How To Clean And Demagnetize Your Tape Recorder

[MrSethJM]

Hello BadEditPro, I'm wondering where I might find a "tab" to press in order to make my tape deck run without a tape in it. It will not let you run the machine unless there is a tape in it and the door closed. (I have a Pioneer CT-W404R double autoreverse deck, which I got from a thrift store for--I think it was--$5. Looks great, works great, sounds great. I was happy with the deal.)

[BadEditPro]

@MrSethJM Later model decks have a ta[e sensor located in the top of the well. It is usually close to the tab that detects whether a tape has the erasure protection tabs still in it and the tape type.detector. Just push those little switches up until you find the right one that tells the machine there is actually a tape in the well. :) JC

[Greenballed]

Good vid. Usefull info. I have an echoplex EP3 I need to do this to. I found the exact demagnetizer you have for $9 on Amazon.

[dontneednomofovhs]

Even in 2011, people still worry about cleaning those tape heads!

[MsKarebear10]

Thanks for the info. That's why they pay the pros the big bucks

[HamtaroEL]

@BadEditPro: I've just bought a Sony (Walkman) WM-FX21. When I play the machine, (I didn't play any tapes yet) there was a humming sound and when I fast forward and rewind the machine, that hum is louder. Is it the machine or does that tape player needs demagnetizing? Thanks.

[BadEditPro]

@HamtaroEL Demagnetizing probably won't make this go way. A lot of these really small players leak motor noise into the audio circuit. Everything is packed so tightly there's really no way to avoid it completely. If the machine does not record, you may be able to get way with not bothering to demagnetize. Just keep it clean. :) JC

[Paspiedreamcast]

I suppose it depends. I have just bought a Marantz deck today (waiting for it to arrive), I'll give the heads, capstans and rollers a clean when I get my hands on it and if it performs alright than I won't bother with the latter part (most users don't do any of it at all and don't have much if any problems). I have lots of old tapes with content I don't care about anymore that I can test it with.

[Paspiedreamcast]

It would be awesome if I could find these demagnetisers in the UK! For some reason they are very rare here. Is it fine to use demagnetisers that are just a tape that you put in a machine to demagnetize it? That's the only one I can find.

[BadEditPro]

@Paspiedreamcast It would be better than nothing... You could try MCM Electronics. They would be happy to ship you one over to the UK. :) JC

[harrykid]

my heads dont move at all

[mjtheexperience]

so I need help! I have a canon mini dv recorder and when ever I try to play this one part of the type the sound will always cut in and out. Is there any way I can fix this? Thanks your help means a lot. :D

[Tarjaholic96]

Thanks man, excellent video. Just finished cleaning my Technics deck.

[drutgat2]

Just a few additions:

1. When demagnetizingdegaussing make sure that you are nowhere near speakers, audio equipment, credit cards or anything else that can be affected by the magnetic field of a demagnetizer (take your wallet out of your pocket, and leave it in another room!)

2. One should run the demagnetizer over the transport mechanism in one direction (the direction of travel of the tape).....

3. Tape cleaning fluid can dry out the rubber roller - specific cleaners are available.

[mdzacharias]

Nice to see someone who knows their stuff for a change. I repair consumer electronics for a living and its funny but also sad the bad info out there.

[wwd500]

Thanks!!! I thought this was excellent!!! Great job!!!

[Morahman7vnNo2]

This is great...but my shoe box still makes a grinding noise.

Do you know anyway to get an old Shoe-box recorder to stop making a grinding noise?

[BadEditPro]

@Morahman7vnNo2 Is the noise on the tape or does the machine just make a noise when it runs? :) JC

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@BadEditPro It's the machine.

[BadEditPro]

@Morahman7vnNo2 New belts and a good cleaning and lubing should take care of the problem. :) JC

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@BadEditPro Guess I'll have to take it in for sure...thanks!

*Smiley Face*

[TheKvickis]

Thanks!

