Build quality from Studer, Switzerland. Very high quality, serviceable professional equipment.
ReVox made some very high quality robust equipment. Most people will immediately think of an A77 or B77 Open Reel deck. But they also made cassette decks, tuners and CD players in similar grey/silver livery setting them apart from other manufacturer’s offerings.
Currently I only offer services for their Open Reel decks – most notably the A77, B77 and PR99.
Any tape deck made by ReVox is of a high quality but after over 20 to 30 years of life, they will be in some need of servicing or repair.
Heads
I am able to check head wear and test frequency response prior to undertaking other works. In cases where the heads are very worn and are no longer able to record or reproduce correctly, they can be refurbished by a specialist and refitted. If the heads are beyond refurbishment and relapping, new heads can be ordered to replace the old ones and then the deck fully realigned and calibrated to accept the new heads.
Before doing any work on a deck, the tape path and head block is thoroughly stripped down and cleaned to ensure there are no problems and that heads and other tape path components are in good health.
Electrical
Common problems you might find with your deck are
- Poor sound quality in one or both channels,
- Poor or non existing recording function,
- VU meters hover above their resting position,
- Deck won’t FF or REW or slows when it reaches one end of the tape,
- Overheating, dead or sluggish reel motors,
- Deck won’t “latch” into play mode and stops as soon as you release the play button.
If you have any some or all of these problems, don’t worry, they are quite common as they all get older and are easily addressed. Certain sections of the deck will need attention and adjustment. There are a number of safety rated components that are known to fail and while they will not notice a change in the performance of the deck, they are electrical safety parts and must be changed to maintain safe working operation for yourself.
These decks are crammed full of capacitors – electrolytics and tantalum. Both of these have limited lifespans or quite explosive failure modes at worst. These can all be replaced with new improved capacitors and longer life versions to ensure that the problem will not reoccur; including any post manufacture modifications made to the decks design.
Most of these decks also contain an older design of high voltage capacitors used to prevent arcing during motor switching. These are known to fail without exception on all decks and must be replaced with the correct safety rating and type of capacitor to ensure safety. If these are not replaced, they can begin to short circuit and cause smoking and fire in serious cases.
After all problems have been addressed, I can fully calibrate the tape deck and set the bias to a tape type of your choice, provided you supply with the tape you would like the bias and EQ-curve optimised for.
Cosmetics
As well as the tape path being thoroughly cleaned and checked, the rest of the deck will get some TLC too. A deep clean to remove any dirt in the face plates and then a coat of polish to add further protection and an impressive finish. Often these decks are rack-mountable and the rear cases are often left bare with a metal plating to prevent corrosion. If you prefer, I can offer a service to spray the rear housing a colour of your choice followed by a gloss coat to further protect the rear casing from corrosion and improve the look of tape deck if free standing.
I am also able to make custom enclosures for your deck which can be made to the 19″ rack specification allowing you to easily bolt in and unbolt your Open Reel deck from the housing. Made from a choice of woods and finishes, these are bespoke and are made to order. If you are buying or have bought one for a domestic setting, a case can help the tape deck blend in better with a more domestic and soft surrounding.