Digitizing Old Reels with a Teac A-3300SX

[bedouin]

I'm currently working on a documentary, and have encountered a number of reel to reel tapes that could be used as audio footage. I've always wanted to own a reel to reel deck since a child, so this was a perfect excuse to purchase one.

To do this task I obtained a Teac A-3300SX for a reasonable price. The tapes I'm transferring are 30-35 years old, and consist of lectures, no music. The tapes are 1/2 track, and the Teac is a 1/4 track deck. Both sides of the tapes were used in recording.

Since these are 1/2 track tapes, and both sides were recorded on, I have to adjust the balance to hear the desired channel. The problem I'm encountering is that Side 2 (or the right channel) bleeds into the left channel in reverse, even with the right channel's output disconnected. Most of the time this isn't a big deal, but occasionally it becomes annoying, especially on one tape.

Is there a way I can fix this? Is this occurring because of misaligned heads on my deck? Could it be the design of the heads these tapes were recorded on? Maybe the recorder's heads were misaligned? Or could it just be the chemicals in the tape breaking down after so many years? Do I have any alternatives without spending a fortune?

Sorry if I mess up terminology or am unclear. I'm new to this but someone suggested this forum might be able to help with my troubles.

[bedouin]

Well, I found out that I actually have a A-3300SX 2T, which is a 1/2 track deck. That explains why I was getting crosstalk during playback. Time to find a 1/4 track deck I suppose.

[bedouin]

Yeah, I'm going to hang onto it. It's a nice machine in good condition, and I may find a future use for it.

I may have found a person willing to sell a working 1/4 track player for $10.