Unconventional Cassette Tape Deck Alignment Hacks For Extreme Cassette Sounds?

Even though proper alignment of tape heads are a necessity for playback compatibility when playing a tape from one deck to another but is it possible that a bit “unconventional” alignment results in a superior sound quality from cassette?

By: Ringo Bones

For those old enough to remember how “unconventional” cassette tape head azimuth alignment tweaks back in the late 1970s to the 1990s managed to transform their humble walkman or a car stereo like the famed Pioneer KP-500 to rival that of a full-sized open-reel tape deck or an audiophile CD player using various everyday items like strategically placed match-books, paper clips and even bobby pins knows how rewarding this bit of DIY can be. Though it can be taken to an extreme when it causes cassette tape skewing problems and an “eaten tape”, within a certain envelope, these tweaks can offer rewards in terms of much improved sound quality from prerecorded cassette tapes.

Unconventional cassette tape head azimuth alignment head tweaks gained notoriety back in the late 1970s due to neophytes and jumpy electronic tinkerers upon hearing a tape deck cough, they immediately get hold of a screw driver and give the azimuth alignment screw of the tape head a couple of tweaks. The first thing to remember most of all is that the heads need adjustment only when they are being replaced in the case of worn-out tape heads. To find out if the tape heads do need adjustment – or for those buying a used cassette tape deck at a keen price at a garage sale – check if the tape head’s wear pattern is rectangular. If it is trapezoidal or varies much from head to head, they need to be adjusted. On the other hand, never adjust heads that have actually been worn out unless you want some tape travel and skewing problems. Problems about worn-out cassette tape heads are solved by complete head replacement.

But the good – or bad – news is that within a certain “latitude”, some minimal tape head azimuth tweaks via strategically placed match-books, paper clips and bobby pins – especially in entry level walkmans – can result in treble clarity that can make your humble walkman, car stereo or boom-box rival that of an open-reel tape deck and audiophile grade CD players in the 2,000 to 5,000 US dollar price point. If you have old Hair Metal prerecorded tapes from the 1980s, sometimes, the result can be as eerie as akin to being less than 20 feet away from a well-struck crash cymbal. I remember now that this is how we did cassette tape high frequency clarification tweaks before “affordable” decks by Yamaha and NAD with the “Play Trim” feature became widely available during the 1990s.