Recursive Delete Audio/Visual

I’m signing out of here for the week. If you have a 4-track question or need to schedule a repair, send an email or contact me via the link in bio.

Meta has been making increasingly terrible choices for a long time now, but the most recent pivot is a bridge too far for me.

RDAV grew as a business partially because of this IG account, so finding an exit ramp is tough. But I think that time will be soon, and I’ll be using this week to start planning that out further.

As a preemptive measure to not lose touch with us, please join the mailing list (link in bio). Thank you for all your support! More news next week.

This next one’s for library lovers only! 📚

We’ve currently got three (3!) refurbished Library of Congress C-1 devices for sale. All three have been deep-cleaned inside and out, with new belts installed. The old, depleted batteries have been removed and replaced with 9V battery adapters for easy portability.

Scroll through the images to see the front and back of each machine. If you’re interested in one in particular, please refer to the serial number written on blue masking tape which you’ll see on the top front of each unit.

For price and purchase info, please contact via the link in bio. No DMs, thanks!

If you have a C-1 or similar LoC or Telex unit, we work on ‘em! Reach out for rates and terms.

Many 4-track and 8-track cassette machines have internal dust guards covering the faders, preventing dirt and lint from getting down into the fader tracks. Some of these machines are 30-40 years old now, so the materials are starting to decompose.

In many Yamaha and Tascam models, the felt has cracked and hardened, crumbling into a fine dust. Exactly the opposite of their purpose! Cleaning the dust guards and removing the dust is one thing, but these materials are just going to continue to decay.

My objective is to return machines to clients with every small detail having been addressed, so the unit won’t need full servicing for a few more decades at the very least. As part of that goal, it made sense to design dust guard replacements.

has been sketching the dimensions for each piece, then I take those drawings and create cut files. We’ve been experimenting with various types and thicknesses of felt, and have had another success with the Tascam 688 pictured here. (Scroll through the photos for the sketch and a standalone shot of the felt piece.)

With many 688 units I’ve worked on, the original rubber dust guard begins to harden and then gets hacked up by the movement of the fader shaft, causing the fader to feel stiff. In actuality, the faders are very smooth, they’re just getting caught up in the jagged rubber. The new felt dust guard we’ve installed solves that entirely!

We’re continuing to finalize designs for more machines. You can be sure that if you send me a device for repair from here on out and it has a decaying dust guard, we’ll have a replacement.

Side note: this Tascam 688 is actually for sale! It has been fully cleaned, refurbished and tested, and is one of the absolute best examples of the 688 that I’ve worked on recently. Drop me a line via the link in bio and I’ll send you all the details!

Visited recording studio in Nashville this week to return this newly-refurbished Tascam 414mkII to and !

The first channel had been buzzing due to a loose wire on the record/playback head, which I reconnected. While the device was in the RDAV workshop, it was deep cleaned, calibrated and fully tested, with all new rubber parts installed.

In addition to the array of reel-to-reel machines Jared and Alanna have at their studio, they’ll be using the Tascam for a bit of tracking as well as tape saturation during mixdowns.

Jared has owned this 4-track since he was twelve(!) and when he first caught sight of it post-repair, he said it looked like he was getting a brand new machine!