How To Clean Important Parts of a Deck

[jay]

seems a bit expensive, when water and alcohol can do the same job

Yes but a dedicated professional cleaner will always perform better than alcohol and saliva I guess.

 

[jay]

Du all think cleaning the Head and pinch roller with SALIVA advisable?

 

[greenhorn]

I used to do that when I was a kid, but water and spirit are so cheap and plentifully available, that it makes no sense for an adult to do it.

 

[deba]

Get a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol which is available in any good chemist shop as head cleaner.......don't clean the roller frequently it will start depreciating......

 

[jay]

Get a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol which is available in any good chemist shop as head cleaner.......don't clean the roller frequently it will start depreciating......

But the trouble is the moment I play the old cassettes it's the roller where more sedimentation happens and one clean up makes the sound completely different.

 

[greenhorn]

does cleaning up the roller improve the sound majorly?

I've noticed only head cleaning makes a big difference. The rollers are cleaned only if there is a noticeable buildup

 

[jay]

does cleaning up the roller improve the sound majorly?

I've noticed only head cleaning makes a big difference. The rollers are cleaned only if there is a noticeable buildup

It does. Cleaning the roller and capstan does make a big difference in the sound.

 

[reubensm]

Looks like your tapes are in poor shape. The pinch roller should be cleaned only when absolutely required. With every cleaning round, its lifespan reduces. Its rough surface is smoothened and friction reduces. Using head cleaners, etc on the roller wears off the surface and in-effect, polishes it.

With good tapes, your pinch roller should require a mild clean only after 15-20 tapes.

 

[jay]

Looks like your tapes are in poor shape. The pinch roller should be cleaned only when absolutely required. With every cleaning round, its lifespan reduces. Its rough surface is smoothened and friction reduces. Using head cleaners, etc on the roller wears off the surface and in-effect, polishes it.

With good tapes, your pinch roller should require a mild clean only after 15-20 tapes.

U mean after playing 15 to 20 cassettes.

 

[reubensm]

U mean after playing 15 to 20 cassettes.

yes, the C60 variety. that's the cleaning frequency for me, but my tapes are in pristine condition

on another note, I never use C90

 

[jay]

yes, the C60 variety. that's the cleaning frequency for me, but my tapes are in pristine condition

on another note, I never use C90

Ok.

Any reason why you don't use C90?

And are good quality blank cassettes still available in India?

 

[reubensm]

Ok.

Any reason why you don't use C90?

And are good quality blank cassettes still available in India?

I don't like my deck running for more than 30 minutes non-stop as its puts the motors under greater stress. Also the effort to rewind a 45 minute side is much more.

C90s come with thinner tapes that are prone to kinks easily, also more accurate pinch rollers and pinch roller pressure is required to play them, hence C60 tapes appear to run more accurately. This is what the tape gurus say, I just followed suit and I'm very happy with the results.

This might sound a bit too finniky and over-board but that's the kind of extreme care, I take, when it comes to my NAK

 

[reubensm]

Good quality blank cassettes available in India - the answer is simple - 'No' (unless you buy imported ones from Indian sellers). There used to be a few average Indian brands out there earlier but they cease to exist.

 

[jay]

Good quality blank cassettes available in India - the answer is simple - 'No' (unless you buy imported ones from Indian sellers). There used to be a few average Indian brands out there earlier but they cease to exist.

Do u mean from Ebay?

 

[jay]

I don't like my deck running for more than 30 minutes non-stop as its puts the motors under greater stress. Also the effort to rewind a 45 minute side is much more.

C90s come with thinner tapes that are prone to kinks easily, also more accurate pinch rollers and pinch roller pressure is required to play them, hence C60 tapes appear to run more accurately. This is what the tape gurus say, I just followed suit and I'm very happy with the results.

This might sound a bit too finniky and over-board but that's the kind of extreme care, I take, when it comes to my NAK

Thanks a lot.

 

[reubensm]

Do u mean from Ebay?

at times some Indian sellers come up with sealed blank tapes for sale, usually sony, tdk and maxell.

back in the day, it was common practice for people to bring cartons of blank tapes when coming down to India from abroad and sell them. users used to stock them for home recording purposes. those who have quit using cassettes put these up for sale.

 

[jay]

Very strangely I couldn't find Isopropyl Alcohol in some prominent medicine shops in Kolkata!!

 

[sarith]

Very strangely I couldn't find Isopropyl Alcohol in some prominent medicine shops in Kolkata!!

Try doctor's spirit in medical shops or IP solution in electronics spare shops

 

[reubensm]

IP alcohol is also available in laboratory supplies shops (those that supply chemicals to school labs)

 

[greenhorn]

get surgical spirit. denatured ethanol works works decent enough.