well guys ive decided to give my gf555 another chance,rather than condemning it to the shed ive decided to keep it indoors and use it.i think it sounds slightly bassy but way too trebley for my liking.before i move on to the topic ive mentioned one thing-does the bass lever actually make any difference to the sound?because on this one you can move it up or down and it has no difference in the level of bass i can get out of it.i am aware as said this model is very bass light,but surely there should be some difference!or does mine just need a good blowing out inside?

right on to the subject-the decks.both decks are fast forwarding,rewinding and i can even get the apld to work but when i hit play the tapes play for a few seconds then chew and stop.is there a seperate belt in there for the play action?or is it the dreaded pinch rollers or something?if theres a repair that someone can talk me through please let me know as id love to get the decks going!

thanks gang.

Yes, the bass slider should have an effect.  Yours might be worn beyond repair, or internally disconnected due to broken contact feelers.

My bass slider only makes minimal differance...same as my m80

to your main problem andy (decks) it sounds like you need to strip her down and basically you need to clean out the inside of where the capstan bar goes...as the rubber sleeve inside has probbly turned to goo...then you need to make another rubber part out of some small tubing...that's what's wrong with mine...it had new belts....Rather you than me lad...I don't like mine enough to attempt this...good luck lad...