[airconguy1]

I know a YouTube user that says that you should always clean decks you find, but only in extreme cases do you really need to de-magnatize the head. Thanks for the info tho. My yamaha KX-W232 is gonna enjoy the first clean in two years when I can get some methylated spirits onto her:) You know anything about the belts? My deck b loves to squeal after 30 minutes of playing. Tryed flippin the belt to no avail!

[BadEditPro]

@airconguy1 You can find kits with an assortment of belts on the web. Replacing the belt is probably your best option. :) JC

[JDTV1995]

My tape recorder plays back really quiet and won't seem to record, are the heads dirty? And if so can I clean them with Q-Tips and some 91& Alcohol?

[BadEditPro]

@JDTV1995 Cleaning never hurts. Your recording issue is most likely a mechanical or electronics problem, though. :) JC

[snarzdar]

Thanks a lot. This was very helpful information.

[BadEditPro]

@snarzdar I'm glad it helped. :) JC

[1Kchess]

@BadEditPro Thanks for the info about demagnetizing, you say that moving the demagnetiser too quickly can cause problems, what sort of problems can this cause and can permenant damage be caused by this?

[BadEditPro]

@1Kchess Turning off the demagnetizer while it's close to the heads or pulling it away very quickly will leave a magnetic charge that you might not be able to get rid of. This defeats the purpose of demagnetizing completely. :) JC

[Mico284]

@ JC: Thank you for the tip. I see now that the tape is actually pinched. Not sure what if anything can be done about that, but glad to know something... Thanks again for your advice. To noobs like me, You are a true blessing.* Have a Happy Holiday Season :)

[BadEditPro]

@hohum83 That myth about the alcohol damaging the pinch roller just doesn't have a leg to stand on. Alcohol won't damage rubber unless you leave it to soak for a long time. You should clean until the swap comes back clean. It really takes a lot of juice to properly demag,. I don't know if the cassette kind generates enough power to get the job done... Anything is better than nothing, though. :) JC

[Mico284]

I left a DV tape on top of the stereo & now the play back on the tape is all pixelated and bad. This TAPE IS REALLY IMPORTANT & i NEED it to play correctly. Is there any way possible to save the tape??? Please let me know. Thank you. :)

[BadEditPro]

@Mico284 The tape has either gotten overheated and is damaged or the transformer in the amp partially erased it with its magnetic field. There's not much that you can do to fix it but you should try playing it back in as many decks as you can get your hands on and which ever one gives the best image should be used to get a copy of the tape. :) JC

[ICUC007]

I really like when you say you can buy special cleaning strips but Qtips are just as good. and the differences between the alcohols, and the water in it. When somebody just says do this or don't use that I always wonder why. And Interesting that having dirty parts in there Speeds Up the degradation process. Many Good points. And the demagnetizing stuff...great. Many thanks

[BadEditPro]

@ICUC007 Thank you very much! :) JC

[btown2011]

Oh and by the way, i demag. and clean every time i record, i recommend it :-)

[BadEditPro]

@btown2011 Acetone was recommended for some early recorders that had all metal parts in the tape path bu8t it will eat a modern machines plastic parts. You really don't need to demag for each recording. Once a year is plenty. :) JC

[btown2011]

you say don't use acetone, i wonder why some of my manuals say to use it, i know its not good to use though.

[DuskY1991]

You are the best man! =D

[BadEditPro]

@DuskY1991 Thanks!

[MrChroissant]

hey, thanks for this lesson, it was really useful.

my questions is, i'm trying to fix the tape player in my car.

it just wont accept the tape. would demagnitizing it help? or is it a more severe problem?

plus, is demagnitizing a tape player in a car the same concept or different?

