Help with Tascam 22

  • Thread starter Thread starter leddy
  • Start date Start date
If it's not the tape it could be a lot of other things if it was sitting in a garage or warehouse. There could be a really big spider in there holding the brakes down, refusing to be evicted... :D

Seriously, it could be a combination of things if the machine sat around long enough, including frozen brakes, needs lubrication, broken belt, etc.

You'll find out with a good tech looking into it.

We'll hope for the best.

:)
 
Up and running. :)

I met a local tech. Great guy. He just works out of his home, retired from doing recording and radio work.

I watched him replace he capstan belt and clean it up a bit. He thought the machine was in decent shape. While the heads are not new, he thought they have plenty of life left. He tested it and felt it did not need anything more. Total charge was $40. I was so happy I gave him a nice tip as well. I figure I gotta make some friends who can help me when I need it.

Took it home and put it to work. I immediately made some comparison files digitally, then mixing to the Tascam at both 7.5 and 15 IPS. I put it back into the computer and compared. I like the sound of 7.5, but I lose a little too much high end and the hiss gets pretty obvious. I think the answer will be in smacking it a little harder at 15 IPS and/or trying different tape (I'm using LPR35). I'm really pleased with the sound. That's quite an understatement actually.

Since I do location recording, hauling around an analog machine does not seem realistic, but at least I'm getting closer mixing to 1/4".

Anyway, thanks again to everyone here. I wish I could buy you all a beer!
 
leddy said:
Up and running. :)
.....
Anyway, thanks again to everyone here. I wish I could buy you all a beer!
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Glad to hear it! Don't worry about the beer (gluten intolerance), but I'll take a whiskey any day!

-MD
 
leddy, great to hear the great news! Man, you're blessed to have found a local (and inexpensive) old time technician. They're a rarity.

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leddy said:
Up and running. :)

I met a local tech. Great guy. He just works out of his home, retired from doing recording and radio work.

I watched him replace he capstan belt and clean it up a bit. He thought the machine was in decent shape. While the heads are not new, he thought they have plenty of life left. He tested it and felt it did not need anything more. Total charge was $40. I was so happy I gave him a nice tip as well. I figure I gotta make some friends who can help me when I need it.

Took it home and put it to work. I immediately made some comparison files digitally, then mixing to the Tascam at both 7.5 and 15 IPS. I put it back into the computer and compared. I like the sound of 7.5, but I lose a little too much high end and the hiss gets pretty obvious. I think the answer will be in smacking it a little harder at 15 IPS and/or trying different tape (I'm using LPR35). I'm really pleased with the sound. That's quite an understatement actually.

Since I do location recording, hauling around an analog machine does not seem realistic, but at least I'm getting closer mixing to 1/4".

Anyway, thanks again to everyone here. I wish I could buy you all a beer!
Click to expand...

Good to hear. So you've dumped the 407 and gone with LPR35... That's probably a good thing. Since a bad capstan belt won't affect rewind speed I still wonder about that Ampex 407 you have. Just to be sure here are some pics of good and bad tape as identified by the box style.

:)
 

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Great illustration!

Ha! Classic, Tim! Well done my friend, well done... :D

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The 407 I have is the good stuff. I need to give it a try now that the machine is working.
 
I take that back. I put it on and it slowed down the machine. I pulled it off and sure enough there was sticky stuff starting to build up on the heads.

It has the packaging of the good stuff - is this possible?
 
Ok my turn to be goofy
 

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cjacek said:
Was the box sealed?

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It was sealed. I'd be willing to send it to someone to take a look at. If this tape is not known for SS, I don't want to start bad rumors. The machine had SS on it when I got it. I cleaned it, but maybe some SS got on this roll of 407 and contaminated it?
 
leddy said:
It was sealed. I'd be willing to send it to someone to take a look at. If this tape is not known for SS, I don't want to start bad rumors. The machine had SS on it when I got it. I cleaned it, but maybe some SS got on this roll of 407 and contaminated it?
Click to expand...

