Cleaning tape heads

[PsychFan]

Hi all,

I need to get some decent tape-head cleaning products. I've been using Radio Shack's cleaner, but only temporarily.

I'm have a JVC tape deck in my system that I use to make cassettes of LPs and digital discs for the car, but more importantly I'm using a Tascam 388 "Studio 8" 8-track reel-to-reel analog deck for home recording of original music. This used to belong to my father, and he used to have cans of Tascam head cleaner and rubber cleaner (for the pinch roller). I'd like to get something similar to this; I don't even know for sure if those products are still available.

Does anyone have any good suggestions? Thanks.

[Mike V]

Jeff - what happened to your avatar??

Anhydrous (100% pure) isopropyl alcohol is king, IMO. It leaves everything sparkly clean, and does a great job on rubber too.

Electronics supply stores carry the stuff for $6 a bottle (12 or 16 ozs?). GC Electronics is the brand I use. One bottle should last you a very long while.

Note that they market a product specifically for magnetic head cleaning. Don't buy it! It leaves a film haze behind..

[Mike V]

Originally posted by Mike V
Jeff - what happened to your avatar??


And like magic, she has returned :D

[PsychFan]

Yep, the Ric is back! And thanks for the comments Mike.

[Grant]

I've always just used 90%+ Isopropyl alcohol. It's probably better to use denatured alcohol, but the stuff is kind of hard to find, and many phamacists won't sell it unless you have a perscription???

[sgraham]

Clean it off with a dry Q-tip after, just in case there's any residue (oils or whatever other impurities). And go easy on the pinch roller. Some (Tandberg comes to mind) get tacky if you get them too wet with alcohol. They dry out again, but it takes a little while.

Also be very careful *not* to let alcohol or other voilatile liquids get into the copper-colored "sintered" bearings, such as perhaps the capstan shaft may have. It dries them out, which is bad news.

[Michael]

Originally posted by Grant
I've always just used 90%+ Isopropyl alcohol. It's probably better to use denatured alcohol, but the stuff is kind of hard to find, and many phamacists won't sell it unless you have a perscription???

The 90 Proof Iso...is stocked by all the Walgreen's here.:)

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by Mike V
Anhydrous (100% pure) isopropyl alcohol is king, IMO. It leaves everything sparkly clean, and does a great job on rubber too.

Don't use alcohol on rubber rollers.

When I was an assistant engineer I once got a new hole dug in my backside by a tech at one of the large studios here in town.

The first step to aligning a 24 track is to clean the tape path and he saw me swabbing a rubber roller with the alcohol. I just didn't know any better. He showed me some old rollers that had gone bad due to dried out rubber. Quite expensive to replace. I never did that again.

[Metralla]

Agree that pure anhydrous isopropyl alcohol is the best. Water is the no-no; so denatured alcohol is also OK. Note that some processes that remove the last trace of water from alcohol leave minute impurities, so going for the really pure stuff may not be the best idea.

Use clean wooden stemmed Q-tips. First clean the guides and the capstan. Then clean the heads - work in the direction of the tape path (not across the heads). Be gentle, as you can scratch the heads. Change Q-tips often until no sign of oxide is seen. Duh - don't dip a dirty Q-tip in the bottle.

Some cheap tape cleaners contain solvents like Xylene, and you don't want to get this near a pinch roller, but I prefer alcohol.

There seem to be two schools of thought on whether the pinch roller (or puck) should be cleaned with alcohol. Some say most definitely not - use a special rubber cleaner.

Others say that although alcohol does dry out the rubber the pinch roller is made out of, it is safe to use on rubber. It is the only solvent that can be used regularly on rubber. If you clean a pinch roller daily with alcohol it will develop a hard surface after 6 months or so. This can be softened with the cleaner used on typewriter platens; don't do this more than once or twice a year as it can make the rubber tacky.

But I'd agree with yesman and look for the right stuff. Rubber cleaner really stinks though, so open the window.

Another important aspect of tape recorder maintenance is degaussing the heads and tape guides. This has to be done correctly or you will in fact make the head more magnetic. You need the right tool also.

I'm sure if Steve reads this thread he can give us the benefit of his years of experience.

Regards,
Geoff

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by Metralla
Another important aspect of tape recorder maintenance is degaussing the heads and tape guides. This has to be done correctly or you will in fact make the head more magnetic.
And if that happens I've been told you can never demagnitize them.

One more thought. The rubber rollers only touch the back of the tape. No other comment than that.

[Larry Naramore]

Originally posted by yesman




When I was an assistant engineer I once got a new hole dug in my backside by a tech at one of the large studios here in town.



Saves on Preparation H.

Had a couple of new ones chewed myself at one time or another.

[PsychFan]

Thanks for all the comments, fellas. I've long been aware of the advice to use a separate rubber cleaner on pinch rollers; that's why I liked having the separate Tascam-brand head and rubber cleaners on hand. They sold those in a little kit for $10 along with some non-linty swabs. It's getting hard to find these days.

As it turns out, one of my local instrument/recording-gear shops had one of those kits left, so I grabbed it. That should hold me for quite some time. The guys working there thought it was pretty amusing that I was still using an analog deck in a home studio ...

[Mike V]

Originally posted by yesman


Don't use alcohol on rubber rollers.

Thanks for the tip Jamie. What do you use??

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by Mike V
What do you use??

I leave that up to my assistant. I think he just cleans it with water and a towel. No need to clean it that often really. Never seems to get dirty except for a little dust. I yell at him anyway.:) Just joking.:love:

[Mike V]

And when you're not looking, he's on those rollers with isopropyl!!! Probably just to spite you ;)

[Pinknik]

From an earlier discussion on this topic I had with Steve:

"Denatured alcohol, 6 inch long Q-Tip type thingies called "Puritan Cotton Tipped Applicators"; used in hospitals and recording studios!

If something goes South, Kevin Gray is usually my tech of choice. I also have an Ampex "expert" who works on the really old Ampex machines.

For my vintage tube playback gear, my friend and colleague Grover Scott Huffman is the King of Repairs.

For Demag, I use an old Teac unit from the 1970's."