Tape Labels - What Decks Are You Using To Dub?

[New Forces]

In the last year I've been trying out Tascam 202 MKII and MKIII units to dub my tapes. They sound great but every single one I've picked up used has crapped out in short order - belt issues, captan motor issues and horrible squealing, total shutdowns I can't explain... That's the danger of buying used decks of course, but with this model it's been way more consistent than other ones I've tried.

So - what decks do people like to use for dubbing their tapes? I need suggestions. Thanks!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I also had problems with Tascam decks. Those exact ones. Most of all that sound was often in total imbalance. Left & right channel volumes. Sound would be very quiet or blurry.
Instead, Technics RS-TR series decks, I have used for many many years. I have ended up discarding few of those too, but of course none of the consumer level decks are meant to non-stop dubbing for years. However, these have proven to keep sound crispy, clean, strong and loud.
I nowadays (for some years) check EVERY tape on deck before it goes for sale. Just to make sure that sound is clean and loud. If defects are found, I'll check was that one-off problem caused by tape itself or possibly something to do with deck. It happens rarely, but does happen sometimes.

[AXNAAR]

I bought a Wollensak 2772 stereo duplicator a couple of years ago. It's a real piece of furniture, very sturdy and loud. Slight loss of high-end so need to master with that in mind and clean the heads around every 10 tapes, but so far has dubbed around 2000+ tapes without any major problems. Decent vintage machine that can be found for cheap - paid just £60 for mine.

[Andrew McIntosh]

When I was doing tapes, I got them professionally cut and dubbed. It cost, but it was worth it for the sound quality.

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

Well, to be quite honest, I've used Fairview, Tapeline, E-disco (in Portugal), and I've had issues with all of them although they're supposed to be "professionals" (the issues ranging from a few seconds of music missing from the beginning of one side of the tape to some completely fucked up mastering job that totally ruined the sound of the tape, etc.) It's kind of a bummer.

I had a cheap and used JVC tape deck that lasted for years until one of the channels disappeared from every tape I dub and stopped responding to its knob on the front panel. I then bought a more expensive Yamaha tape deck that started acting weird after only a few dubs. Quite bummed about this.
Oh well.

[NakedLunchRecords]

Me too. Bad experiences with pro services. With the ECTA box by MB I've to dub all the tapes by myself using a good technics rs-az7 (and a az6)...mastering job was made awfully. And it's not fun, actually.
Audio-service, in germany, is good though. But still, if you can, dub at home.

[SiClark]

Best pro service I know is Brutallica. Great quality and very good prices.

www.brutallica.com

[NakedLunchRecords]

I use their

Best pro service I know is Brutallica. Great quality and very good prices.

www.brutallica.com

I've used their services. Nice quality. But as far as I remember...they don't dub tapes...only print covers!