famous beagle
Well-known member
It's fun cleaning her up, huh? 
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
It's fun cleaning her up, huh?
Yeah...strangely so.
It's really clean inside:
I replaced the hex inverter chip for the L-R buss auto-switching...this has been a seemingly growing problem on the 388...failure of U4 on the BUSS B PCB...makes it so you can't monitor anything assigned to the L-R buss, or causes problems monitoring the sum of the monitor mixer. This 388 was working fine in this regard but I'd rather be able to say it won't have that problem in the future.
And I'm disassembling the faders and cleaning them. This is an area I recall being an issue with my old 388...this style of fader is ripe for issues with dirt since the element is oriented horizontally. So I open them up and clean them out, and also gently flex the wipers to ensure good contact in the future. I had a BUSS MASTER fader on my old 388 that was intermittent.
Lookit the dirt that comes off of just one of these small fader elements:
famous beagle
Well-known member
Top-notch work Cory!
Level Anything
Member
This is an example of a 388 that would be justified if priced around $1650. They sell for up to 2K here in NYC and that's only with nothing but a "works good" in description.
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
Been spending a little time the last several nights working on the 388.
There was a tweaked connector on the power supply PCB...was getting some intermittent power issues to the system logic...so I repaired that and reflowed all the solder joints to the connectors on the power supply PCB as well as on the corresponding joints on the motherboard. All better now.
It's pretty much all cleaned up...I'd give it a solid 8+/10. Degaussed the headblock assembly, aligned the meters, and aligned the playback label. Tomorrow I'll finish up with checking the bias levels and doing the record level alignment.
Because I've been noticing the tape packs are sloppy I wanted to double check the tape tensions, so I did that tonight too.
The tension arm roller positions in PLAY mode were pretty much spot-on, as were the holdback and takeup tensions. REW and FFWD tensions were another story...they were both 20-30g too high. I have a suspicion the thicker tape that came with the machine (456 vs 457 or LPR35) is to blame...betcha if I'd mounted some 1mil tape those tensions would be closer to spec. But it's setup for the 456, and I'm going to be selling some with the machine so I dialed in the REW and FFWD tensions.
There's another typo in the manual: on page 1-27 of the service manual, the reel servo PCB reference chart says trimmer R105 is associated with the FFWD mode tension setting, and R206 is the trimmer to adjust the tension in REW mode...that's backwards. R105 does the REW tension, and R206 does the FFWD tension.
Anyway, the tape packs are improved now.
And here it is at the close of tonight's work...I've gone through and double checked all the functions and it still kinda floors me...I'm not used to stuff just working, but absolutely everything works.
There was a tweaked connector on the power supply PCB...was getting some intermittent power issues to the system logic...so I repaired that and reflowed all the solder joints to the connectors on the power supply PCB as well as on the corresponding joints on the motherboard. All better now.
It's pretty much all cleaned up...I'd give it a solid 8+/10. Degaussed the headblock assembly, aligned the meters, and aligned the playback label. Tomorrow I'll finish up with checking the bias levels and doing the record level alignment.
Because I've been noticing the tape packs are sloppy I wanted to double check the tape tensions, so I did that tonight too.
The tension arm roller positions in PLAY mode were pretty much spot-on, as were the holdback and takeup tensions. REW and FFWD tensions were another story...they were both 20-30g too high. I have a suspicion the thicker tape that came with the machine (456 vs 457 or LPR35) is to blame...betcha if I'd mounted some 1mil tape those tensions would be closer to spec. But it's setup for the 456, and I'm going to be selling some with the machine so I dialed in the REW and FFWD tensions.
There's another typo in the manual: on page 1-27 of the service manual, the reel servo PCB reference chart says trimmer R105 is associated with the FFWD mode tension setting, and R206 is the trimmer to adjust the tension in REW mode...that's backwards. R105 does the REW tension, and R206 does the FFWD tension.
Anyway, the tape packs are improved now.
