Problem with 414

[paperhatrecords]

Hi, I've gone through three Portastudios in seven years, as I use them a lot and eventually the cost of repairing them gets to the point where I might as well just buy a new one.

My third track stopped working the other day (it just has a loud electrical buzz and does not play back any pre-recorded material), and I was wondering if anyone has any advice as to how to go about fixing it? There is only one Tascam repair company in the city where I live, and they charge a minimum $75 just to look at it. I know it probably has something to do with the wires in the tape head, but is it recommended that I try to fix it myself, or should I waste more money on repairing it? Is there any online reference that could give a step-by-step Tascam Portastudio 414 repair? I also have a 424 with a dead tape motor. I don't have any repair experience, but any reference on how to repair four-tracks and tape heads and motors would be awesome and could save me hundreds of dollars in the long run. Thanks!

[twinsemi]

While many repairs can be properly done by a home technician, generally that doesn't apply to the heads. Too much experience and equipment is required to make it worthwhile to do yourself. Bite the bullet and let the shop do it, or buy a new 414. Sounds like you use it alot, so why not? If you spend $150 having one thing fixed on your old one, it might need to be back in repairsville next month or whenever for something comepletely unrelated.

If I am going to fix something like a 4-tk, I would have a service manual for the unit and be ready to scrap the whole thing if it gets too involved, hopefully before buying a bunch of parts, that may or may not fix it. Good luck.