Tascam 388 for me?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erockrazor
  • Start date Start date
jpmorris said:
A suggestion for the existing tapes...

If you have the patience to wind it by hand, or access to a machine than can take 10.5" NAB spools, you could buy a couple of pancakes and wind them onto the empty spools. A single spool of 2400ft or (thinner) 3600ft tape should fit on two 7" spools.
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Thats a good idea. Ordering pancakes is any less money because of no reel? I can imagine the winding being pretty exhausting. I consider myself patient but it will depend on how much cheaper it is to see how patient I really am:rolleyes:. But definitely a good idea!
 
Beck said:
You’ll have a hard time trying to get the right measurements from an old stretched, sticky belt.

All you need is the Tascam part number, which is 5800698201, to order from Tascam. But for your records, if you have a local source here are the dimensions in inches:

Circumference: 13.15
Width: 0.29
Thickness: 0.03

As for tape thickness, tapes vary in total thickness within a class like 1-mil or 1.5-mil. A 1-mil tape can be as much as 1.5-mil and some 1.5-mil tapes are over 2-mil in total thickness. Generally speaking, if the tape is 1800 ft long you have 1-mil tape.

Those in the 1-mil class that are good for the 388:

Ampex/Quantegy 407 & 457
3M/Scotch 207
Maxell XLI 35-90B (UD 35-90 in a pinch, but it has no backcoating)
EMTEC/RMGI LPR35.

There is at least one exception to the rule. EMTEC or RMGI SM468 does well on machines made for 1-mil tape and is one of my favs.

7" Ampex won't have a date code on the box. As I mentioned before I could tell you by looking at the front of the box if you post a pic. The reels are good for other tape as JP mentioned (but it's a pain) or for the empty reel itself as a take-up reel. The Ampex you have should be the nice smoke color reels.

:)
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Thanks for the measurements of the belt. I was thinking of trying locally as my attempts at tascam parts have been futile without a credit card.

Thanks for clearing up the details on tape width too. I now get what you're trying to say. I read up more on sticky shed syndrome and have now also begun to really understand it and why it happens. Would the tapes you mentioned be safe from sticky shed? I have referred to your posts about sticky shed before and want to thank you for taking the effort to help people out.

You preach the word of SSS while Cjacek preaches shipping incompetence. Forum hero's!

I took a picture of the Ampex cover. I guess you can tell the era by the design?

Ampex.jpg
 
Erockrazor said:
Cjacek, the tape you showed me on ebay is 1.5mm thick. But you said 1mm thick is the tape my machine would be calibrated for?
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My good man! I made a terrible error!!:o:o Yup, I recommended one thing and gave a link to another!:eek: The link I gave you indeed shows SM911 and not LPR35! The seller at one time had a number of LPR35 tape on eBay, exactly pictured the same and, I presumed it's the same auction! (I should have read the heading first!). Sorry man, I wouldn't want to steer you wrong but it's a good thing you caught it! <thumbs up!>

Anyway, what you want to get (and it's exactly from the same seller but their website) is:
http://www.splicit.com/recording_tape.html

They're very reliable, good guys so order with confidence. Buy a reel or two of the LPR35 from 'em.

Again, sorry 'bout that!:o:o

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Cjacek!

Thanks for that website. I remember coming across it a while ago on this board. The price of 1/2" tape is a huge increment. I guess thats a benefit of having a 1/4" deck to a 1/2". I can't wait to squeeze 8 tracks onto 1/4" tape!:)

Thanks for the JPG, couldn't have made it any more clear haha. I'm going to try and order some of that once I get the belt on its way. I'll have to get a demagnetizer soon. But I'm sure the list could go on and on. I got quotes from tascam parts. The pinchroller caught me by surprise! I did NOT expect it to be over 30 dollars! OUCH. The belt's somewhere about 9 bucks but needs a 10 dollar minimum for credit cards.:rolleyes: I will figure it out.
 
Erockrazor said:
The pinchroller caught me by surprise! I did NOT expect it to be over 30 dollars! OUCH. The belt's somewhere about 9 bucks but needs a 10 dollar minimum for credit cards.:rolleyes: I will figure it out.
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$30 for a 1/4" pinch roller is nothing compared to the benefits of having one! Compare that with 1/2" pinch rollers, some fools, on eBay, paying 2, 3 or 4 times the going amount (which is about $40 from Tascam). Plus, once you change the belt + pinch roller, you'll be good for many years. The pinch roller and belt, even when they appear acceptable to the naked eye, but are many years old, may even be out of spec by a tiny %, and will influence numerous audio and handling problems of the machine. Trust me, that investment is worth it, especially that you got your 388 for dirt cheap.:D

One last question: When you engage 'play', by holding up the rightmost tape guide and pressing 'play', does the pinch roller (and tape lifters) engage, by going up and then down fully and quickly?
 
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cjacek said:
One last question: When you engage 'play', by holding up the rightmost tape guide and pressing 'play', does the pinch roller (and tape lifters) engage, by going up and then down fully and quickly?
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Yes, a few days ago when I was trying to get it to play, everything would go into place was if it were going to play. :)
 
Erockrazor said:
Yes, a few days ago when I was trying to get it to play, everything would go into place was if it were going to play. :)
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Good to know as sometimes the pinch roller linkage gets frozen (hardened grease probably) when machines sit too long unused. In your case, it works so that's good! :)

Another issue is rubber washers (on the solenoid plungers) which can cause problems. When you get a chance check 'em too and see if they're not too soft or gooey. Usually you want to pull these off (the bad washers that is). Not disassembling anything mind you, just pulling the gooey washers off and hopefully there won't be any goo on the actual solenoid plungers (you can clean those when need be). You get access by taking the front tape area off (the manual tells you how). Again, this is something you'd surely want to do in the near future.

