If you like to listen to music on cassette you need to clean
and demagnetize your heads... no not that head!
Before I get started I would like to thank fellow youtuber James Skippenhopper for his generous
contribution of this technics m7 cassette deck this is a two head deck that came out
in 1979 that features dolby B noise reduction, microphone inputs, and a setting for ferrochrome
cassettes also called type 3. these are hard to find but it's nice to have a deck that supports
this rare formulation. if you have a piece of gear you would like featured on thrifty AV let
me know so we can arrange for that to happen if you use a tape deck it's a given that the heads
will get dirty type 1 cassettes will shed oxide onto the heads but even the best tapes can leave
residue behind with playback dirty heads will cause loss of treble frequencies and a muffled
sound if the head has sticky residue it can actually cause tapes to jam up in the mechanism
so it's important to keep those heads clean you can purchase head cleaning cassettes that use
either a spool of cleaning tape or replaceable cleaning pads these will do some good along the
tape path but are not the most effective way to clean your heads I use these primarily for decks
where access to the heads are limited such as in a car player but for most home players the heads are
readily accessible so I prefer to use foam tipped cleaning swab soaked in 91% isopropyl alcohol a
cotton swab will also work but unlike a foam swab it can leave fibrous behind with the cleaning many
home cassette decks have a door that can be popped off by lifting up on the door when the deck is in
the eject position for two head decks I clean the dual-purpose record and playback head along with
the erase head and the capstan for three head there are separate record and playback heads
to clean this Nakamichi also has dual cap stands and both should be cleaned i avoid cleaning pinch
rollers with alcohol as it can dry out the rubber and cause it to crack distilled water can be used
to clean pinch rollers overtime tape heads can retain permanent magnetism through tape
recording and playback this is particularly true on a deck that is used for recording as use of the
erase head can cause magnetism a magnetized head can not only adversely affect the sound but can
potentially remove magnetic signals from tapes played through the device a demagnetizer will
randomize the polarities of the magnetic particles in the tape head you can purchase a demagnetizer
that is inserted into a deck like a cassette if you own one of these follow the directions
that came with it personally I prefer a wand type demagnetizer the one I purchased has a protective
plastic cover on the tip to prevent any scratching of the heads if it happens to come in contact you
can also build a wand type demagnetizer yourself using items you may already own
there's descriptions on how to do this on youtube just search for them it's sometimes hard to tell
if a demagnetizer is doing anything as it makes no noise and most do not have any type of indicator
light one way to tell is to hold a magnet near the unit you will fill both the magnet and the
wand vibrate with the alternating current when a demagnetizer is working the magnetic toy that
I used at the beginning of this video can also be used you can see the metal shavings line up
along the magnetic fields and some start jumping around when the demagnetizer is on to keep your
gear safe it's a good idea to turn off your deck when using a demagnetizer place any pre-recorded
cassettes or other magnetic media a good distance away from your workspace as a demagnetizer can
erase them plug in the wand a few feet away from your unit and slowly bring it close to your unit
move the demagnetizer wand slowly near the tape heads and capstan get it as close as possible
without actually touching the heads avoid jerky motion as this can cause magnetism in the tape
head I use the wand demagnetizer for about 5 seconds per tape head and then move it slowly
away from the deck unplugging when I get a few feet away finally I'm going to do something that
I do not recommend you do I'm going to leave a tape deck on and engage so you can hear what is
happening when a demagnetizer is used for this demonstration I will not be using the techniques
m7 but rather this sharp RT 31 budget deck you can hear a 60 Hertz hum as my demagnetizer approaches
the head on the unit as I move the wand closer to the play head the sound gets louder maxing
out the vu meter well before the wand gets to the play head I've read online the demagnetized
tape head stay cleaner and this makes sense as the oxides that rub off of a cassette tape will not be
magnetically attracted to the tape head if you've enjoyed this video or any other in the Thrifty AV
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