Tascam 58-OB Story...

sweetbeats

sweetbeats

Reel deep thoughts...
Hey everybody!

I've been posting lonesomely over at the Tascam Forum my extended saga of learning the refurbishing, care and feeding of an atr thru my Tascam 58-OB acquired about a year and a half ago.

It hasn't always been easy, but it is worth it thus far.

Thanks to cjacek, I've been led here. Hopefully cjacek won't regret it! :D

Can't post links yet (need to make 4 more posts), but as soon as I can I'll link to the most prominent thread on my experiences under this thread.

My (very part-time) experiences this past year and a half are proof-positive that even a neophyte can learn how to mechanically and electronically adjust and calibrate these irreplaceable beasts of a relatively bygone era.

Looking forward to contributing here and supporting analog truth! :cool:
 
Hey Cory! Lemme help you with at least one of those links:

http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16764

Also, bring your post count up so that we can bombard you with some green 'chicklets' (positive feedback)!;) Damn, many of those posts over at the tascamforums sure deserve it, not to mention the picts and videos! Oh my!:eek::D

Really, guys, check the link out above. You won't regret it. Basically an illustrated story, spanning a year. Man, what a great and informative journey! :)

Lots on the Tascam 58 and also some on the 48 but info applies to pretty much every recorder out-there.

Of note is the fact that I owned the 58-OB (but sold it regrettably) but currently have the 48-OB. Both machines are amazing.

Another great link (especially great photos of a comparison of head ware):

http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=18315

Cory, let me know which other links you want me to post.

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That thread is a thing of beauty and a work of art. The 58 was a tremendous machine and the scroll wheel made it somewhat similar to an Ampex ATR-100 (a very high end two track machine with a scroll wheel). http://www.precisionmotorworks.com/atr100.htm You are lucky to own the 58 (and the 48). I have a 42B sitting nearby that I bought a few years back. I wish I had owned it when I owned my 80-8/DX-8 combo. I also have a Revox B-77 quarter track that I need to disassemble and repair one of these days, but it has been replaced in my "usable" machine collection by a Teac A-3300SX.
 
Tascam 58 heads, what do you think of these ones guys?
 

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Sweet beats, welcome!! I've conversed with you in post over at TASCAM forums, I'm a member there too. Congrats on your 58OB. CJacek and others here have been a blessing for me as well learning about calibrating my r2r TSR-8. I appreciate your input from my questions on Tascam Forums as well. The heads on your 58 look worn but very useable for sure. Wear seems even too and that's great. I've looked at others since getting my TSR-8 and am still blown away by how lucky I am to have gotten one is such good shape. Congrats and welcome again!
 
A trick of the trade: To get a better view (and pictures) of the heads set an index card below the heads on the deck of the machine so that light reflects off the index card and back on to the heads and you see the reflection of the index card rather than a reflection of the deck. This will give a much better shot of the heads. :D
 
I thought they were a bit worn & might need a relap?

I'm just window shopping as they say.

I've a Fostex E-16 in VGC with mininum head wear but am on the look out for a 1/2" 8 track as I don't really need 16 tracks!

A nice Tascam 8 track or perhaps a Revox C278? If a good deal comes up I'll be jumping on it!
 
Oh This Is Awesome!!!

I'm so used to posting and getting no replies!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!:p

I've got a video of the scroll wheel function on my 58. I'd put up a post some time back over at the Tascam Forum asking what it was for (this was before I'd even loaded tape or understood what the EDIT function was for and how it worked), and then a couple three weeks ago when I finally loaded tape and I was cueing up the beginning of a tone on the test tape...had it in EDIT mode and I'm rocking the reels and then I was like "Waaaiiiit a minute...[hand moves from reels to scroll wheel]...oh man...that's coool..."

mamm7215...good to dialogue with you again!

Richard, wow...that's what these forums are about...I've had a bear of a time trying to get the angle right with the camera to avoid reflective and flash glare...that index card bit would work great! I'll try that next time. Thanks!

trancedental, I concur with other's statements about the heads on your 58. They've definitely got life left but do show wear. Go to analoguerules.com and look at the "What BAD HEADS Look Like!!!" link. The big visual indicator of a bad head is the gapping. Can't see anything like that on yours, though it would really take a little better picture quality and lighting to know for sure. mamm7215 is right, the wear is very even and that's good...but what is going on with the right tape guide? I can't tell from picture for sure, but do you have some uneven grooving there? If you can, try Richard's index card trick and put up a couple more pics. They don't look physically ready for a relap according to what I've seen and read (unless there is gapping or you can't bring the deck into spec on a calibration...those are the two biggies that tell you for sure).

cjacek, thanks for the offer on surrogate linking! The one I put up on the sync cable is another one that might be helpful with the cable schematics I redid from Tascam and the details from my conversations with Jimmy at Tascam...its here: tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=17273&hl=. Big kudos to Pianodano, Tascam Forum member too for his help, wisdom and knowledge. If you could convert that to a link would make it even easier for viewers and members alike.

