388 going into surgery...

[Goldenvoice388]

So, this is it. I've already paid $90 to have the unit looked at, and that would be applied towards the $315 total estamate to send the head out for re-lap, and set it back up, good to go.

Just wondering if I should go through with this. I seem to remember someone with experience with these things claiming 388 heads are damn near impossible to wear out...

but everything wears out, right?

thoughts?

Still, I only have to spend another $225 to have a studio, as op to not having one....

G

 

[The Ghost of FM]

If enough hours are put onto the head, yes, they will wear down and eventually require a re-lap job to bring back a smoother and even contour to the head through all of its tracks.

The issue of slower wear on a 388 head comes into play because of the thiner tape format that runs at 7.5 ips under less back tension setting then other machines which run with larger reels and faster 15 ips speeds which grind the head down twice as fast.

I'm assuming your technician found excessive and un-even wear on the head and thusly recommended the re-lap?

The price he's charging you for the complete job seems very fair as the calibration process is more tedious with a 2 head machine like yours.

Good luck with the project and nice to see people spending money to keep their gear in shape rather then scouring ebay to pick up someone else's problems.

Cheers!

 

[Goldenvoice388]

Yes, I don't need another machine full of problems - it's kind of like used cars - they'll ALL need $$$'s thrown at them.

The original problem I encountered was a guitar on track 1 fading away as I mixed - or so it seemed.

I took it to the nearest tech (25 miles), and he managed to get the head so out of whack, It would only record on the center channels.

So I made the 2 hour each way drive to the most reputable in Oregon - they're recomending a re-lap.

I believe I'll call them in the morning, and give them the go ahead.

Of course, there is still the possability the lapping folks will find the head non-repairable, in which case?????

 

[The Ghost of FM]

It's pretty unlikely that the head would be un-lapable as most heads can usually sustain two re-lap jobs over their lifetime before there's not enough metal left on the surface to reground back into a usable and even fitness.

And besides, if that was the case, and your technician is competent, he wouldn't recommend a procedure that couldn't be performed.

Cheers!

 

[Beck]

Relap, if needed, is a good investment. The 388 heads are no longer available new. Considering you get a full alignment with a relap, you really can’t beat it.

 

[MULEFAN]

Goldenvoice- I had the same problem with my 388 when I bought it. Track 1 was out, or so it seemed. I just gave the head a DAMN GOOD cleaning, and the track magically re-appeared. It happened one other time since then, and I found that running the tape in fast-forward, while pushing the tape up on to the head briefly got track 1 cleaned up again. And now it has been okay for a good long while. Just something to maybe try out. Good luck, the 388 is a completely awesome analog studio. I even named my last cd "388" in it's honor!!

Steve Z.