Aren't tape decks fun?:eek::eek::D:D;);)

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Erockrazor said:
I took a picture of the Ampex cover. I guess you can tell the era by the design?

Ampex.jpg
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Yep, that's one of the old sticky era boxes… early 1994 back to 1987 (maybe 86). The newer boxes have the Ampex logo along the bottom instead of the middle… very easy to think they look the same if you aren’t looking at the two different styles side-by-side.

By the look of the other tapes in the picture my guess is those Ampex tapes are probably from the late 80’s. The date code on the old Ampex 7” stuff is sometimes on the hold-down tape on the reel. You have to open it to see exactly when it was made. It will be something like 89215, with the first two digits being the year, as in 1989.

None of the other tapes I listed have sticky shed, except of course Ampex 407/457 made before late 1994 (1995 to be safe).

And you're welcome. lots of good info in this forum from many members.

Analog is getting like Ninja Warrior... many are called but few are chosen. A lot of people think they've tried analog, but really haven't because they dropout halfway... so hang in there.

Stages:

- Choosing wisely challenge
- Shipping challenge
- Belts and rollers challenge
- Sticky-shed challenge (often misdiagnosed as serious machine issues)
- Calibration

It gets easier from there.

:)
 

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cjacek said:
Good to know as sometimes the pinch roller linkage gets frozen (hardened grease probably) when machines sit too long unused. In your case, it works so that's good! :)

Another issue is rubber washers (on the solenoid plungers) which can cause problems. When you get a chance check 'em too and see if they're not too soft or gooey. Usually you want to pull these off (the bad washers that is). Not disassembling anything mind you, just pulling the gooey washers off and hopefully there won't be any goo on the actual solenoid plungers (you can clean those when need be). You get access by taking the front tape area off (the manual tells you how). Again, this is something you'd surely want to do in the near future.

Aren't tape decks fun?:eek::eek::D:D;);)

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Solenoid plungers! Intergalactic plumbing utilties. I'm going to have to find the solenoid plungers in the manual and investigate this situation.


Are tape decks fun? I couldn't tell you.
 
Beck said:
Yep, that's one of the old sticky era boxes… early 1994 back to 1987 (maybe 86). The newer boxes have the Ampex logo along the bottom instead of the middle… very easy to think they look the same if you aren’t looking at the two different styles side-by-side.

By the look of the other tapes in the picture my guess is those Ampex tapes are probably from the late 80’s. The date code on the old Ampex 7” stuff is sometimes on the hold-down tape on the reel. You have to open it to see exactly when it was made. It will be something like 89215, with the first two digits being the year, as in 1989.


And you're welcome. lots of good info in this forum from many members.

Analog is getting like Ninja Warrior... many are called but few are chosen. A lot of people think they've tried analog, but really haven't because they dropout halfway... so hang in there.

Stages:

- Choosing wisely challenge
- Shipping challenge
- Belts and rollers challenge
- Sticky-shed challenge (often misdiagnosed as serious machine issues)
- Calibration

It gets easier from there.

:)
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Well, it says 4,5,6, on the tape on the reel. On the inside of the box is 000012XX15. Too bad it can't even be sold or anything.

Oh no. Dropping out halfway. And I am moving onto step 3 of 5. The halfway point awaits. I can't wait to actually record on this thing. With my optimism, I feel like I am in for the long run. At least to really test this machine. Everything is becoming less intimidating. I was reading the other post about lapping heads. I'm already telling myself I'll be doing that one day. I guess better to be an optimist than a pessimist at this point. I can imagine many people calling it quits with analog. Nowadays it's even harder to get these things running just because of rarity. I will one day have an envious onlooker at my analog setup (hopefully) and I can tell tales of becoming a "Ninja Warrior".

One day , I ... I will be a Ninja Warrior.


Update on the tape issue.

Eric,

We are completely out of LPR35 on 7" reels. The only 7" stock left is the RMGI SM911.

Thanks,
Teresa
Splicit Reel Audio Products
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Out of luck on the LPR35 reels.:rolleyes:

Nowadays it's even harder to get these things running just because of rarity.
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Ya don't say!:eek:
 
Say, what's your take on the quantegy stuff offered in their final days? When it got down to $8.25 a reel for 457, i went a little nuts and grabbed 16 reels!!

Hoping that wasn't a mistake. I've read about their final 1/2" reels having trouble with slitting and such. The first two reels have been fine. The second pic shows the manufacture dates.

(click)



 
Erockrazor: Ask shedshrine (nicely), for a 457 reel. He seems to have plenty! Pretty please...:o:o:D:D
 
cjacek said:
I would have recommended you go here:
http://www.usrecordingmedia.com/rmlp1x18sub.html

...but those bastards over at RMGI raised the price substantially!:mad::mad::mad:
(yeah, right now I'm pissed and I'm right with Tim Beck on this one).

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Doubly out of luck on the LPR35. Though I liked reading that it was a replacement for the ampex 457 open reel tape.


Shedshrine is probably slapping himself for showcasing his collection of 457.:eek:
 
Yeah, man! You bet, but please don't ask about my 7" reel empire,...

of well over 100 reels of new tape, or maybe 2, but I haven't counted!:eek:;)
 
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