Tape Trail

Posted by soundnut (A) on June 18, 2007 at 08:03:07

In Reply to: RE: Nakamichi bx 100 record imbalance posted by robertleo on June 17, 2007 at 21:22:32

Hey Robert.

Is it only noticeable on your car stereo, or on other decks as well? It's possible the head alignment on your car stereo is outta whack.

Try recording a steady test tone on your Nak using a good CrO2 or metal tape, with both channels at the same level. Then, play it back on the Nak to be sure the levels are still even. (There may be a tiny bit of fluctuation, which is normal.) If the playback level is grossly different than the signal you recorded to the tape, you probably have an issue with either the internal record or playback level trimpots in the Nak.

If everything looks OK on the Nak, play that tape on a couple of other decks that are known to be properly aligned & check the levels. If the right channel on both of the other decks is significantly louder, then you probably have a level or head alignment issue on the Nak. If the other decks play the tape OK, then it's your car stereo that is misaligned or miscalibrated.

You might also try cleaning the heads on both the car stereo and the Nak. You might have some crud stuck to the head which could cause the problem.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
Bobbo :-)