MEGA Recorder - SONY TC 530 Stereo Reel to Reel Tape Recorder

[chipshot4455]

Great vid! I have my parents and it works except the further it gets along a tape it gets slower and slower. Starts fine then gets "weak" and finally stops. Easy fix? Perhaps I'll contact Medford. Thanks!

[clydesight]

@chipshot4455 Thanks for your comment on the SONY TC 530. If the machine is slowing down at the end of the tape there are two possibilities I can think of right away. 1. The main drive idler has lost its "tack". You can get some of that back by removing it and soaking it for 5 minutes in CLR, then washing it off with dish washing soap and a good rinse. 2. The pinch roller carry arm is gummed up with the grease they used so it doesn't make strong contact with the capstan, (more...)

[clydesight]

@clydesight (more...) This is a major fix because you have to take the whole assembly apart and free them and re-grease them. Mefford doesn't do this type of work, but send me a PM, Perhaps I can help you out. The TC530 is a fantastic machine and worth keeping in great shape.

[reelfanobsession]

sure did, excellant products.

[reelfanobsession]

wonderfull presentation. thank you for sharing this lovely machine i have a sony 540, i believe its the same spec as this on you have but the trim is slightly different. brushed silver aluminium finish and the speakers that form the lid are silver fronted too. very good sound and build quality. good old sony.

[clydesight]

@reelfanobsession Thanks for your kind comment about my Sony TC 530 recorder! This was a very successful design for SONY, so they made several models based on it with different numbers, to appeal to different visual tastes. When SONY hit a home run, like this, they knocked the ball out of the park!

[jasonmit]

I just picked one up at our local Goodwill for $15. It came with two microphones, all the accessories and it's is good condition and in good working order. It has bit of a hum though...don't know if that's normal or not. Just wish I had tape so I can play around with it. Great video. Very informing.

[clydesight]

@jasonmit Thanks for your comment. It seems that there are lots of these machines still around and working! There should be no hum from the amplifier except a very slight one if you crank the volume all the way up.

You can get old vintage music tapes on E-Bay sometimes for very reasonable prices. Just search for 7" reel tape. Or pre-recorded reel tape. You can also get empty reels on E-Bay.

Good luck.

[93smittyson]

good video! so say I wanted to record my guitar into this machine. Would i just put the microphone, which would be hooked up to the reel to reel, up to my amp press record and play?

[grumblepus]

Thanks for the super awesome video! Picked one of these up at Salvation Army and you've made the "getting to know you" process so much easier!

[clydesight]

@grumblepus Cool! You are very welcome!

[croydonmassage]

Thanks for a wonderful video demonstration. I have the exact same model, and was enjoying the beautiful sound from the TC 530 very much until I turned on my airconditioner recently, and blew the fuse on the Sony TC 530. The machine no longer operates. Can you please tell em which fuse type I should replace the blown fuse ? Ken

Many thanks

[ham60]

Hi Clyde, I loved the demo congradulations on rebuilding this deck

Would you please advise me if the sound on sound feature on this or other TC Sony models can be utilised as a echo/ delay and would you have a demo demonstrating this ? I'm a guitar player and I'm looking for a deck that has the ability to produce an echo/ delay to the guitars signal when fed into the mic input.

Thankyou Craig

[clydesight]

@ham60 Thanks for your comment.

I think for sound on sound with the echo feature you're looking for is only available on a three head machine. That's because one head is purely for playback, the other for recording and they are separated by a physical distance. It's the distance that makes the echo effect.

The speed of the tape makes a difference in the echo delay.

Why not just buy an echo delay unit made for guitars -- instead of using a tape recorder?

[ham60]

@clydesight Thats good advice and logical Thank you but theres something about these machines I had a Revox in the 70's and it was a fantastic piece of equipment. I love older gear generally With the Revox by placing a mic a short distance from the guitar amp the deck reproduce the signal through its speakers therby creating a delay.The delay time was determined by how long it took for the signal to hit the mic and feed into the machine continued.....

[ham60]

@clydesight all very amateurish but the main inspiration is guitarist Ritchie Blackmore who is famous for using a

TP 1011 ( i think thats correct Clyde ) which I beleive was an economical deck that happened to be ideal as a

preamp ( creating some gain to his signal ) and it either has a function or was modified to act as a tape delay

The AIWA is highly sought after and command hefty price tags because of there association with R Blackmore I love his playing .. all the best Craig

[clydesight]

@ham60 That's all very interesting. I don't know the AIWA TP1011. I don't know about Ritchie Blackmore so I'm clueless on his set up. If you look at my video about the TEAC 4010SL (I forget the name, but if you search TEAC ClydeSight it will show up) I have the machine creating an echo effect. However in my case, it is accidental!

