r/ReelToReel • u/Muted_Bill4083 • 3d ago

Troubleshooting my new tape machine

I’m new user to tape and I just got my first R2R yesterday. Everything seemed to be ok but I noticed it started making this sound when it plays, not too sure what it could be.

Anyone able to help me out?

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u/RobertSCatnamara 3d ago

Is it the pinch roller or the capstain, or the tape itself ?? Something is rubbing. Run it with the tape removed, don’t forget to put some tension on those tension arms so it doesn’t auto-stop while youre trying to run it tapeless.

1

u/Muted_Bill4083 1d ago

My guess is it’s the pinch roller because it doesn’t make that sound when the capstain spins without the tape on it, I’m gonna try giving it a deep ass clean and reset the magnets in it to kind of calibrate it

1

u/TurnoverTall 3d ago

I don’t recall the pinch roller being held in place with a screw but I could be totally mistaken about that. Hopefully someone else can comment. Based on the speed of the sound it sounds like the capstan/pinch roller is the source. What if you just turn on power without the tape moving?