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Seanyworny
New member
That's correct
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertblythin/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertblythin/
jpmorris
Tape Wolf
So, am I to read this correctly as you got a Tascam 80-8 that's modified for 1" tape?
There was one of these offered on Ebay UK last week or so. Interesting looking machine. It was not cheap and they didn't have pictures of the heads, but it was certainly an unusual piece of equipment.
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Seanyworny
New member
That's the one! A mate went to check it out in person and seen it working for a couple of hrs before we bought it. The fella was a gent- he threw in 4 reels of 3M Scotch 1" 256 High performance mastering tape, a take up reel, an authentic MRL calibration tape - 15 ips / IEC (IEC1) / 355 nWb/m, 8-8 looms for console connection and hand made remote along with the original general usage manual/service manual.
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guitarmaker
New member
Did he tell you why he did the modifications? That's not really a machine I would expect to see that done on. I could easily imagine the new heads costing more than twice what the machine was worth. I could see it being used for remote location work as it's nowhere near the size of every other 1" 8 track I can think of.
Steve
Steve
jpmorris
Tape Wolf
According to the auction, it was done professionally when the machine was new. Not a recent change.
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
I've read about this somewhere before...there were a number of them done, aftermarket but well done IIRC...Hmmm...I'll see if i can find that info again.
Cool find!
Cool find!
O
ofajen
Daddy-O Daddy-O Baby
So, am I to read this correctly as you got a Tascam 80-8 that's modified for 1" tape?
One thing I'd wonder about is whether there would need to be any electronics mods to handle the wider tape. AFAIK, the electronics would not have been designed with the capacity for meeting the demands of the wider tracks in mind, and the circuit capacities might be exceeded. Does it adequately bias and erase? Can you still record at the maximum design calibration level without excess distortion? There may be no problems whatsoever, but I would want to make sure.
Cheers,
Otto
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
IIRC, and I think I am, all that kind of stuff was well thought through and addressed.
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guitarmaker
New member
I would also think that the braking system and perhaps the reel motors would need to be different in order to handle the heavier reels. All in all it seems like not a worthwhile mod to this deck.
Steve
Steve
R
RRuskin
Rick Ruskin
According to the tech types that I knew @ Tascam, the stock 80-8 transport was designed to handle 1" tape with no problem.
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guitarmaker
New member
Well that would surely make it the most portable of all 1" 8 tracks.
Steve
Steve
cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
That modded TEAC 80-8 is almost as rare as the Brenell Mini 8, also a 1" 8 track:
http://www.allen-heath.com/veterans/product.asp?product=Mini 8 (BRENELL) (Check out the literature on that page. It's pretty cool.
)
I would love to have either of the two (or both
).
http://www.allen-heath.com/veterans/product.asp?product=Mini 8 (BRENELL) (Check out the literature on that page. It's pretty cool.
)I would love to have either of the two (or both
).Attachments
jpmorris
Tape Wolf
Fantastic that A&H actually have schematics for it on their site. Most companies would purge all memory of it...
As for its rarity, probably in the US that's true. In the UK they do turn up on occasion. I've never come across the TEAC before, though.
O
ofajen
Daddy-O Daddy-O Baby
Actually, John Stephens made some very compact 1" 8-tracks that would be competition for the honor. He started using the 3M M-23 transport and his electronics were simple and lightweight, since he went with unbalanced electronics and no transformers (both the choice of transport and electronics are part of why they are considered about the best sounding machines ever.)
Anyway, the 1" 8-tracks were little larger than the bare M-23 transport. Probably a little heavier than these other machines, but also probably much more stable because the transport plate is milled from a 2" aluminum casting. I saw a machine like this on eBay a few months ago. If I were still inclined to make room for a large format machine, it might well be a Stephens deck, though I'm more likely to go for a 2" 16-track. Those can still be fairly compact and were often used as portable recorders and in mobile trucks back in the day.
Cheers,
Otto
R
RRuskin
Rick Ruskin
Sadly, I don't think there is anyone around who knows how to service any of the Stephens machines since his death.
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ofajen
Daddy-O Daddy-O Baby
I've done the work on my 3M transports over the years. My friend Mitch Easter had a Stephens machine at least until recently and David Josephson has one. I reckon they both have some knowledge of how to maintain the machines.
Plus, the machines are so simple that there may not be that many service issues: eventually he even took out the capstan and went capstanless with DC reel motors and on many machines the heads were glued in place so they didn't have much capacity to go out of alignment. One challenge would be to find some spare amp modules, since they are proprietary. I'm not sure who might have those.
Cheers,
Otto
R
RRuskin
Rick Ruskin
Those proprietary electronics are primarily what I was referring to.
BTW - 3M's decision to only sell complete machines forced John into designing his own transports.
O
ofajen
Daddy-O Daddy-O Baby
Yeah, I seem to recall hearing that from Dale Manquen.
OK, here's what's scary... Mitch did trade his 811-c and the current owner (someone I know) needs cash right away, so I may be about to make an offer. There is a decent stock of spare electronics and the heads are OK, so it's only mildly insane for me to consider this.
Yikes.
Otto
O
ofajen
Daddy-O Daddy-O Baby
You all may find this interesting... and I'm talking about pages 2 through 4...
http://www.dvq.com/hifi/images/stephens.pdf
Cheers,
Otto
http://www.dvq.com/hifi/images/stephens.pdf
Cheers,
Otto
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dodgeaspen
New member
Sounds like everyone likes the 1/4 for mastering.