Teenage Engineering TP-7 Tape recorder

jamrod · 2025-05-21T14:28:29.879Z

Just wanted to say that after buying and selling 3 of these (one new, two used) – all of which had quite loud wheel rotation noise that TE support deemed normal – I finally bought a 4th one new and struck gold. Absolutely no noise from the wheel, even when recording room tone in a silent room with the mic compressor on.

So for anyone out there who’s into this device but has stayed away because of the QC issues, know that there ARE properly functioning units out there now. If you can find a retailer with a generous return policy, it might be worth it to buy and return TP-7s until you find a good one. It’s also possible that they’ve sorted things out in newer batches. For what it’s worth, mine is from a restocked batch at American Musical Supply.

SPisfunbutalsodifficult · 2025-05-21T14:32:47.493Z

Ooh that sounds stressful ( 4 units)
Thank you for the report

Great to know the unicorns are out there

herman5115 · 2025-05-21T14:35:31.419Z

Im currently considering “like new” second hand unit - is there any video that shows what bad / loud motor sounds like?

SPisfunbutalsodifficult · 2025-05-21T14:36:25.106Z

I returned two TX-6 mixers…
The third was flawless

schoolbabyboy · 2025-05-21T14:48:31.182Z

as someone who had been yearning for one of these for a while, im glad i didnt commit to buying. at risk of sounding like a broken record, the M8 can do everything regarding recording that i wanted outside of the rocker/wheel interface. and those are definitely big selling points for me, but thankfully the M8 has its own swag to it as well.

Kultschar · 2025-05-21T14:49:43.275Z

what was wrong with the two?

Ottava · 2025-05-21T15:13:58.692Z

PSA for those in the US: Amazon has a decent amount of refurbs sold direct from TE. These units are sold at a 15% discount, come with a 1 year TE warranty, and have a full 90 day return/replacement window. It’s the easiest, cheapest, and lowest-risk path to acquiring a TP that I know of. I was expecting to have go through a couple to find a winner, but I lucked out and got a flawless one on the first try.

macropod · 2025-05-21T16:00:24.638Z

I returned one which had a slightly malformed case causing one of the faders to stick mid way. It was a mild annoyance but given the price & promise I enquired and TE immediately sent me a replacement.

SPisfunbutalsodifficult · 2025-05-21T16:49:48.709Z

@Kultschar

Both had a button that was “soft” / didn’t “click”. I was afraid they would stop to work completely when used daily.

There were no problems with customer service. TE responded quick.

I just hate to return equipment

SPisfunbutalsodifficult · 2025-05-21T16:52:06.433Z

macropod:

but given the price & promise I enquired

Exactly

SPisfunbutalsodifficult · 2025-05-21T17:33:57.423Z

@schoolbabyboy

This is music to my ears.

I have considered getting the T7 ( love the design) but it is too expensive for what it does <> my needs.

I’ve got a M8 on the way though.
How do you use the M8 as a T7
As a stem player ?

instantjuggler · 2025-05-21T18:48:10.784Z

good to confirm all this. it drives me crazy when TE or anyone else tries to say that some sort of wheel noise is to be expected. its totally not!!! its not ok, its not a thing that will come and go over time. you can absolutely get a silent tp.-7. i went through 3 myself. its crazy, the PR spin after the fact to try and say that the design is meant to cause some noise. just makes no sense.

schoolbabyboy · 2025-05-21T20:03:59.613Z

i mainly wanted the tp7 to record my tunes that i make in parks along with the ambient noise of the parks. the M8 records in 32-bit so when i want to record ambient sounds directly to the M8 i plug my zoom h1e into the input and use it as an external microphone to get a bump up from the internal mic.

i have used it for shorter stems as well but thats not really my main use case. i know lots of people like to use it that way though.

SPisfunbutalsodifficult · 2025-05-21T20:27:18.178Z

@schoolbabyboy

Thank you - great way to use it

Ottava · 2025-05-26T16:15:35.528Z

I would love to have a noise gate option for the inputs as well as the built in mic. I often record longer jam sessions and it would be so helpful to be able to speak into a mic to give details about gear/patches being used, but without having the room ambience recorded the whole time. A gate would also be handy for directly connecting older/noiser pieces of gear.

Happyanimal · 2025-05-28T12:42:49.062Z

So how were you able to navigate that return process with TE, because this is their response to my request when submitting a support ticket directly to them-

‘Thank you for contacting us!

the clicking sound that you hear is due to the moving parts inside the bearing mechanism facilitating the rotation of the wheel. as the TP–7 is a mechanical device, there will always be a degree of mechanical noise picked up when recording with the internal mic.

if you want, there is the option to turn the motor off (enter the menu>motor>spin the wheel to X).

if you feel like the sounds are above what is normal (as described above), please feel free to send us a video of your device and we can assess further ’

flos · 2025-05-28T12:48:39.395Z

Same thing happened to me, got the same e-mail. Just sent in a video of the wheel wobbling when playing and sound of the wheel in play mode and fast-forward. Received a new one after some more back and forth. New one has minimal sound, you can hear it when putting you ear next to the wheel but otherwise not. Hope you get a replacement, it’s a fantastic device!

ptomaselli · 2025-05-28T14:01:12.804Z

It’s been mentioned before, and maybe this is obvious, but I think it’s possible for the shiny center of the wheel to become loose (it seems to essentially just screw on).

I’ve never taken mine completely off, but it might be worth checking if yours is loose and if so, gently encouraging it to tighten back up?

I’m unsure if the wheel comes completely off if the center portion is removed, but as it seems to simply screw on, this could be worth a try. I was able to tighten mine just with very gentle downward pressure with a finger and turning it until it became completely flush again.

LyingDalai · 2025-06-09T22:52:19.089Z

29 posts were split to a new topic: Frustration

LyingDalai · 2025-06-10T12:31:19.582Z

6 posts were merged into an existing topic: Frustration with TE support