After a bit of a search and a few dead ends I finally have an AKAI GX-635D. It’s sonic performance is beyond my expectation, no hiss, wide dynamic range and what goes onto the tape comes out through the speakers. Wasn’t expecting it to be this good.
But – it does have a couple of issues that I need to fix / have fixed and would welcome some help and guidance.
1. LH VU meter is intermittently sticky. It’s behaviour is similar to a peak hold meter – except it doesn’t return for sometimes a minute or two. Working below the 0dB level it seems fine but sometimes sticks in the red when things get a bit boisterous. Sometimes stays stuck when the power is switched off.
2. The capstan motor is noisy. Not audible over the music but when the music stops you can hear it. Sounds like humming and changes tone when the pinch wheel engages. Behaviour is common whether playing forward or reverse.
3. The tape counter is fine when playing but sometimes goes into a banshee like howl when approaching speed in FF / REW. Sounds like maybe plastic dry running on a shaft?
The previous owner said it had been “serviced” (whatever that may amount to) 3 months ago. The inside is clean and free from any dust accumulation and from what I’ve seen the linkages look clean and not caked in old lubricant, so some work has been done. The owner also said it had been standing for a while.
Any ideas?