[BadEditPro]

@MrChroissant Sounds like a mechanical issue. You'll have to pull the player out and open it up to see what's going on. The cleaning process s the same for car players. It's a bit more of a pain, though, since you have to drag the whole thing out of the dash to get to it. You can use a wet cleaning tape to maintain it but you gotta yank it and really clean it once in a while. :) JC

[MacPhantom]

Thank you very much for this video! I’ll have to clean my tape deck (a Technics from a small stereo system "SC-HD 350“), and now I know how to do it. I hope it’ll work, because the tape deck sounds VERY muffled (there’s no more treble in the sound). The deck, however, is closed up and it has like a slot-loading interface, so I’ll have to open it up…

[BadEditPro]

@MacPhantom You can get a wet system cleaning cassette to do regular cleanings. That way, you'll only have to open up the deck every once in a while to clean it. That's how I maintain the tape deck in the car. :) JC

[neantradical]

allright i'll look for a new one, thanks a lot JC!

Ben

[neantradical]

i have a fostex X-12 multitracker, the problem i get is after a long time of use is that the track 4 dont erase completly, do you think it can be that the head are magnetised and i need the demagnetizer?

[BadEditPro]

@neantradical Since only one track is giving you trouble, I would say the heads are very dirty or there is a misalignment between the erase head and the record/play head. Demagnetizing is a good thing to do but I don't think it will solve the problem. Heavily magnetized heads have a tendency to add noise to tape and can actually partially erase a tape after several plays... They ordinarily do not prevent a machine from erasing tape completely. Clean the heads and see if that helps. :) JC

[neantradical]

@BadEditPro yes i think its a desalignement too, one day i dropped it to the ground and it did the same thing, i dropped it at the local shop so he repair it, then it was cool and then after a lot of time it started back to go wrong, is it easy to re-align it myself, or should i just get a new one or make it repair again? thanks.

[BadEditPro]

@neantradical Aliening erase heads is tricky... I'd just start looking for a new machine because if it constantly slipping out of whack that's an indication of a mechanical weakness in the system and it will just keep doing it. :) JC

[localdummiesguy]

ahh, many thanks for this video. I just purchased a Tascam 488 MKII off of Ebay and i'm just getting the hang of analog recording. I have never used a demagnetizer so I needed to know how its done!

I've read where people have demagged their heads and WHOLE tracks began working on their recorder again! :o Track 8 on mine is being difficult and I'm wondering if maybe this will help it. Thanks again for the tips. :)

[BadEditPro]

@localdummiesguy I'm glad the video helped.  Please let me know how the machine does after a good cleaning. :) JC

[Vinylrecordsneverdie]

A fellow Youtuber told me I can use nail polisher remover with acetone on tape head. It dissolves gooey belts off the pulley and flywheel like magic. I should give it a try on the heads.

[BadEditPro]

@Vinylrecordsneverdie No! Acetone is way to corrosive for tape heads! It's fine for pulleys and other parts but heads are delicate and acetone will deform and permanently etch the relatively soft plastic parts in most erase heads. Nail polish remover is also loaded with perfumes and other additives... Pure or 91 % Isopropyl is best.  It's your machine but I strongly advise not using acetone or any other strong solvent on the heads... :) JC

[Vinylrecordsneverdie]

@BadEditPro Thanx for your opinion! I didn't think so anyway.

[olderngod]

Thank you for this demonstration. I am elderly and have a hearing problem, and I appreciate your perfect diction. So few people know how to speak these days.

I have several tape decks and have always maintained them with the denatured alcohol cleaning and the cleaning cassette. They sound fine. If i'm having no problems, is there any need to demagnetize? I have a bit of a tremor in my right hand and would be scaared of doing more harm than good with a demagnetizer!

[BadEditPro]

@olderngod I'm glad you found the video useful. If you are not having any problem with your machines and you're not allowing them to be close to anything putting out a strong magnetic field then you most likely don't have to worry much about degaussing the heads. I mainly do it when I get a used machine and I don't know where it's been. After that, I do it maybe once in five years, if that. :) JC

[Shurbovi]

bravo nice video

[BadEditPro]

Thanks! :) JC

[btown2011]

not a permanent magnetization. it can be removed it just takes a long time.

