Suggestions for RS1500

[hvbias]

My tech has given my RS1500 a clean bill of health. I'm looking for suggestions on what I should do to get the most out of it without approaching stratosphere territory; I'd rather reserve that for a better machine... which is inevitable as Ki would say . For the time being I'm only going to play 15 ips 1/4" 2-track, so that will be the only playback head I want to replace. Advice on that will help, and I can tailor the gain for the tape pre based on its output. Should I order the Bottlehead mechanical mod kit?

 

[Bruce B]

As they always say... 'What's your budget"? Then we can determine what's the best bang for the buck.

I think the transport is the most solid thing going for that deck.

 

[rockitman]

I think the transport is the most solid thing going for that deck.

That is the only thing going for it. As you know, the 1/2 track head should be replaced with a better one and wired out to an external pre. A stock 1500 with internal electronic playback sounds like doggie do.

 

[hvbias]

As they always say... 'What's your budget"? Then we can determine what's the best bang for the buck.

I think the transport is the most solid thing going for that deck.

Bruce, I don't really have a budget per say... I don't know much about the options besides what is written in the Tape Project recommendations page and some searching I've done on this forum. Lets say $1000 for any modifications to the machine/playback heads (I won't count labor in that amount). I am sorted as far as the tape pre goes.

That is the only thing going for it. As you know, the 1/2 track head should be replaced with a better one and wired out to an external pre. A stock 1500 with internal electronic playback sounds like doggie do.

Internal electronics will be bypassed.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Bruce, I don't really have a budget per say... I don't know much about the options besides what is written in the Tape Project recommendations page and some searching I've done on this forum. Lets say $1000 for any modifications to the machine/playback heads (I won't count labor in that amount). I am sorted as far as the tape pre goes.



Internal electronics will be bypassed.

Since you're not that far away from Charlie King, I'd have a talk with him. He put the Nortronics heads in mine and I haven't looked back. His electronics are also top notch.

 

[RogerD]

My tech has given my RS1500 a clean bill of health. I'm looking for suggestions on what I should do to get the most out of it without approaching stratosphere territory; I'd rather reserve that for a better machine... which is inevitable as Ki would say . For the time being I'm only going to play 15 ips 1/4" 2-track, so that will be the only playback head I want to replace. Advice on that will help, and I can tailor the gain for the tape pre based on its output. Should I order the Bottlehead
mechanical mod kit?

I'm not that familiar with the machine,but it should have 2 playback modules. This board is on Ebay if it the right one buy it and have your tech replace the resistors with tantalum types (Shinko) that are in the signal path. If there are any small value caps (pf series) replace those with silver micas. The larger value electrolytics should be fine,but if your tech can look and identify the main ones see if those few values are available on ebay using only Blackgate FK or N,NX types. Could cost you up to 500 hundred for eveyrthing but it would be worth it.

There's a few so you'll have to research it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ELECTRONIC-...pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4613eb6126

 

[flez007]

1.- playback head replacement to run via an external head preamp
2.- options from head preamps go from Bottlehead to DaHavilland to KingCello
3.- subscribe/acquire software

 

[stellavox]

Hi HV,

You have a very nice deck there. I'd place the transport up against any other available. As I remember, the playback electronics are on a separate board and can be improved by "upgrading" the 2 or 3 electrolytics in each channel - I happen to like Elna Cerafines. Beyond that, as the other posters have suggested, go to outboard electronics and a better head.

The pic shows how I wire out the head. May not "look" that nice but, versus trying to use the internal connectors and wiring to the rear panel, eliminates a lot of interconnections. Normally wire right to the PB head itself and bypass the 2 track / 4 track head switch. But if you have 4-track tapes and want to listen to them, you can wire from the center terminal of the switch - it has nice silver contacts but probably needs a cleaning. O yeah, also bring out a separate ground wire connected right to the headblock itself.

Do like Doc B's modifications, and his "kit" is very comprehensive and well documented.

In any event - happy listening!

