Finally! a few questions about my new TSR-8

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Bigsnake00

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After about a year of shopping and waiting, I located a Tascam TSR-8, the last major piece in my analog set-up. I was hoping to get any info that any TSR owners have that would be helpful to me. I.E. What kind of tape works best? 456? I will have this thing professionally calibrated when it arrives, is there any requests I can make to the technition as far as getting the most out of the recorder?

I look forward to learning to record in this medium, and hopefully sharing some of my music with all of you.

Brandon
 
Bigsnake00 said:
After about a year of shopping and waiting, I located a Tascam TSR-8, the last major piece in my analog set-up. I was hoping to get any info that any TSR owners have that would be helpful to me. I.E. What kind of tape works best? 456? I will have this thing professionally calibrated when it arrives, is there any requests I can make to the technition as far as getting the most out of the recorder?

I look forward to learning to record in this medium, and hopefully sharing some of my music with all of you.

Brandon
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Welcome. The machines are generally calibrated for 456. If you don't have the manual, I have a short reference guide which covers most of the non-obvious buttons. This you will need for things like automatic punch-in, which can be a godsend.
 
No, he couldnt locate his manual, I was looking on ebay for one, but if someone is willing to help out, I'd be greatful.
 
Congratulations on your machine man! There is also an RC-30P pedal that you can use if you are lazy like me. I used it with my 488MKII, never got a chance to on my MSR 16 though it has the jack for it and I imagine, since they are brothers, the TSR has the same jack. $30 buck new or something if you go that route.
 
What about a head demagnatizer? What is its purpose, and how does it work?
 
Congrats on the TSR-8. It’s a great machine… very capable.

The factory flux (operating) level is 250 nWb/m, and 456 (or equivalent), as already mentioned, is the recommended tape. The dbx noise reduction is remarkably transparent as NR goes.

You really need the operation/maintenance manual to guide the tech for a full calibration, if it needs it. You should be able to get it from Tascam Parts – around $30.00 I think. techman777 on eBay has them too.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5867848765

I was fortunate enough to get the manual with my TSR-8. I still searched the web for a PDF copy, just for convenience, but was unable to find one.

If you just want a quick check of operating level to see if the machine is still within spec, the RCA output of each track should measure 316 mVolts, while playing a 1 kHz tone from a 250 nWb/m calibration tape, and the VU meters will read 0 (first red LED)

For an even easier check, a 1kHz tone recorded at 0 VU should playback at 0 VU using 456 tape. If the record and playback are significantly out of agreement, especially if low on the outer tracks it should be checked and serviced more extensively.

The machine may or may not have drifted out of alignment over the years. And if the previous user had it maintained it is probably right on and will stay right on for some time.

I would buy a new capstan drive belt and have that changed, unless the previous owner has changed it. Tascam part # 5800698201.

After some experimentation I decided to stick to factory settings and tape. It can do higher output tape like GP9… I ran mine like that for a while with dbx switched off. Concerned about accelerated head wear and the higher cost of GP9 I set it back. The downside of +9 tape is more wear and tear. Since all the machines out there are used, I feel it’s best to be gentle on the tape path to extend the useful life.

Right now 456 is the only new tape you can get. However, if/when RMGI starts producing SM 911 in ½” you can use that too. At 250 nWb/m with +6 tape the TSR-8 has a very clean sound. If you want to achieve some saturation with dbx still engaged you can use Quantegy’s 406 +3 tape.

-Tim
 
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