r/Technics

Saw this at Goodwill last weekend. Hope it's still gonna be there this Saturday where everything is 50% off!

Hey guys,
I just got this Technics 671 Tape Deck and it really doesn’t play well… The first minute or two are great, but then it starts to wow quite brutally… The weird thing is that you can hear the machine running at inconstant speed during that…

It appears that someone already serviced it in the past and the belts feel relatively healthy and under tension (maybe just the main (capstan) one is a bit slack…

The pinch roller feels good (fairly soft, matte, no cracks), but I feel like it’s just worn down on the sides…

Should I replace the roller or not? I will be replacing the belts 100%, but unsure about the roller…