[ham60]

@clydesight I just had a look at that TEAC

I can hear the echo on your voice in the intro and the delay repeats l'll keep an eye out for one

on eBay Its possibly ideal with its echo/delay function

Does that echo/ delay alter when you change tape speed and would you have any other

examples or a site that may have the TEAC operation manual

I'll research it now and have a look at Part 2 bye for now Clyde and thank you

[ham60]

@clydesight I realise the TEAC place is referenced in Part 2 has manuals etc so I'll go have a look Clyde

[clydesight]

@MrViacom

That's their DEMO reel. They start with S-O-N-Y and then play stereophonic airplane, car, and boat sounds plus some music to show off the sonic abilities of the machine. Many mfgs included demo reels. Webcor had one filled with classical music. Estey had one, etc. Even some cassette machines had demo tapes.

[thereelmaster]

i love those crayola cassette recorders, your right, they do sound good. nice reel to reel

[clydesight]

@thereelmaster

Thanks!

I love the SONY.

I'll be doing a critical review of the Crayola and some other "kids" recorders in the near future. I have made some interesting discoveries.

[scaleop4]

man that things big.

[clydesight]

@scaleop4 Yes, it is very large and quite heavy! But the sound is amazing!

[bbishoppcm]

Very cool!

[clydesight]

@bbishoppcm

Thanks!

[erniesbudolab]

I had this exact model growing up as a kid. My father bought it when he was in the Navy while we were stationed in Iceland. As you can imagine, not a lot to do in Iceland, so playing with this tape recorder. Unfortunately, I no longer have the machine but have been wanting to replace it...with something not as heavy or space consuming. But I loved the sound quality. If memory serves me correctly, this machine also has auto-reverse. Great video. Very informative.

[clydesight]

@erniesbudolab Thanks. This one is not auto reverse, but SONY made similar units that were. They had a higher price tag, of course.

[jigibao]

i have tk500a from 1964...

[clydesight]

@jigibao

Do you have a video of it? If not, how about making one explaining the machine and why you like it? I think the tape recorder fans on YouTube are increasing, which is interesting. Vinyl is coming back, it would be wonderful if R2R and cassette did too.

CDs killed off so much good stuff, and I think it was very short sighted of manufacturers to just abandon the old stuff in favor of the CDs. I like CDs of course, but they didn't have to push the other stuff out of the market.

[jigibao]

have a look at my site,maby you like what you see....regards..

[wwiiguitarhero]

I have this exact same one that I found at y grand parents house. There are two reels and they both have music on them how do i set them up

?

[clydesight]

I'm not sure I understand your question.

If you're asking about the speakers, the lid speakers plug into the two jacks in the top of the machine. You don't actually need them, but they add to the impact of the sound if you use them.

If you are asking how to run a reel through the machine, put the full reel on the left reel table and an empty reel on the right one. Thread the tape (shiny side out) across the heads and onto the empty reel so it catches, then turn the knob to play.

[prokid2000]

This is an exellent machine, my Father

had the same one when I was growing up.

Enjoy that recorder!

[clydesight]

Thanks, Prokid!

It does have very good sound which I should have recorded better on this video.

What happened to your Dad's recorder?

[shane8mm]

Hi clydesight. MY Wollensak page can be reached at the following address. For some reason YouTube won't let me use the dots in my address?? Well here is it. wollensak1580webscom.

[clydesight]

YouTube won't let you put a full URL in a comment. So you have to trick it, like you did. I went to your site. Very nice! That 1580 is a fine machine!

[shane8mm]

Hello clydesight. Great video! and a wonderful machine. I own a TC560 which was produced in 68'. Your machines transport is far superior to my TC 560's design. I also own the same demo tape you have here. In fact I have used portions of my demo tape at my Wollensak web site.

[clydesight]

Thanks shane8mm,

Where is your Wollensak Web site, I'd like to visit. Is it a YouTube channel?

[Richardddoobies]

Truly a swell machine sir! I have an identical model (garage sale...$20. the lady didn't even know what it did!) The tension springs were shot and I replaced them with a modern equivelent. exelent sound even at 1 7/8 ips! Mine is much worse for wear astheticly...the external speakers are long gone, the faceplate is missing, and the speed needs to be adjusted manualy. Still not bad for a 40 year old machine!

[clydesight]

Thank you Richard,

I see you just joined YouTube. Welcome!

It is amazing that metal springs can go bad over time, but you are right, they do!

Sorry your machine is in such rough aesthetic condition, but still, for $20, not bad!

The internal speakers provide a lot of bass and are satisfying, but for really WOW sound, try adding a set of outboard speakers (if you can) to the external speaker jacks!

[Richardddoobies]

Oh yes, I have a RIDICULOUS pile of amplifiers, equalizers and mismatched speakers connected to my machines. I plan to send in a video of it soon.

[Mastercorder]

You got a deal what a great buy , I have wanted one of those for years and do to circumstance never been able to acquire one. those came in tube models or solid state I thinks yours is one of the first solid State models. those were really good and they were made to really be used and designed to be serviced you could really use that machine every day and with reasonable care it really wouldnt wear that much. I was a little boy in that error it was great time to grow up !