And here it is at the close of tonight's work...I've gone through and double checked all the functions and it still kinda floors me...I'm not used to stuff just working, but absolutely everything works.
famous beagle
Well-known member
Beautiful! Congratulations on getting a great deal; I hope you make a healthy profit on it. You deserve it for sure!
bachelorb
Cowboy Chord Virtuoso
Except for a few dings in the Naugahyde..... that looks about perfect!!!
Level Anything
Member
It's been mentioned before, but I think you'd be helping out owners of these things if you maybe ran a Criagslist ad offering repairs etc for this era of Tascam stuff. These threads are yr referrals.
R
RFR
Well-known member
I brought that same thing up.
As to the 388. That will make someone a real nice Christmas or thanksgiving day present as well as putting a few much needed dollars in your pocket.
As to the 388. That will make someone a real nice Christmas or thanksgiving day present as well as putting a few much needed dollars in your pocket.
j.harv
@#$%
Man you got a great deal! There are still alot of people that are crazy about these machines and looking for them far and wide. You'll have no problem selling it for a good profit. Now if it were me, I'd probably have a hard time letting it go even though I have 2 functioning units.
Kinda silly, but I'm always keeping an eye out for another one at a nice cheap price like you got.
Kinda silly, but I'm always keeping an eye out for another one at a nice cheap price like you got.
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
Man you got a great deal! There are still alot of people that are crazy about these machines and looking for them far and wide. You'll have no problem selling it for a good profit. Now if it were me, I'd probably have a hard time letting it go even though I have 2 functioning units.
Thanks, everybody...I'm sure pleased with how this one is turning out!
@j.harv: yes...of course I waffle about keeping it or letting it go...its like a cassette portastudio but with the higher fidelity tape format and a better quality and more expansive mixer...the 388 sort of hits a sweet spot and they are just so cool looking, but I've become more aware of my limited capacity for working on stuff...there are only so many hours in the day and I *really* want to truly finish the M-__ mixer, and I'd love to fix up my 58 all nice to go with that mixer. And then every time I'm out in the shop and see the MM-1000 sitting there...I miss working on that machine. So I think its important for me to limit what I have sitting around or it will continue to cause me to stray from my own personal projects...I know with the 58 and the MM-1000 around I'd just likely never use the 388, so its better to get it in the hands of somebody who will use it. But I do go back and forth a bit in my mind.
R
RFR
Well-known member
Totally understandable. Having a nice fully functional piece of gear......why wouldn't there be the desire to keep it?
Im sure you'll come to terms with what's best for you.
Im sure you'll come to terms with what's best for you.
Level Anything
Member
Are you buying it RFR?
If I lived closer to him I would be selling off gear right now to be able to pay for it. That really is one of the nicer machines I've seen and to know it's been once over'd by Beats is even better.
If I lived closer to him I would be selling off gear right now to be able to pay for it. That really is one of the nicer machines I've seen and to know it's been once over'd by Beats is even better.
R
RFR
Well-known member
No I'm not buying it. I have my hands full with what I've got already.
But any piece of gear gone through by Cory IS tempting. Even if you don't need or want it. And I am in driving distance.
But no, it will be going to someone else.
But any piece of gear gone through by Cory IS tempting. Even if you don't need or want it. And I am in driving distance.
But no, it will be going to someone else.
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
So this is a bit of an odd update.
I did end up selling the 388 via Craigslist to a local buyer almost 2.5 years ago for a very reasonable price, but considering the market for 388s even 2.5 years ago it was a healthy return for me. Happy seller, happy buyer.
