Looking for a cassette deck for old school build. Let me know if you have anything.
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Pm me what you would like for it. That’s a really nice unit. Maybe too nice for my garage build.
Car cassette deck. I’m going to build an old school system on the bench in my garage. Looking for a working Alpine, Kenwood, pioneer or something interesting and nostalgic in a cassette deck. Don’t want to sell a kidney to buy one so seeing what’s out there.
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Lol I was just kidding. I grew up using an Alpine 7525 with the 6 disc shuttle, which my dad still has in his truck. Thought it was the coolest thing ever. Any particular units from those brands you're interested in? I'm sure a few folks here have a cassette deck or two buried somewhere.
Not anything particular. I’ve acquired a set of pioneer ts x7 that I’m going to rebuild and put some Dayton drivers in. Maybe do a sub and I’m dreaming of a set of pioneer tune ups. Ts m4 or something similar. I’d like an old school equalizer/ booster and a cassette deck. Just like 1985 Motley Crue system. 🤘🤘
@Aslmx
Sounds like a cool project.
Just be cautious with older cassette head units because the rubber pinch rollers for the capstans and the tape spool/sprocket drives usually become extremely hard and brittle. And some units also used rubber belts for the tape sprocket take-up that deteriorate and break just like old rubber bands.
The rubber pinch rollers that maintain tension/pressure on the tape to the capstan drive spindle and the rubber drive belts are fairly universal and not that hard to source. Check for Sony or Akai replacements on eBay. But the actual tape spool/sprocket take-up spindles are usually unique to each unit. Some are driven by plastic gears but some are driven by a round wheel with a rubber "tire" on the rim.
I know that playing cassettes is cool and nostaligic (I have 100's of cassette tapes that I love, too!), but I would consider using a good, working home cassette deck to transfer them to 320kbps MP3s and put them on a thumbdrive or burn them to CD-R. You'd need an old school car audio CD deck that is made to play MP3 off of CD-R discs.
I know its a PITA and defeats your goals in a way, but the reason I say this is because the base polymer tape and the separate magnetic tape particle layer deteriorates Significantly over time, and the magnetic layer will either separate and flake off of the clear base layer, or the tape becomes "sticky" and will foul the drive mechanism and eat your tapes.
As an example, when a professional recording studio wants to transfer the original analog master tape to digital for archiving, re-issues, or remasters, they actually BAKE the tape in a special low heat oven or dehumidifier over a long, slow period of time. This re-bonds the magnetic particle layer to the polymer tape substrate and removes any "sticky" residue.
Search YouTube for "Baking Analog Tape".
You would have to remove the tape spools/sprockets from the cassette housings, so it's a PITA. Most cassette housings simply snap together with tabs or the better quality blank cassettes have small screws.
ALSO, make sure to check the bottom center opening of each of your cassette cartridges where the tape is exposed to make sure that the tiny spring-loaded felt cube is still attached to its leaf spring behind the tape!
The spring-loaded felt keeps the tape pressed gently but consistently against the tape head in the deck while the head "reads" the tape. But over time, the glue they use to attach the tiny felt cube to the metal leaf spring gets brittle and the felt cube will fall off completely. You will have very poor frequency response if this happens, AND the metal spring without the felt will destroy your tape!
Good luck.
Tape baking segment starts at 3:45
In my home rig, I have a fully refurbished Akai GX-95 Mk II 3-head deck that I use to archive my old cassettes to lossless files, and sometimes to record new "mixtapes", but good blank cassette tapes are becoming increasingly difficult to find!
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Sounds like a cool project.
Just be cautious with older cassette head units because the rubber pinch rollers for the capstans and the tape spool/sprocket drives usually become extremely hard and brittle. And some units also used rubber belts for the tape sprocket take-up that deteriorate and break just like old rubber bands.
The rubber pinch rollers that maintain tension/pressure on the tape to the capstan drive spindle and the rubber drive belts are fairly universal and not that hard to source. Check for Sony or Akai replacements on eBay. But the actual tape spool/sprocket take-up spindles are usually unique to each unit. Some are driven by plastic gears but some are driven by a round wheel with a rubber "tire" on the rim.
I know that playing cassettes is cool and nostaligic (I have 100's of cassette tapes that I love, too!), but I would consider using a good, working home cassette deck to transfer them to 320kbps MP3s and put them on a thumbdrive or burn them to CD-R. You'd need an old school car audio CD deck that is made to play MP3 off of CD-R discs.
I know its a PITA and defeats your goals in a way, but the reason I say this is because the base polymer tape and the separate magnetic tape particle layer deteriorates Significantly over time, and the magnetic layer will either separate and flake off of the clear base layer, or the tape becomes "sticky" and will foul the drive mechanism and eat your tapes.
As an example, when a professional recording studio wants to transfer the original analog master tape to digital for archiving, re-issues, or remasters, they actually BAKE the tape in a special low heat oven or dehumidifier over a long, slow period of time. This re-bonds the magnetic particle layer to the polymer tape substrate and removes any "sticky" residue.
Search YouTube for "Baking Analog Tape".
You would have to remove the tape spools/sprockets from the cassette housings, so it's a PITA. Most cassette housings simply snap together with tabs or the better quality blank cassettes have small screws.
ALSO, make sure to check the bottom center opening of each of your cassette cartridges where the tape is exposed to make sure that the tiny spring-loaded felt cube is still attached to its leaf spring behind the tape!
The spring-loaded felt keeps the tape pressed gently but consistently against the tape head in the deck while the head "reads" the tape. But over time, the glue they use to attach the tiny felt cube to the metal leaf spring gets brittle and the felt cube will fall off completely. You will have very poor frequency response if this happens, AND the metal spring without the felt will destroy your tape!
Good luck.
Tape baking segment starts at 3:45
In my home rig, I have a fully refurbished Akai GX-95 Mk II 3-head deck that I use to archive my old cassettes to lossless files, and sometimes to record new "mixtapes", but good blank cassette tapes are becoming increasingly difficult to find!
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$175.00 paypaled and shipped if these are not too old for you.
Deck is a KP-88G. There is a problem with either FF or Rewind, cant remember which. Otherwise it does plays the tape.
EQ is a CD-5. One of the middle frequency does not respond while the rest works.
Amplifier is a GM-40. This was recapped 2 years ago with Nichicon & Elna caps. Amp is working like it should.
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Deck is a KP-88G. There is a problem with either FF or Rewind, cant remember which. Otherwise it does plays the tape.
EQ is a CD-5. One of the middle frequency does not respond while the rest works.
Amplifier is a GM-40. This was recapped 2 years ago with Nichicon & Elna caps. Amp is working like it should.
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