Tape Guide (Sept. 1979)

Cassette Deck Pros and Cons

Q. I have had an open-reel tape deck for a number of years. While it has provided good results, it now needs a variety of repairs and replacements, costing an estimated $200. My question is whether to repair this deck or put the money into a cassette deck of good quality, because I take my hi-fi sound seriously.

-C.S. Hoffman; Allentown, Pa.

A. A current high-quality cassette deck will, overall, provide quality of performance about as good or better than that of an older open-reel deck.

The advantages of a tape deck are:

Possibly a higher signal-to-noise ratio with Dolby N/R, lightness and portability, and compact storage of recorded material. Additionally, a cassette deck will afford greater ease when loading the tape, since you can reverse the cassette or put in a different cassette in a split second whereas an open-reel deck may cause you to lose precious seconds during a recording session if you become fumble-fingered under pressure.

The disadvantages of a cassette deck are:

Less rugged; less headroom in recording (the tape is more likely to be saturated on high frequencies unless you back down on the recording level); less extended treble response (quite possibly not needed or audible); higher wow and flutter (quite possibly not audible); inability to record four mono tracks (quite possibly you don't care to do so), and greater susceptibility to tape dropouts because of the narrower tracks (quite possibly not noticeable because of the high-quality cassette tapes now available).

Most cassette decks do not permit simultaneous record and play. If this feature is important, you can find some cassette decks that provide it, but at a substantially higher cost.

Open-Reel Tape Deck Problems

Q. I have a problem with my open-reel tape deck. The machine slips and wobbles at random.

- Ernest Snow, Brooklyn, N.Y.

A. You should carefully clean all the parts contacted by the tape, particularly the pressure roller and the capstan.

If, by chance, you have lubricant on the roller or capstan, this could account for the problem. You might try a back-coated tape; its rough backing should enable the capstan and pres sure roller to get a better grip on the tape, resulting in steadier tape motion.

Claims for Bulk Erasers

Q. A manufacturer claims that its bulk eraser is capable of erasing a re corded tape so well that the tape hiss and related noises will be lower than before the tape was used. Is this possible? If so, wouldn't it make sense to use the bulk eraser on tapes before recording? Or does the bulk eraser take away some of the recording qualities of tapes?

- Vernon Franklin; APO New York

A. A powerful bulk eraser might bring tape hiss to a level below that of virgin tape. However, I doubt that you would hear the results of this. The principal forms of tape noise are those due to distortion in the bias waveform and to irregularities in the backing and magnetic coating of the tape. Such sources of noise would not be affected by bulk erasure.

While a bulk eraser ordinarily does a better job than an erase head, particularly on heavily saturated tape, usually a good-quality head serves very satisfactorily. In fact, an erase head has the advantage that it can erase one track at a time (or two at a time, depending on the deck in question), whereas a bulk eraser necessarily erases the entire width of the tape.

Some persons have recommended trying the following for the most noise-free recording: Use a bulk eraser to erase the tape and then record, placing a very smooth material (such as Teflon or celluloid) between the erase head and the tape to prevent this head from contacting the tape. This is necessary because the erase head may be a source of noise owing to the large amount of bias current flowing through it, and it is this current that powers the head.

(Adapted from: Audio magazine, Sept. 1979; Herman Burstein)

Also see: Tape Guide (Aug. 1979)

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