Help Me Please!

rjack3141

New member
Hi I’m trying to get my husband a gift of aTascam 48OB
Do these heads look good, bad, so-so ...

Should I get this for him or not?
 
It's hard to tell with all that built up crud on them! :D

There is some wear on them, but that would be expected...but TBH, there is a ton of crud on the heads, and the guides almost look like they have some corrosion at their bases...not to mention the pinch roller, etc.

You can't just make an informed decision on a picture like that...and even if the heads were clean, with anything that old, you really have to test it out.
That said...depending on the price...it might be worth the risk, but just keep in mind, if this is some kind of present, you might be better off getting him something else...OR...giving him the opportunity to decide if he wants that deck, based on its condition.

If the picture was provided by the seller...ask him to clean it up a bit before you decide...and then send you a new picture.
If it was me...I wouldn't waste my time with it...BUT...my gear mindset is somewhere else these days. There are a lot of guys who like buying older gear and trying to fix it up and all that, and/or their budgets don't give the too many other options.

Anyway...it might clean up nice...and it might even work OK. Used gear like that always has some risk, especially when the seller apparently didn't take care of it well, or can guarantee that it works or your money back.
Is this off of eBay...? Are there any more pictures and supporting description you can provide...or just point to the listing, so I/we can check it out further for you.
 
My wife has never been successful at buying technical things for me - she tries very hard but usually gets small thing wrong and despite the great idea, it doesn't work.
 
The pinch roller looks like it may be shot, or at least it's extremely dirty. The heads and guides also look very dirty. The heads themselves look average. Not new, not worn out, not too bad. With so many circuits and moving parts, I'd be concerned that this will not be plug-and-play, if that's what you're looking for. @@

Someone who's extremely familiar with this kind of device should inspect and test this in person. Short of that, the owner should prove to you everything works without issues, perhaps with a Youtube video or a Skype call. I would put this through thorough tests. sweetbeats is one of the local experts around here. My feeling is that he'd tell you to pass on this and wait for something cleaner to come along. However, every device should be tested individually. Just caus it looks clean doesn't mean it works flawlessly, and just caus it looks dirty does not mean it doesn't work. There's a lot of variance out there. These are vintage devices. Some require refurbishment of some sort. Some things can deteriorate or fail if they're unused or in storage, even if the owner pampered it.
 
I agree with everything that’s been stated above...don’t really think I have much to add...just chiming in to endorse what’s been stated for whatever that’s worth.
 
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