[SlimeTron5000]

You could use distilled water. It is easy to retrieve distilled water.

[BadEditPro]

Distilled water would not dissolve the binder that comes off of the tape. You must use a solvent to get that to move. :) JC

[SlimeTron5000]

It is also easy to retrieve integrated degauss cassettes.

[Peter7Paul]

great video, thanks for the info. Great voice/narration too.

[BadEditPro]

Thank You! :) JC

[Whitenoisegreg]

So it IS safe to touch the heads with the demagnitizer? I have a bunch home recording books and the verdict is uncertain. Some say get it as close as you can, others say touch the head.

I have a similar RS demagnitizer and it has the same red rubber tip. I recently bought it on ebay and I have a few machines I need to demagnitize.

[BadEditPro]

Yes. As long as the tip of the probe is covered with rubber there's no chance of damaging the heads. Some older demagnetizers have metal probes that would scratch the heads if they came in contact while they were energized. JC

[videogameobsession]

Great video!

I have about 20 family audio tapes from between 1968 and 1978. I want to record on my laptop, then compress to MP3 (for portability). I will make sure to keep the original WAV audio backed up as well.

I plan on using a Sony Sports Walkman which is about 20 y/o, but has had light usage.

I want to make sure it's good quality though since this will probably be the last time these tapes are ever played! Do you think using a portable is a bad idea? What would you recommend for low $?

[BadEditPro]

Thanks! The Sony would be a good choice as long as the noise level is low enough. Sometimes you'll get hum or buzz in the signal from portable machines. If you have access to more than one cassette machine, I'd plug them all in and see which one sounds best. A mono player would be good if your family tapes were recorded in mono... There are a few mono portables on the market now that you can get for cheap. You may want to consider getting one of those. :) JC

[Wilfredlehn]

Hallo JC.

Have you any tips on how I can efficently remove a video cassette stuck in a Panasonic NV F65 VCR?

[BadEditPro]

You pretty much have to work the mechanics by hand until it will let you get the tape out. The tape gets pretty well eaten up in the process so I doubt you'll be able to use that tape again. :) JC

[BIGDO13]

very informative, thankyou....

[BadEditPro]

Thanks! :) JC

[MagnusVideos]

We used to use aftershave(not proper cleaning alcohol) , and cotton buds. Most of the tape decks here most still smell slightly.

[thesemenincident]

Thanks for the demagnetizer tips!

I was always a bit concerned about how to do it properly...

Do you have any brand/model suggestions?

[BadEditPro]

I like this one... I got it from MCM Electronics. Radio Shack used to make some nice one's too. I see them on eBay every now and then but the new ones are relatively cheap and one like this should last you a lifetime.

:)

JC

[clydesight]

Excellent presentation. This is exactly how I clean my machines, and it always works! Some demagnetizers come with a switch. RS also used to sell a demag cassette that ran on a little button battery, it was a good product, as long as you remembered to keep the battery fresh!

[vwestlife]

Note that some decks won't swing the erase head into position unless you also hit Record, instead of just Play.

[BadEditPro]

True! I have a Sony like that.... Thanks for the reminder. :) JC

[ForgetfulCollector]

I usually use the Scotch brand head cleaner, or rubing alcohol with a q-tip.I have a Radio Shack cleaner/demagnetizer than I run through the machine. Then I do the thorough cleaning.

[BadEditPro]

Sounds like a good plan. I don't know how effective those Rad Shack demag tapes are but it's better than nothing. :) JC

[ForgetfulCollector]

It always seems to do well enough for me!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Very nice demo, very useful information. I need to get a head demagnetizer I gave mine away many years ago.

[BadEditPro]

Thank you!  I got mine from MCM Electronics for under ten bucks. :) JC