Tascam 38 pinch roller

Abominable ID

New member
Hey all,

Does anyone know what the pinch rollers are made of and recommended cleaning solution? I heard no iso alcohol, and that 409 worked well, but it depends on the composition of roller. thanks in advance!
 
I use mild diluted dish soap and dry it off thoroughly.
It's always been my experience that the 'official' tascam pinch roller cleaner just helps to turn it sticky. Do it once, and it leaves you scratching your head, the second time you just throw that shit out.
 
I just use warm water and a piece of lint-less cotton cloth...like a piece from an old T-shirt.

Best thing is to remove the roller (pay attention to screws/washers and the order they go when removing).
That way you can hold it in one hand, wet the cloth and just rub the roller until clean.
 
Read down Terry's page and he tells you to use Dish soap and water. Terry's link

Alan.


Yeah...I've read that... but plain water works just as well, unless you're talking about some really gunky roller.
The thing with dish soap, it's got chemicals, and so you need to make sure it's all removed/rinsed real well, or the roller may slip some against the tape.
I know it's smaller concern...but still.

I also don't believe all "dish soap" is the same. Some of them put oils and hand lotion additives...aloe, vitamin E...etc..etc.
I just find that using plain water makes all that moot...and does the same job.
 
Plain old tap water has all kind of crap in it too. You using distilled water?
 
YESSS!!! I'm so grateful to the replies. I recently bought a Tascam 38 (with problems) and I have a Tascam m-216 on the way (in the mail). But, to get to these two decisions, I scoured these forums for data. To my dismay, most of the valuable content seems to be almost 8 years old. Are there still people out there who know about these machines, the mods, and tricks of their applications? I've been making albums for many years, but I recently decided not to record with anything but tape. I just feel like computers are not "beautiful" enough. I hope there is still a wizened community out there to provide support for this journey. Thanks for the tips about pinch rollers. I am still learning how to use this forum so bear with me...
 
Okay I will use distilled?

Hey, if the leading pinch roller guy on the planet recommends dish soap, it's gotta work. Right?

As to your earlier statement about posts being old. ....well a lot of the old timer tape guys have moved on.

Some like myself are doing hybrid, a mixture of tape and digital to various degrees.
But tape is still alive and well (although we're in the minority)

Newcomers like yourself, coming to this place will help.
Long live analog recording. :)
 
Yes thats true, and I am so glad. It also means there is less room for error regarding supplies and mistakes. I think I read a post somewhere in which a pinch roller disintegrated immediately after a "reconditioning". If dish soap (any brand) works on a 33 year old pinch roller then I believe what is advised, and will clean with confidence! Analog will never die.
 
A 33:year old pinch roller and it hasn't turned gummy? WOW!

I guess tascam rubber cleaner and conditioner never touched that lol :D

But seriously, if that old and still good, that's quite amazing.
 
I use mild diluted dish soap and dry it off thoroughly.
It's always been my experience that the 'official' tascam pinch roller cleaner just helps to turn it sticky. Do it once, and it leaves you scratching your head, the second time you just throw that shit out.

I still have some TASCAM rubber cleaner and have no such issue. I apply it with a swab then use a dry one to remove the excess. Finally, I'll apply a bit more and let it soak in to treat the rubber.
 
Hey, if the leading pinch roller guy on the planet recommends dish soap, it's gotta work. Right?

I'm just saying that dish soap is not a generic thing...and many have weird additives, like lotions and oils meant to keep your hands from drying out and all that....and that stuff needs to be really well rinsed off after washing with it.
Mostly I'm talking about the possible oily additives...so just rinse well with warm water if you use dish soap, but I also don't think that you really need any kind of soap to clean pinch rollers...that are kept regularly clean.
I mean...when I just use water with a cotton rag...in the first couple of wipes the tape residue comes off...and very quickly the rag is comping up clean.

AFA distilled water...I've never been that anal. :p
 
I still have some TASCAM rubber cleaner and have no such issue. I apply it with a swab then use a dry one to remove the excess. Finally, I'll apply a bit more and let it soak in to treat the rubber.

I would not do that.

RFR is right...it's something you use rarely to recondition a roller that's gotten hard or has that slick sheen to it and is not gripping right.
Letting that stuff soak in will eventually turn your roller gooey from the inside out, and you may not see it on the surface until it's too late.

I stopped using that stuff years ago...but way back, I just went with the flow, and you would buy the alcohol and the rubber conditioner in one package, toghether, that's how it was usually sold....though I recall even back then, it said in the instruction not to use too much or too often...so I never did.
I still have half a bottle of that rubber conditioner probably from like 25 years ago.
 
I still have some TASCAM rubber cleaner and have no such issue. I apply it with a swab then use a dry one to remove the excess. Finally, I'll apply a bit more and let it soak in to treat the rubber.

You're lucky. Two times with brand new product it's gummed up my rollers. Never again. :) There's no 'third time's the charm' for me. :D
 
I would not do that.

RFR is right...it's something you use rarely to recondition a roller that's gotten hard or has that slick sheen to it and is not gripping right.

Ironically an automotive product has worked well for 'shiny, hardened' rollers. (For me anyway)

Mother's Bumper black.


Works great on old black tolex as well.

Teeny bit on a t shirt, rub it in and buff it off.

Edit: for all I know it could be the same stuff tascam sells, and i just used it so sparingly, it caused no harm. :D

Anyway, see my disclaimer in my sig.
 
I have used Denatured alcohol on thousands or rollers for cleaning the oxide off and also naphtha on them to recondition them for the better part of 40 years. There has been all kinds of warning for alcohol but I never saw one bit of proof that it ever did any damage. In fact those that did report damage do not understand chemistry and do not use common sense in their analysis.
Those Studer rollers that were green were said to be damaged by alcohol. The truth is that if a roller has such a layer of oxide on it not being cleaned for years and then using alcohol or any other solvent to remove that oxide to then discover that the rubber under the oxide is then sticky is NOT evidence that the alcohol caused the decay of the rubber and that these people are thinking with grade school thinking. The rubber was decayed before they cleaned it as well as after.
I am in the field of tape deck repairs so my experience after all these years can not be swayed by some new comer.
Water and the like does not break down oxides and polymers so basically the method of cleaning a roller with water is one of friction- you might as well have used a dry towel.
 
I have a Tascam 38 I bought new in the 80's. I recently had to replace the pinch roller and the TEAC/Tascam authorized service guy in my area told me the only place to get a replacement is from this guy.
Pinch Roller Guy
I bought one, and it's made of urethane. Practically indestructible. Sorta pricey but worth it.
 
Don't be fooled. The Urethane does not last as long as regular rubber that they used in the past. I put a Urethane on an Otari deck at the Radio Station I was Chief Engineer at in inside of three years it was failing. Now that I am full time in the tape deck repair business I send all of my old or bad rubber rollers to Terry Witt in Sparta MI. He has done at least 80 rollers for me and every one is a work of art and worked well.
Buying roller from high price places is not all that smart as it is easy to rebuild it with fresh rubber with a 10 year guarantee.
All you need know is Terry's Rubber Pinch Rollers & Wheels

I have used the Teac RC-1 for years and still have a lot of it on hand. The main ingredient is Naphtha and the Rubber cleaner was made for Teac by Rawn in Wisconsin. It is Naphtha, coloring and mineral spirits. I have been using Naphtha from the hardware store for a number of years and it does the same kind of job as the RC-1 does. I have been doing these machines for about 45 years so I guess you could call me old school.
 
Martin Yale Rubber Roller Cleaner and Rejuvenator in spray can. Available in office supply retail stores. Or Amazon.
 
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