A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Local Cl, guy saved an AKAI reel-to-reel from the dump, and I got it from him.
It is is wailing in the kitchen on its built-in speakers, woohoo!

Why reel-to-reel?
Well, 1972-73, school friend in Switzerland, music head, introduced me to a whole bunch of different music via tapes he would build for me, Grateful Dead, Bonnie Bramlett, BB King, Allman Brothers, Traffic, Quicksilver... his was my big introduction to the genre(s).
I can still see myself doing my hydraulics class homework with headphones on, as my Sony r-to-r was my daily companion.

So the Akai GX-1820 does1.4 tape.... BUT also 8-track!
I still have most of my old tape collection mentioned above, but also a bunch of 8-tracks found at the dump.
Should I play the The Dark Side of the Moon 8-track first, or use a lesser recording should something go wrong?

Be very careful Amigo! Tapes that old (whether 8 track or reel to reel) will be apt to shed oxides like crazy gumming up the whole works, rather quickly!
A minor precaution, prior to playing any tape, rewind/fast forward it at least twice before trying to play it! AND clean the tape heads, rollers, etc. between tapes!

mickey wrote: ↑Wed May 25, 2022 5:11 pm Be very careful Amigo! Tapes that old (whether 8 track or reel to reel) will be apt to shed oxides like crazy gumming up the whole works, rather quickly!
A minor precaution, prior to playing any tape, rewind/fast forward it at least twice before trying to play it! AND clean the tape heads, rollers, etc. between tapes!

Very good points, here.
It looks like I will also have to learn how to splice inline...!

By the way, my buddy used a budget tape brand called Shamrock, a lower-cost Ampex product, I just saw, 1 mil polyester, but also on Scotch-branded tapes.
That was not meant to be lasting 50 years!

cool beans! im interested as to how it goes.

Partscaster wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 5:59 am cool beans! im interested as to how it goes.

I only played a portion of a reel.. then tape broke! EDIT old splice joint (on unknown tape I threw on) let go, no machine fault

Next; clean heads, capstan, even though it looks like it was taken care of, I would say.
I should do same with 8-track section, as, I am sure, this has been a long time since used!

This is just for memory's sake, i do not expect more that an occasional play.

8-track: this AKAI unit was made 1974-1978.
I assume the player record ability was mostly for making car tapes, then?