Warble on my 488

  • Thread starter Thread starter CyraxTheRobot
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CyraxTheRobot

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Dear Fellow Tascam Users,
I recently started recording on my Tascam again and after about 2 hours I noticed that the recording started sounding very warbly especially in the highs. I switched to a new tape and tried recording a new song to see if maybe it was a messed up tape that was the problem. At first it sounded good but after a few hours of recording I started getting the same warble on a harmonica part. Anyone experience anything like this before? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
When dealing with 'vintage' tape decks, you really need to change the capstan belt and at the very least treat the pinch roller with a rubber cleaner (read note below) such as the one from caig.com

What you're experiencing sounds like a bad belt and / or a glazed, hardened pinch roller (or one which is gooey / tacky). If it's not hard but gooey / tacky, you will need to replace it. If it's hard / glazed / shiny, you can treat it with a rubber cleaner but ideally should replace it too. (Don't use a rubber cleaner if the pinch roller seems gooey or tacky, as it can make it worse).

You can get the above parts from TASCAM direct.

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I'd start...

by cleaning the heads, tape path, capstan and pinch roller very thoroughly. An unevenly dirtied capstan/pinch roller can stretch or deform the tape. Then I'd follow with demagnetization, if necessary.

Beyond that, I'd suspect the capstan belt.:eek:;)
 
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