Machine at rest

MagnumPI

MagnumPI

New member
I'm wondering what is best for my Tascam 388 when I want to take a break from recording.
Should I unwind and take the tape off/shut down the machine if I want to take a:
15 min break?
30 min break?
1 hour break?

Or should I leave the tape on the reel, on the machine?
 
It's a good question. For short breaks, an hour or less, I would leave the tape on and the machine on, but release the tension on the tape so everything is at ease. Since you should warm up a machine by turning it on at lease 15 minutes before recording it doesn't make much sense to turn it off and restart with such short times.
 
Thanks Beck.
I didn't know you should warm up a machine by turning it on at lease 15 minutes before recording. Thanks for that extra little nugget of info.
When you say "release the tension on the tape so everything is at ease" what do you mean exactly?
 
MagnumPI said:
Thanks Beck.
I didn't know you should warm up a machine by turning it on at lease 15 minutes before recording.
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Me neither :O And the tape tension....I'd leave tape on my machine and come back to it a few days later! I guess I need to change my habits...

So does the same thing apply to cassette tapes at all?
 
Back in the tape machine days I would leave the machine running all the recording or mixing day, if I was going to take a break I would back off the take up reel and release the tension on the tape. Every hour I would clean the heads and guides.

Alan.
 
MagnumPI said:
Thanks Beck.
I didn't know you should warm up a machine by turning it on at lease 15 minutes before recording. Thanks for that extra little nugget of info.

When you say "release the tension on the tape so everything is at ease" what do you mean exactly?
Click to expand...

What Alan described...

Turn the take-up reel clockwise a bit so that the tape is slack and the pinch roller stops spinning. Then when you're ready to resume recording turn the take-up reel back counter-clockwise until the tape is against the heads and the right tension roller pulls back up causing the capstan to spin again.

This works on most machines, but on some the capstan spins all the time anyway, so doesn't matter as much. It's still a good idea to relax the tape for long breaks away from the machine.

Hammerstone said:
So does the same thing apply to cassette tapes at all?
Click to expand...

The 15-minute warm up rule applies, but simply pressing the Stop button will stop the capstan motor and bring the heads away from the tape. And again with cassette it depends on the model whether the capstan motor spins continuously or just when the play or record button is pressed.
 
I have heard that it is also a good idea to not leave the reels on an upright Tascam machine. Bent motor shafts have been reported. I never had this problem but now I make sure I don't leave them on, or I rotate them every now and then.
 
Yeah....I do the same as Alan described.

If I'm not going to be running the tape for a period of time, like say....30 minutes or more....I just hit the EDIT button on the MX-80which releases the breaks, and then I loosen the spool tension so the guides are at rest, which also stops the capstan from spinning....but the machine always stays on, even if it's an all day long session with breaks in between.

I do that not because any concern for the tape....the tape will be fine just sitting there for the most part. I do it more for the capstan wear, to release the springs and also to let the machine cool down a bit, as the spinning capstan will keep the heat up.
The deck still stays warm and powered up, and it's in a "standby" mode, so as soon as I spin up the capstan it's ready to go.
You want to avoid a lot of power cycles.
 
Good to know, re: the capstan. I've left tape on the machine for days at a time, but I never left the machine on for any long periods either.

The 244's capstan spins continuously if there's a cassette is, so I guess this means, leave the machine on, take the tape out!
 
Hammerstone said:
The 244's capstan spins continuously if there's a cassette is, so I guess this means, leave the machine on, take the tape out!
Click to expand...

Yep, you can hear the motor wind up when you snap the cassette in place. So just lift the cassette enough that it stops and that will do the trick.
 
Just because I've been wondering... On all my previous machines, I would lower the take up reel to stop the capstan when I wasn't recording and leave the machine on all day. However, I upgraded to an MS-16 and the capstan is always running. Does anybody know if TASCAM anticipated people leaving the machine on for long periods of time (I'm sure they did)... so did they design the capstan motor to be able to handle like a crazy amount of use? It's always kind of bothered me since capstan motors for the MS-16 are super expensive and never come up.
 
Ignatius- said:
It's always kind of bothered me since capstan motors for the MS-16 are super expensive and never come up.
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Rolls Royce jet engines are also super expensive and most of the airplanes they're attached too rarely fall out of the sky. Maybe there's a correlation there you're overlooking! :)

Cheers! :)
 
Rolls Royce jet engines are also super expensive and most of the airplanes they're attached too rarely fall out of the sky. Maybe there's a correlation there you're overlooking!
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I see what you did there! :rolleyes:
 
the MS16 capstan motor, is a brushless design. They run much longer than the brushed motors. The Tascam 42 also has an always running capstan. It maybe possible to modify the machine to make it stop when not in play.
 
Do you have something against the MS-16 capstan motor?
Click to expand...

Nope. Just being a noob.

the MS16 capstan motor, is a brushless design. They run much longer than the brushed motors. The Tascam 42 also has an always running capstan. It maybe possible to modify the machine to make it stop when not in play.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! No concern now, I just didn't know that.
 
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