Thanks guys. It's such a relief to finally have this resolved. I look at it this way..., inflating 1981 dollars to present value would put a new X1000R right at $4,000. I have way less in this deck than that and that includes the damage done by Mr. Moron.

As opined above, the local "tech" is toast in my book.

Bias on the LHII switch is set for the ATR Magnetics MDS36 tape and I'm sitting on a few blank reels. I plan on putting one to work today. I think I'll even go the DBX route as well. What the heck, you only live once! :thumbsup:

Very happy for you

Lack of techs qualified to service tape machines isn't new. I had difficulty back in the mid-70s. Glad you were able to get it running.

I’m happy to hear that things worked out for you. That being said, please be sure to take of your back. I have always been very active, but a major, but much needed back surgery set me back a few steps.

Nice to see it all worked out. And yeah, good techs are getting harder and harder to find.

Thanks for the nice replies gents. I agree, qualified techs are becoming increasing difficult to find. The problem is age. Most of the guys that were in the business 40 years ago are in their 60's and later. Sam Palermo in Chicago is top notch on Teac, Tascam and Pioneer decks. Probably other makes as well. What I like about him is he is still passionate about tape decks and pays close attention to all the little details.

I'm so encouraged and pleased with the results that I bought an excellent condition RC100 remote for it. I put it through its paces tonight and it performs perfectly. Now ol' Freddie doesn't have to rise from his command center position to do mundane tasks like FF or RR or Pause. Being able to zoom through a track you don't really want to hear is sweetness defined. :yes:

And BTW, the DBX feature on this deck is really, really good.

While I had the Nikon out shooting a few pics of the new Soundsmith cartridge, I thought I'd share a photo of the newly re-calibrated X-1000R. She's spinning The Division Bell in this photo.
Working beautifully now. :thumbsup:


Attachment 58092

There is just something special about. R2R. Looks awesome, and I bet sound that way as well.

Man, I must be the only guy without a set of those fancy NAB hub adapters on either or my RTRs ... Must have ...

Sam is absolutely the best tech in the US....period. Regardless of where you are, pay the extra shipping and wait the extra time (he is usually really booked), because what you will get back is nothing short of mint condition and calibrated perfectly.

I have taken my deck to a local shop but they do not have the bench gear or expertise to handle detailed calibrations. I let them change belt and reset speed, as I don't have a test tape. That's all they do for me other than clean heads and demag.

Sam has even helped me DIY my deck.....I hope he never retires.