just received a 488 mkii that is acting up. all channels work fine, but channel 7 plays back material at an incredibly low volume. it WILL record, and it sounds great through the mixer portion of the unit, but upon playback it is -15 to -20 db lower in volume than recorded, and muffled. Using a Maxell XL ii. I also tested a Cassette inside this machine that had recorded material already printed on it from an identical 488, and from track 7 still played back with the pre mentioned symptoms yes i have cleaned the heads with isopropyl alcohol. any ideas? any repair shops on the east coast that can help?
Isopropyl is NOT the right chemical and Denatured will clean them better. It is possible that there is a bad solder joint or even a dirty switch in the unit.