Reel to Reel Restoration/Repair

there is a great website where your questions can be answered, The Tape Project Forum. here is a link;

http://www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php

on that page there is a great primer on reel to reel tape recorder basics you can read here

regarding finding a tape recorder tech; there are a few around. where do you live? also; how serious are you about getting the top level of performance?

shipping a RTR deck and having work done is a pain and expensive. you might want to investigate whether the Teac is the deck which will give you the performance you want after the trouble and expense you will go thru. you will likely find that the in initial cost of the deck will be mimimal compared to the other costs.

get the right RTR deck for where you want to be; the Teac may be the right one after you do the research. The Tape Project Forum should be a great resource for that.

good luck. i have found RTR performance to be above any other.

I also purchased a vintage Teac reel to reel that needed extensive repair and updating. After a lot of research I found a guy in Alamogordo, NM that I believed really new his stuff and prices seemed right so I shipped my reel to him. Long story short, he did an excellent job in just a few short days. My reel is back and sounds excellent. I would highly recommend this guy. Here is his E mail address
joeystumpf@hotmail... He can send you his service info and is great to deal with. I found shipping expensive due to the weight of these machines but all in all, it was worth it.

I second Markus1299.

My Sony just returned from Joe. The quality of his work and turn around time are superb. Highly recommended.

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate you responses. I did come across the contact in New Mexico and will explore further. I would rather not ship if I can find someone within driving distance. I live on Long Island, New York.

Mike, not sure if the Teac is the right rig, but price was right - free. I'd prefer a 15ips rig that I could use for the Tape Project tapes, but think I will start with the Teac to see how much I actually use it. I'm comfortable investing a grand into the Teac. I think I can always sell it and recover most of the cash. Thank you all again. If anyone knows someone local, please let me know.

I had my Tascam 3030 restored at NJ factory service. They are an authorized teac/tascam repair facility. They are located outside ny city not far from you

Thanks, Apachef1. You post prompted me to do a search for Teac Authorized Service (duh!) and I found three on Long Island, and I will be contacting them Monday morning. I just ordered some tapes and take up reel on Ebay so I can see what the problem is.

I should be enjoying R2R soon.

Thanks, everyone.

Enjoy reel to reel is a very different experience than any other format

Threading a tape or watching two big M's going round and round, there is not much more fun (other than listening)you can have is there ???

Don't waste your time with the Teac authorized service on Long Island, go with New Jersey factory service direct. Often, at least in the New York area, those authorized service places farm it out to NJ Factory in the end and you pay a 50% mark up. If you plan on going to The Tape Project product, dump the TEAC now. Only a Technics 15xx series machine will work.

Not true, Buconero. Some of the Otari decks (among others) will work fine. In fact, the TP folks seems to be leaning to Otari these days.

It seems that for different machines there is a different expert. I found that out when servicing the Otari and Studer decks in our studio last year when working on the LP my band was recording.

Teacs and Tascams are usually fairly easy to service out. IME, its rare to see a bad head, most of the issues relate to the transport, usually from sitting around. After a while, some of the levers get gummed up and won't move when its solenoid tries to engage it.

I own both an Otari and Tascam. They are both GREAT machines. The Otari cost a little more to repair (heads). If you are going the tape project route either will work. Actually, any machine 1/4" 1/2 track machine will work as long as it's working properly. Ralph is correct as always with his post.

Russ at New Jersey factory service is a great guy but there are MANY service shops around the country that can help you. IME the key is to listen before you buy and try every button and lay the machine on it's back and try to listen to the flutter in the motor. The Otari motors can get expensive. Listen to all the buttons and make sure they all work and there aren't "pops". This will only cost you less in the end. Last, with the machine on it's back, look at the heads and use your finger nail to see if there is a groove in the head. If there is a deep groove, chances are it has some miles. Not a big deal but just more money to have them refurbished. The leading head guy is http://www.jrfmagnetics.com/

and if money is no concern (highly doubt it) then get one of these: http://www.atrservice.com/products/item_details.php?item_id=36&dept_id=3

Truly amazing!!! but $10k

Good Luck and have fun with it.

As you likely know, the X1000R is a 1/4 track 7.5ips machinine. They are now over 25 yrs old so a full re-cap would be worthwhile. You will be limited to either your own recordings or commer tapes since this deck is not set up for high speed half track.
It should not take much to get it running again. These decks were well built; depending on what issues the prev. owner had with it.

Any decent electronics shop should be able to work on it.

Thank you all for the time you took in responding. I have ordered tapes and should have soon. I will check all carefully and bring it into servicing. It's just to start me off and if I enjoy it as much as I hope, and really use it as a source, will upgrade to the 15ips stuff and go for the tape project.

Thanks again.