bachelorb
Cowboy Chord Virtuoso
What??? Two projects going at once???? You betcha 
. Actually, I was kind of at a dead end on the 244 Portastudio because I didn't have schematics, but someone on here did, and now I think I can continue that project also.... but for now.... onto the 4 track tape player....
<backstory>. Around seven years ago, I started an ambitious goal of becoming a very amateur campfire cowboy chord guitar player. Goal Achieved!!!
While heading down that path, I started to get involved in recording and then analog recording and this site etc.... and managed to become a very amateur campfire cowboy chord sound guy too (just as a bonus).
Well I got into a little game where someone would record a track on a cassette, mail it to the next guy who laid down another track etc.... until 4 individuals , playing different instruments, would try to make a cool song, not knowing what the previous guy did. Here's an example:
Wyatt Earp by The Bachelor | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Anyway.... one of the rules was the tape has to be recorded at standard tape speed (1-7/8 ips). I had refurbished (with many people's help here) a Tascam 234 which I still use today. Unfortunately the 234 is only a 3-3/4 ips machine. I made due with an old beatup portastudio, but had been looking for a dual speed Tascam 134 for a couple of years..... Last year I found it......
Not being wealthy and extremely afraid of my wife, I have to buy these things cheap and try to fix em. That's what I'm doing here and now. Currently, the tape player has two problems.
1. Blinking liights when its Powered up- I powered it up the first time and was extremely disappointed three lights were flashing after a second or two.
and 2. Degraded test signal on channel 4 output- This may or may not be a problem. I think the RCA jack is a bit corroded. I'll spray it with some Deoxit and see if it gets any better.
I don't have any schematics for this one either, and put in an email to Teac to see if I could be as lucky as Sweetbeats and score a service manual.
I decided to start tearing into the thing. I had to replace the tires and belt on my 234 when I first got it, so I know a little bit about these old 4-tracks..... at least what I can remember..... I could not believe how easily accessible everything was!!! After dealing with the portastudio and the 234, this thing was downright spacious!!!
One of the internet rumors I found was that this tape player was a lot like the Tascam 238. I didn't find that to be true. The 134 doesn't have 4 separate channel cards, and the tape drive is totally different. I was a little bummed about that, since I had the 238 manual and schematics....... but it was pretty easy to see one of the problems.
So the new belt is ordered, and I also ordered some grease or the gears. I hear these old plastic gears can kind of jam up if not lubed properly.
I'll keep updating this as the parts start rolling in......
. Actually, I was kind of at a dead end on the 244 Portastudio because I didn't have schematics, but someone on here did, and now I think I can continue that project also.... but for now.... onto the 4 track tape player....<backstory>. Around seven years ago, I started an ambitious goal of becoming a very amateur campfire cowboy chord guitar player. Goal Achieved!!!
While heading down that path, I started to get involved in recording and then analog recording and this site etc.... and managed to become a very amateur campfire cowboy chord sound guy too (just as a bonus).Well I got into a little game where someone would record a track on a cassette, mail it to the next guy who laid down another track etc.... until 4 individuals , playing different instruments, would try to make a cool song, not knowing what the previous guy did. Here's an example:
Wyatt Earp by The Bachelor | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Anyway.... one of the rules was the tape has to be recorded at standard tape speed (1-7/8 ips). I had refurbished (with many people's help here) a Tascam 234 which I still use today. Unfortunately the 234 is only a 3-3/4 ips machine. I made due with an old beatup portastudio, but had been looking for a dual speed Tascam 134 for a couple of years..... Last year I found it......
Not being wealthy and extremely afraid of my wife, I have to buy these things cheap and try to fix em. That's what I'm doing here and now. Currently, the tape player has two problems.
1. Blinking liights when its Powered up- I powered it up the first time and was extremely disappointed three lights were flashing after a second or two.
and 2. Degraded test signal on channel 4 output- This may or may not be a problem. I think the RCA jack is a bit corroded. I'll spray it with some Deoxit and see if it gets any better.
I don't have any schematics for this one either, and put in an email to Teac to see if I could be as lucky as Sweetbeats and score a service manual.
I decided to start tearing into the thing. I had to replace the tires and belt on my 234 when I first got it, so I know a little bit about these old 4-tracks..... at least what I can remember..... I could not believe how easily accessible everything was!!! After dealing with the portastudio and the 234, this thing was downright spacious!!!
One of the internet rumors I found was that this tape player was a lot like the Tascam 238. I didn't find that to be true. The 134 doesn't have 4 separate channel cards, and the tape drive is totally different. I was a little bummed about that, since I had the 238 manual and schematics....... but it was pretty easy to see one of the problems.
So the new belt is ordered, and I also ordered some grease or the gears. I hear these old plastic gears can kind of jam up if not lubed properly.
I'll keep updating this as the parts start rolling in......