[clydesight]

I remember these when they came out. The retractable pinch roller was a big deal at the time. I did not know this model was available as a tube machine, though there were plenty of tube machines around at the time. But solid state was the up and coming thing.

[Mastercorder]

Their were several models in that portable configuration that were tube they must have been pre Tc - 630 the tube ones were very very good I looked and couldnt find any information on them however ....

[clydesight]

I had two Sony tube type machines, the TC-35 (used 5 inch reels) and another one, but I forget the model number.

They were very good machines. However, for sheer quality of tone, I found the Panasonic RQ-705 (I have a vid on it here at YT) was much better. It was a true HiFi machine, which the Sony's, although excellent, were not.

[edinct21]

I just dug out my Sterecorded 530. It still works and all parts are there. It does work a little stiff. Have demo tape that came with it. Would like to sell.

[thecrystalcauldron]

Wow! What a splendid machine with a great sound. I noticed that it has been sponsored by: Abundance Genie DSPP Subliminal Messages I love this programme.Wishes are granted from the sublime to the ridiculous. Just recently I sent a wish for some new green cushions. Would you believe the ones I have, that aren't that old , have started to turn green. I realise that there is probably a practiacl reason for tjhis.The sun could have changied the colour but it's strange it hasn't happened before.

[clydesight]

Thanks and that is very interesting about how Abundance Genie worked for you!

[CoolDudeClem]

Very Nice! It sounds very good and clear. If I'm not mistaken I think it's the same as the one ddl312 has. I agree with Toastmachineidiot, it would be good to have it on blaring out some good old tunes!

[clydesight]

Thanks, CoolDude.

Yes this is the same machine as dd312. He didn't make a tour of it "under the hood", in his vids, but he did demonstrate the sound very well.

So I went the other way. The sound on my vid isn't very much, but I have the tour of the mechanics (which are fascinating).

This way, people can see it all by looking at his and my videos.

Win-win?

[ToastmachineIdiot]

what a machine! Very well-designed and the audio fidelity is to die for. It sounds very crisp on the high end!

I wanna sit in front of those speakers and blare some good ol' classic tunes!

[clydesight]

Thanks, Toast...

You have the right idea about how to use the machine. I think this was an early form of satellite system.

The "base" unit, the machine with the bass speakers (two 6x9 ovals) and the lid speakers as satellites.

So you space the satellites at the optimum distance (they have 12 feet of cord! each!) and you get super stereo separation, and lots of punch from the bass.

[teletronikoforever]

This is a really good machine!! Sony always made good machines. Those machines sounds better than a digital recorder!! I've bought a digital audio recorder (made by T-Logic) but it really sucks!! It seems that I'm a robot while I speak!! Really horrible!

[clydesight]

Thanks teletronikoforever!

I have a few cheap digital recorders, they sound worse than the worst cassette machines ever made, but can be improved by setting them to 16 bit and 22khz or higher sampling -- if possible. Mine won't go over 8-bit 11khz, so that's why they sound so awful. Maybe you can change the setting on your recorder?

[bluenazz]

Does that Sony have one of those funky 4 prong power cords? I have an old Sony and can't find that type power cord.

[clydesight]

This machine uses the usual two prong plug similar to that used by TEAC machines.

I have a SONY cassettecorder 110A that uses those funky 4-prong cords, so I know what you mean. Finding one of these is almost impossible!

[bluenazz]

I wonder if there may be an easy way to do an internal conversion to a standard plug.  Something for me to investigate (:-> Thanks and I enjoy your videos.

[CassetteMaster]

Very nice recorder! It has nice clear sound and looks nice. I also notice that machine uses the same mechanics as my Sony TC-105A, one of my favorite mono 'reels.

[clydesight]

Thanks. I am sure Sony used similar transport designs in many of their machines, as a good design is worth keeping!

The transport also reminds me of that in the Panasonic RQ-705. I like how all the parts disengage when the control is put in STOP, this prevents 'flats' from forming.

There is a plastic piece on the speaker lid that makes it so you HAVE to put the main control in stop or you cannot close up the machine.

[oviwolf]

Wow! What a nice reel to reel! It sounds very good,and looks the same. Super restoration,nice job! I want one of these!

Wonderful,just wonderful!

[clydesight]

Thanks Ovi. It sounds really good in person. I don't have an attenuating patch cord in stereo to run to the camera's mic inputs.

[DrCassette]

This is a really high quality machine!Sounds really good! I think 10$ are a really good price for this!

Also amazing that it came with the original demonstration tape!

[clydesight]

Thanks, I got lucky on E-Bay that day. The demo tape is a nice addition.

[BadEditPro]

WOW! That is a fine machine with outstanding sound. I love three speed machines like that. You could tape hours and hours of materiel on a reel of tape with 1 7/8 speed and four tracks... You did a wonderful job of restoring the machine and your friend did a great job getting the audio electronics back to working order. They just don't make anything that cool any more... Great video! :) JC

[clydesight]

Thanks! It is a wonderful machine. It actually makes the Wollensak 5750 look small!