in a lot worse condition,don't know if it's salvageable.

 

[Nick Danger]

I thought so too. Technics seems to have a good esthetic design dept.Their top end stuff always looks right, and just seems to have a good working layout. Build quality is top notch too. I can understand the high prices they draw. The little red led is part of the strobe setup for dialing in pitch control,just like a Technics turntable. Have some occasional bleed thru on playback,seems to be associated with the 2track/4track switch on the head block. The vu meters are sleepy,particularly on record function. Have to t'shoot thru those issues next. Seems to have been sitting unused for a long time.

I also like that it matches these.......

View attachment 19329

Suweeeet- looking amp!

 

[orange]

Speaking of good design continuity, the Japanese industrial designer who created the Yamaha motif for equipment and packaging of the 70s (and beyond), as well as the Kikkoman teriyaki sauce bottle in 1961 and the Narita express bullet train that serves Tokyo's main gateway, Kenji Ekuan passed away at 85 on February 8.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...esigner-of-bullet-trains-and-soy-bottles-dies

http://www.gk-design.co.jp/GK_Catalog/GKCatalog70-79_e.jpg

Click on the image for a full sized view and you will see the CA-1000 (which I own), several Yamaha Motors boxes and one their motorcycles, the Tokyo Expo '70 monorail, subway train, heavy equipment accessories, buildings and utensils...this guy was talented and influenced your world in ways you might never have guessed.

Now THAT was a designer.

 

[30Weight]

Agreed! The few pieces of Yamaha gear I have are well laid out and visually pleasing. Work well too. Whether with knobs or wheels most all,....there are a few clunkers, look proper. I particularly like the RD/R5 series of motorcycles from the early '70s,just a great design. He must have had been involved with those.

 

[orange]

Yamaha had far more problems with using unique ICs that are no longer available in their stereos and have to be cannibalized than they ever did with the layout of the panel or physical appearance. The top vents on CA-1000 etc ALONE were copied on a massive scale, they defined aspects of stereo design for years.