Wow...this is great...Thanks everybody!
 
sweetbeats said:
I'm so used to posting and getting no replies!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!:p

I've got a video of the scroll wheel function on my 58. I'd put up a post some time back over at the Tascam Forum asking what it was for (this was before I'd even loaded tape or understood what the EDIT function was for and how it worked), and then a couple three weeks ago when I finally loaded tape and I was cueing up the beginning of a tone on the test tape...had it in EDIT mode and I'm rocking the reels and then I was like "Waaaiiiit a minute...[hand moves from reels to scroll wheel]...oh man...that's coool..."
Click to expand...
The scroll wheel is a great feature, but you would find it even greater on the 52, a machine that you would probably do more editing on than an 8 track machine. If you can find a 52 out there, snatch it up. I used to do a lot of editing on the Ampex ATR100 that I mentioned above (I worked in remastering for an outfit that had one when they first came out) and the scroll wheel certainly simplified that process.
 
Another trick of the trade: Many years ago I had a marking fluid (can't recall what it was, but it was black) that I used to put on the heads and then run tape over the heads to show the wear pattern. The mark would disappear in the wear pattern as the tape ran over it leaving an exact wear pattern very visable to the naked eye (or the camera). After verifying the wear pattern I would clean the heads to remove the remaining marking fluid.
 
trancedental: While I agree that a better picture would help, I can immediately tell that both rec / play heads show a significant flat spot, wear pattern. It looks even though. The tape lifters show substantial wear and I too wonder what's going on with that right tape guide. If that's uneven wear, as sweetbeats pointed out, then it's rather severe. That's not good and would otherwise backup the fact that the heads do show substantial ware.

Do the heads need a relap? It's hard to tell how much metal is still left but usually if you can't get the recorder to align properly, no matter how much you tweak, then it's a candidate for a relap, if the gap is not showing, as sweetbeats mentioned. If I had that much wear on my machine I'd want to compensate by doing a full calibration, at least an electronic one, freq response, bias etc....

We do need a better picture of the heads and tape guides.

Along with Richard's index card tip, try to mount your camera on something stationary and, if possible, use night shot mode and try to open the shutter for a bit more time. That way you'll have a bright, sharp pict.

sweetbeats: Here's the link you asked for:

http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=17273&hl=

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Hey Sweetbeats, welcome to this little corner of the world...........I too use to hang at the Tascam forums, originally when I was troubleshooting an ATR-60 for a mate and then after I purchased one for myself but I found the guys and activity here to be more to my liking and this was the first forum I ever joined on the www a long time ago.

I was having a quick read of your "58" thread and it would be nice to try and drag pianodano and others over here.

ChrisO :cool:
 
ausrock, thanks for the welcome!

I'll encourage Pianodano and others to get involved over here, though I know he is really busy, and I'm sure he would likely be contributing more than receiving based on his knowledge and experience (hence why he is wanted over here...:D)

Everybody:

Please check out the updates to my thread over at the Tascam Forum (tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16764&st=0)...sorry to make you look over there, but I couldn't get the videos to post up over here...too big maybe?

Anyway, please check it out...had a wierd issue when doing the overall record frequency response calibration last night...more questions than answers for sure.
 
WOW! a 58!
I have a 48 that I love dearly! One of these days,,,,,I'll have a 58.
These are incredible machines!

Randal
 
sweetbeats said:
Please check out the updates to my thread over at the Tascam Forum (tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16764&st=0)...sorry to make you look over there, but I couldn't get the videos to post up over here...too big maybe?
Click to expand...

Cory, the file size limit is like 64kb here so it's best to use an outside source for bigger files. This could be good: http://www.youshare.com/video.html but I'm sure there are other places as well.

Also, your link above is not showing up. Try putting the entire link string as it appears in your window:
http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16764&view=findpost&p=111413

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Cory, I took a look at video 2 and 3 (video 1 I can't unzip 'cause it's showing that it may be corrupt). Anyway, if what I understand is correct, what you're getting, as far as neighbor needle deflect, seems normal. Strangely I performed the exact same test (on my 48-OB) and was also getting major deflection when at 20Khz, much less so at 10Khz. I'm not sure why but I think it has to do with the extremely high frequency that's bleeding onto the other channels. I don't think there's anything to worry about here but I'd like others' opinions on that as well.

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cjacek,

Yeah I wondered about that ("hoped for" might be more fitting)...crosstalk...1.23volts RMS at 20kHz could be pungent...and I *think* I understand why it would only do it in sync monitor mode...

I'm trying to re-upload the Part 1 video so check back over there when you have a chance.

So does anybody else concur with cjacek and I on this issue?
 
Take a lookie when you can...

Several new posts on my related thread over at the Tascam Forum here.

I got the Strange Problem Part 1 video re-uploaded (so the recent upload is not corrupt) and there are some good responses from some trusted Tascam Forum members...look there, post here...yah. :cool:
 
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