Problems with my Tascam 48

[jeddypoo]

Hi kids. New to the BBS.I just bought a Tascam 48 and it looks like UPS injured it en route to Brooklyn. I bought a new reel of tape (Q 499) and threaded it properly and it will FF reasonably well but it will barely RW and every time I press play it looks like it snags and stops right away. After days of investigating, I finally noticed the the wheel/spoke on the feed side sticks out slightly farther than on the take-up side. Since everything else seems okay, I have to imagine that this is why it's not playing or rewinding- the two spokes arew misaligned. Is this something that I can fix myself reasonably well? Any suggestions? I'm so excited to finally have this wonderful tank of a reel-to-reel recorder in my possesion and it's breaking my heart that it's messed up. Help!!!!

[ssscientist]

If you can't return it to the person or shop you bought it from and it was shipped uninsured thru UPS, then I would take it in for professional repair. You COULD try to fix it your self, but on a machine that age when you get your transport problems sorted out then you may need to contend with belt problems or headwear problems or alignment problems. Best to get it set up by a professional and start fresh.

[The Ghost of FM]

First off; the 48 is a 3 motor direct drive machine. There are no belts.

Secondly, the problem you described sounds like Sticky Shed Syndrome. A condition that is fixed by meticulously cleaning the entire transport parts that touch the tape as it is threaded on the machine. This means cleaning all the heads, guides, lifters, rollers, tensioner arms and capstan with alcohol and Qtips. Once the tape path is clean and I mean completely clean you may find the rewind and play problems solve themselves.

If after that cleaning, you are still having problems, let us know. Odds are the previous owner left some caked on dirt on the parts I mentioned above and it is acting like glue right now for you.

Cheers!

[MadAudio]

Um, pardon me, Ghost, but your statement is a little misleading. Sticky Shed Syndrome is a tape problem. Yes, you do need to clean the entire tape path if you've played a tape that has SSS, but I seriously doubt that a brand new reel of Quantegy 499 will suffer from that, since the problem (which has to do with the binder that holds the oxide to the tape base) has long been fixed on the manufacturing end. This sound like a mechanical problem to me.

[jeddypoo]

Yeah, I have to say, I think it IS a mechanical problem- I will clean all of the transport parts, however- I did clean the heads before putting on the tape. I think the best thing to do is to bring it to a professional repair place. I just don't want to wait to get the money from UPS or whoever, I'm anxious to use this thing, so that's why I was hoping to do it myself. Thanks very much for your help, guys, I really appreciate it.

[A Reel Person]

UPS may have dropped the 48 "tits" down, and probably one of the reel tables is mashed in, and therefore is probably rubbing or binding against the motor. I think a proper resetting of the reel table height might fix this, although it's a fairly difficult task for the right-out-of-the-box analog newbie.

Sometimes, a professional repair tech is the best thing, although if your technical assembly/disassembly skills are decent enough, then go for it!

[jeddypoo]

Okay, well that gives me some idea of the details- I'd venture as to that's what's happening here. I think I'm going to grab my allen wrenches and give it a shot myself- I'm decent at this sort of thing, though not a wiz. It might be worth a shot. Thanks!

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by MadAudio

Um, pardon me, Ghost, but your statement is a little misleading. Sticky Shed Syndrome is a tape problem. Yes, you do need to clean the entire tape path if you've played a tape that has SSS, but I seriously doubt that a brand new reel of Quantegy 499 will suffer from that, since the problem (which has to do with the binder that holds the oxide to the tape base) has long been fixed on the manufacturing end. This sound like a mechanical problem to me.

I never suggested the SSS came from his new tape but from the previous owner's neglect. Re-read my post.

Cheers!