Charles

 

[MylesBAstor]

Hi HV,

You have a very nice deck there. I'd place the transport up against any other available. As I remember, the playback electronics are on a separate board and can be improved by "upgrading" the 2 or 3 electrolytics in each channel - I happen to like Elna Cerafines. Beyond that, as the other posters have suggested, go to outboard electronics and a better head.View attachment 12017

The pic shows how I wire out the head. May not "look" that nice but, versus trying to use the internal connectors and wiring to the rear panel, eliminates a lot of interconnections. Normally wire right to the PB head itself and bypass the 2 track / 4 track head switch. But if you have 4-track tapes and want to listen to them, you can wire from the center terminal of the switch - it has nice silver contacts but probably needs a cleaning. O yeah, also bring out a separate ground wire connected right to the headblock itself.

Do like Doc B's modifications, and his "kit" is very comprehensive and well documented.

In any event - happy listening!

Charles

There is another advantage to Charlie going straight out of the heads rather than internally wiring through the output jacks on the rear of the deck. That's the elimination of hum. I originally had the deck modded by Doc and there was always a very low hum in one channel; after Charlie redid my heads, no hum whatsoever.

 

[RogerD]

In this photo the large board on the bottom is the "Main amp" board which handles both recording and playback. The small upside down board in the left of the photo is the mic and meter amp. I always like to upgrade the stock electronics to be able to use the record ability. It's up to you.....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTHER-BOAR...pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item43c05c59d8

Btw Your tech said it's up to spec....has it been recapped? If not it should be IMHO.

 

[hvbias]

Thanks for all the advice, especially Charles for the detailed post. I looked over the prices of the Flux Magnetics heads and my initial estimate on how much I want to spend might have been low? That budget isn't set in stone, just something I threw out there. I will look into the Nortronics, thanks for the suggestion Myles. At this point it's the replacement playback heads I am interested in learning about. I'm glad to hear the Technics transport is so well regarded... maybe this can be the only deck I buy (personally I prefer to dump most of my source funds into the TT given my large LP library)

Roger I'm going to bypass all the internal electronics and won't be using the record feature.

And this is a long shot- I'm going to put in a selective subscription for series 2 and 3 of the TP. If anyone has Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus they want to trade for a title in series 2 or 3 let me know!

 

[Jazzbo]

Good morning sir,

I contacted a very smart and fine gentleman, Mr. John French (JFR) as I needed a higher output playback head on my Tascam 42B tape deck. He suggested I purchase the Nortronic (400mHy) Premium Lamination playback tape head. Mr. French also, in my case, had to build a special shoe to hold the Nortronics head since it would not fit onto my Tascam in it's native form. The total cost was less than $400 dollars and it works superbly with my Amina HD4 tube tape head preamplifier. I needed to find an external tube tape head preamp for $1500 dollars or less and this one cost me $1195 dollars assembled and I am very pleased so far. I could not afford to purchase one of the other very excellent tape head preamps as I am on a fixed income. Hope this helps. I hope you note on this forum everyone is a gem in terms of reaching out and helping others. In short, these forum members are wonderful.

 

[hvbias]

Thanks Bob. Picking the right playback head is my primary concern. I'm going to continue to do some research and take my time with the decision.

 

[stellavox]

The playback head in the 1500 (made by Panasonic) is the same size as a Nortronics "B case" 9000 series head. A hint is to just remove the two screws holding the head assembly to the mounting plate, leaving the plate attached to the headblock. The head itself is in a little 2-piece case which can be taken apart - not easily, as it's glued into the back part of the case.

Charles

 

[Tom B.]

I'm going to bypass all the internal electronics..........

Probably the best choice in the long run. Better PB head (I prefer Flux ME if the budget allows) wired direct for better outboard electronics. Make sure the tape path is up spec, tension arms, reversing roller bearing, etc. Proper spacers for NAB reels, maybe quality NAB hubs for convenience. I've heard decks both with and without the tape path mods and felt it didn't make a significant difference, unless you wind up with one of those Technics that for whatever reason poorly packs tape (and you'll be storing tape 'as played' onto the original reel anyway, or should be).

Choice of replacement head(s) should be discussed with whomever you decide to purchase the electronics from.

Whatever performance/enjoyment you're looking to get out of tape, I'd imagine a setup as such would get you pretty close.

Tom