It's possible the tape was bad out of the box, but a bit unlucky. The box style was changed slightly before the new formulation came out... both in 1994. I’ve never personally experienced or heard of any bad 407 456/457 in the new style box, but there was a very short run of old tape in new style boxes.

For 10.5” reels you can look at the date code on the box and I recommend only 1995 and later to be safe, even though the formulation changed in late 1994. With 7-inch Ampex there is no date on the outside so you have to go by the box. Quantegy kept the Ampex brand on the box for several years after the magnetic division became Quantegy.

The only way to be 100% sure of no sticky with 7-inch is to look on the back of the box. It will either say Ampex Corporation, Redwood City California or Quantegy, Opelika, Alabama. The Opelika tape is 100% sticky-shed free. But again I have lots of new-old-stock 456, 457 and 407 marked Redwood City with no issues.

Good tape can also be contaminated by a gunked up tape path. The most common problem is dropouts from pieces of shed sticking to the new tape. Once the tape path is clean the contaminated tape should otherwise run normally.

:)
 
Mine is Redwood. Too bad, because there is actually a local store with a supply of it. No big deal I guess, the LPR35 seems to work well and it's easy to find. The music I record has a pretty wide dynamic range, so the headroom is nice. Still it would be nice to have an option that was closer to 407 when I want more saturation.

By the way, how many times can you record on a roll of tape before it wears out? I'm mixing out of the box to tape, so I can keep re-using rolls after I feed it back in to the box. I'm wondering how much tape I need to keep around.
 
leddy said:
Mine is Redwood. Too bad, because there is actually a local store with a supply of it.
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I hope I explained it well enough. Just remember that most tape from Redwood City in the new box style is ok, and all tape from Opelika, whether branded Ampex or Quantegy is ok as far as sticky-shed.

leddy said:
By the way, how many times can you record on a roll of tape before it wears out? I'm mixing out of the box to tape, so I can keep re-using rolls after I feed it back in to the box. I'm wondering how much tape I need to keep around.
Click to expand...

Potentially thousands of passes on a well maintained machine with a gentle transport. There are two types of failure: 1) deterioration and 2) catastrophic breakage. Most tape deteriorates gradually. It won’t normally fail all of a sudden unless the transport is rough with abnormal spikes in tension between modes. Usually a tape develops an unacceptable amount of dropouts and pops long before it breaks, if it ever breaks. The acceptable amount of dropouts and popping depends on type of music and the judgment of the user.

:)
 
Beck said:
I hope I explained it well enough. Just remember that most tape from Redwood City in the new box style is ok, and all tape from Opelika, whether branded Ampex or Quantegy is ok as far as sticky-shed.
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You did, I'm just thinking that if it was a bad roll, I probably shouldn't buy another from the same lot, which is too bad because it's right near my house.

I could go talk to the guy and see what he has and where it came from.
 
Just bought a second 22-2.

Same guy who repaired my first one sold it to me. It's in fantastic shape, and he gave me a great deal (No spiders). I fiugure that I better keep a spare in the event of a breakdown.

Time to start looking for some 4 or 8 track machines...
 
leddy said:
Just bought a second 22-2.

Same guy who repaired my first one sold it to me. It's in fantastic shape, and he gave me a great deal (No spiders). I fiugure that I better keep a spare in the event of a breakdown.

Time to start looking for some 4 or 8 track machines...
Click to expand...

My Tascam 22-2 is by far the best and quietest reel to reel machine I've ever had. A while back, one of the two channels quit working. No record and no playback. I sure wish I knew what the problem is, but sending this 65 pound monster thru the mail would cost a fortune...not to mention what a tech would charge. Anybody have any ideas on the solution? :confused::)
 
I'd start by opening it up and re-seating any plug-in cards that are inside, putting some DeOxit on the connectors as I go.

Does the 22 have individual amp cards for each channel? If so, swap them and see if the problem follows the card. Then you can be reasonably assured that it is a problem with the card...much easier to ship. :) Or better yet, you might be able to find the problem with the card yourself. Cold solder-joint on the connector or elsewhere, stuck relay, that sort of thing.
 
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