finally came up on a (modest) reel to reel

Man, that's real nice of Gary to offer up a manual like that. [THUMBS UP!:)]. So that takes care of the operations manual. All that you need now is a service manual (a separate one you can order from TASCAM) and you'll be good to go, as far as bringing the thing up to spec or close to it. ;)
 
wow that's great thanks herm! ill send off a pm in a sec. Again thanks cjacek you've been a lot of help and it is much appreciated. Definitely intending on new capstan belt and pinch roller.. didn't know about the counter belt so I'll add that to the list as well (im assuming this is the belt that turns the gear for the counter), I'll be picking all this up probably in two weeks or so, as I've set a limit on how much a month I can spend on gear, and I'm over at the moment:)

Another question I have is how you guys deal with cleaning and dusting the internal components, I'm hesitant to use one of those cans of compressed air for fear of moisture. Right now I'm thinking of hitting it with an air chuck attached to my compressor at work while standing a few feet away to reduce the force of the air as I'm sure some of the electrical connections have become quite brittle over the past thirty years or so. Any other Ideas? or would it be best to completely disassemble and clean everything individually?
 
Yes, that belt which turns the counter 0000, 0001, 0002 etc... ;)

Dusting can be accomplished a number of ways and some would actually take a brush, going over all components, while others would dismantle everything, go into yet more detail cleaning (maybe using some contact cleaner) and while others would just do a once over with some compressed air, like in your example. Yes, do be careful with the pressure, as this may damage things, if too close and too strong.
 
Congrats on fixing things up. If I can make a small suggestion about parts and things. Try not to but things that are still available from Teac off junkbay. Most times it's more expensive then getting it from the dealer. I have seen this a lot in the past few months. I had seen a used pair of hub adapters go for like 48plus dollars and if they would have called Teac they could have bought 2 new adapters for about 30 plus shipping. Just be careful.
 
Yup, good advice indeed, to always first contact TEAC / TASCAM about parts, manuals etc.... Often cheaper and higher quality. :)
 
agreed.. especially when I live close enough to drive out to tascam in Montebello and back for probably less gas money then shipping would cost!
 
You can get a lot of the dust out with a can of compressed air...moisture is not a problem. Using an air compressor if you have access to one is even better. More volume/less pressure as you mentioned. My preference is to use a paint brush or machine shop chip brush like 1" wide...cheap at the hardware store and then the crevice tool on the hose attachment of a household vacuum cleaner or shop vac. I like it because I'm actually pulling the dust away and gentle massaging with the brush gets in all the spots the compressed air does not and disrupts the dust so the vacuum can pick it up. Keep the workbench from getting yucky too. BUT...your plan with the compressed air sounds like it will work ducky-fine. Every time I see the pics of your 2340 I miss my 3340...It was mint. I was stoopid. Sold it to go digital because 4 tracks was "too limiting" and the 3340 was "too bulky". Now I know digital has too many bells and whistles for me and the computer, monitors and A/D/A I/O gear is pretty "bulky" too... :o

4 tracks too limiting? Just listen to this performed by famous beagle and his wife, and engineered and mixed on his Tascam 414...! :eek:

I was stoopid.
 
Well I have a brush and a vaccum so I'm probably going to get on that!

Heres about the best shot of the heads I could come up with... they are super dirty I'm going to get on that right now too. Also a shot of the a-2340 in it's temporary spot in my studio, until I work something else out, and the two track akai machine which was basically free with the purchase of some old tape
 

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Man, real cool setup. :)

That's an M-520 mixer and KRK monitors that I see!:D

The TEAC heads look to have a bit of wear, pretty even from what I can see but they're certainly not worn out. The AKAI is pretty cool 'cause the GX heads don't wear and you can use it for tape delay, among other things. :)
 
cjacek said:
Man, real cool setup. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks! it's slowly getting there... getting to the point where I'm going to need a much bigger and more dedicated room, I've been toying with the idea of moving it all into my garage, but if I decide to go that route it's going to be a project and a half;)

That's an M-520 mixer and KRK monitors that I see!:D
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Indeed they are, and now that I have multiple tape machines and my digital setup all up and running at the same time, the routing ability of the 520 is really coming in handy. The more complex my studio gets the more I am impressed by the thought that was put in to the design of that board. And those krk's have always impressed me as being quite decent for what they cost.. something a little bigger would be nice but as is I have no reason to upgrade... yet.

The TEAC heads look to have a bit of wear, pretty even from what I can see but they're certainly not worn out. The AKAI is pretty cool 'cause the GX heads don't wear and you can use it for tape delay, among other things. :)
Click to expand...

Good to have my own diagnosis on the teac heads confirmed! Still being quite inexperienced with the whole analog experience from what your able to see does it look like relapping would be advisable in the near future or do you think it's all right to let them roll as they are for a while?

Ah I was wondering about those heads on the akai, I was pretty amazed by the condition of them so it's no surprise to hear that. It has no problems during playback but I get some distortion out of the left channel when I record. I'm hoping a thorough cleaning of the unit will solve the issue. Then it can function as a bounce machine and I would like to get a delay set up as well but that's going to take some more research as I can't even fathom how to set up the machine for that purpose at the moment, And call me crazy but I really dig those inverse vu meters.
 
DuddyGuy said:
does it look like relapping would be advisable in the near future or do you think it's all right to let them roll as they are for a while?
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Naa, I don't think a relap is in order, not for a good while. I would just go through the electronic alignment to make up for the wear, you know, things like bias, freq ... those things mentioned in the service manual. No need to go overboard though. That plus the new rubber roller / belt and it should rec / play back fine as is. Dub a favorite CD song onto the TEAC and observe source / tape for the difference. Note that with a modern tape it should sound better yet. :)
 
awesome! once again thanks Herm and I hope to be able to return the favour at some point... you ever think of anything let me know!
 
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