Tascam MSR-16 Question About Recording

B

brasco1234

New member
Ok-so I bought a Tascam MSR-16 from a music store and got a great deal (or maybe not). I was told it was working. I just tried it out today and I couldn't get it to record. I have one Agfa 1/2" tape reel with a test tone on track 15. I tried to record onto this tape on some of the other tracks. The test tone plays back fine but I could not get anything I thought I recorded to play back. The meters responded to my audio when I had them selected and record pressed. The tape ran through the machine with the record light lit when I pressed Record and Play. But no sound came out when I tried to play it back. Also, none of the meters lit up on playback except for track 15 which had the test tone on it.
Am I missing something here? What is happening? Why won't it record? I don't have the manual so I am seriously in the dark here. I want to sell this thing b/c its too big for me anyway but I want to know it works first.
Your help is so greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
 
brasco1234 said:
Am I missing something here? What is happening? Why won't it record? I don't have the manual so I am seriously in the dark here. I want to sell this thing b/c its too big for me anyway but I want to know it works first.
Click to expand...
No, its no good and broken. Send it to me and I'll get rid of it for you. :D

Seriously, make sure that you've pushed the button with the number on it below each track that you'd like to record on. These select what tracks you are recording on to - it sounds like you've got it in record mode but haven't selected any tracks.

Cya
Andrew
 
Record on tracks

Hi all-
No, I had tracks pressed to record on. I've used multi-tracks before so I knew to do this. And when I went to play them, I pressed the button off. Still no luck. I tried that Insert thing somebody suggested and that didn't do anything. What is insert for?
Thanks,
Chris
 
brasco1234 said:
Ok-so I bought a Tascam MSR-16 from a music store and got a great deal (or maybe not). I was told it was working. I just tried it out today and I couldn't get it to record. I have one Agfa 1/2" tape reel with a test tone on track 15. I tried to record onto this tape on some of the other tracks. The test tone plays back fine but I could not get anything I thought I recorded to play back. The meters responded to my audio when I had them selected and record pressed. The tape ran through the machine with the record light lit when I pressed Record and Play. But no sound came out when I tried to play it back. Also, none of the meters lit up on playback except for track 15 which had the test tone on it.
Am I missing something here? What is happening? Why won't it record? I don't have the manual so I am seriously in the dark here. I want to sell this thing b/c its too big for me anyway but I want to know it works first.
Your help is so greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Whoever sold it to you said it is working. If you set the track to record(armed it) and pushed "play & rec" together, this is about all there is to it. If this fails (it looks like it did) then:

Check any and all connectors going to and fro inside the deck for dirty connections. Next, find the master bias oscillator and O-scope it to see if it is putting out the bias signal. I had this exact problem on my deck and the master bias oscillator had a bad zener diode. The diode shorted and the bias osc chip and freq divider IC lost it's VCC power. If there is a bias signal, check any relays that route the bias signal to the individual channels. You are looking for a *commom* signal that exists on all channels, like relay power bus, or a commom bias signal return path bus. You get the idea.

The fact that it plays back, but does not erase or record points to the Bias Oscillator not working.
 
remember to run a cable from track 15's output to the input of the track you are trying to record.
 
Hve you tried tracks other than track 1? Is the pan on your mixer set hard right? (That would probably keep the signal from track 1.) It should be either 12:00 or hard left. (Usually, depending on how it's strung up.) Hope this helps, Dave.
 
Are you utterly certain that the test tape had a test tone only on track 15?
Somehow I find that unlikely myself, which would suggest that only track 15 is alive for some reason.

Have you tried putting the test tape on the machine upside-down to see if track 2 will replay?
 
Put it upside down, you mean like put the matte side of the tape against the tape heads? Or run the tape in reverse, like right to left?
How would I do this?
Thanks,
Chris
 
good idea!

just flip both reels clockwise horizontally..so that the same part of the tape touches the heads but the reels are on opposite sides...

if track 15 still plays then u might have a problem.

if track 2 now plays, then there really only is a test sound on track 15 (2).

not to insult your intelligence, but do you understand the track arming and how they disable playback?
 
Do you press insert before you record or after you have recorded?
Yes, I know about track arming on any recorder-if its armed, you can't play it back.
Thanks for your help so far-I'll have some more things to try when I get home.
Chris
 
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