This update actually pertains to one of the other pieces of gear I got with the 388, the Alesis Midiverb II. If you go back to the beginning of the thread you’ll find that for $200 I got the 388 with manual and RC-71 remote, a bunch of good tape, a footswitch, a BBE 362NR Sonic Maximizer, a Boss RCL-10 half-rack space compressor/limiter, and the Alesis. Fixed up the 388 and remote all shiny and 100% working and sold it, the Boss and BBE processors were working, though the Boss processor needed a power supply...found one for $5, cleaned them both up and sold them, and sold off the rest of the tape, but the poor Alesis effects processor wasn’t working right. The power supply was missing, but it wasn’t working right when powered with a makeshift supply. It has just sat out in storage in a rack collecting cobwebs and dust. My thinking was to just give it away for free, but the time it would take to do that, even though minimal, for no return just didn’t take any priority whatsoever. Recently I was reading something that made me wonder if it could relate to what was wrong with the Midiverb II. The other night I tested the theory out and guess what? It works, and works fine. Now, I know these older earlier generation 16-bit 44.1kHz (or sometimes even less) processors leave much to be desired compared to newer digital processors or analog effects...but I find often times they have one or a few effects that are unique to some degree...that in all their obsolescence there is something in their menu that just works for *something*. One of my favorite outboard rack effects processors is my old Alesis Quadraverb. There are a few effects on it I just can’t seem to replicate elsewhere. So who knows...maybe the Midiverb II will offer something like that, but considering the fact I already got back about quadruple+ what I invested in the bundle, the Midiverb II is like free gear...it cleaned up to about an 8.5/10 condition, and is 100% functional. I did spend about $7 at my local electronics shop for a proper power supply for it, but otherwise it was like free. And now it is not a dead piece of something getting older in storage. I’ll put it in the rack and mess around with it more at some point. And with that the chapter of this $200 haul is closed.
Here is the Midiverb II after picking up the power supply:
I did end up selling the 388 via Craigslist to a local buyer almost 2.5 years ago for a very reasonable price, but considering the market for 388s even 2.5 years ago it was a healthy return for me. Happy seller, happy buyer.
This update actually pertains to one of the other pieces of gear I got with the 388, the Alesis Midiverb II. If you go back to the beginning of the thread you’ll find that for $200 I got the 388 with manual and RC-71 remote, a bunch of good tape, a footswitch, a BBE 362NR Sonic Maximizer, a Boss RCL-10 half-rack space compressor/limiter, and the Alesis. Fixed up the 388 and remote all shiny and 100% working and sold it, the Boss and BBE processors were working, though the Boss processor needed a power supply...found one for $5, cleaned them both up and sold them, and sold off the rest of the tape, but the poor Alesis effects processor wasn’t working right. The power supply was missing, but it wasn’t working right when powered with a makeshift supply. It has just sat out in storage in a rack collecting cobwebs and dust. My thinking was to just give it away for free, but the time it would take to do that, even though minimal, for no return just didn’t take any priority whatsoever. Recently I was reading something that made me wonder if it could relate to what was wrong with the Midiverb II. The other night I tested the theory out and guess what? It works, and works fine. Now, I know these older earlier generation 16-bit 44.1kHz (or sometimes even less) processors leave much to be desired compared to newer digital processors or analog effects...but I find often times they have one or a few effects that are unique to some degree...that in all their obsolescence there is something in their menu that just works for *something*. One of my favorite outboard rack effects processors is my old Alesis Quadraverb. There are a few effects on it I just can’t seem to replicate elsewhere. So who knows...maybe the Midiverb II will offer something like that, but considering the fact I already got back about quadruple+ what I invested in the bundle, the Midiverb II is like free gear...it cleaned up to about an 8.5/10 condition, and is 100% functional. I did spend about $7 at my local electronics shop for a proper power supply for it, but otherwise it was like free. And now it is not a dead piece of something getting older in storage. I’ll put it in the rack and mess around with it more at some point. And with that the chapter of this $200 haul is closed.
Here is the Midiverb II after picking up the power supply:
R
RFR
Well-known member
I had one. No complaints, got some good results with it. It had that quadraverb 'charm' without the extra bells and whistles. I might still have my manual around if your interested.
R
RFR
Well-known member
Yeah physical not digital.
Gonna look later tonight.
M
mixsit
Well-known member
When I think 'MidiVerb II, I think 'patch 07.
For whatever reason, that one stuck'. :>) But man that was so many ears ago
Now I wonder how it would sound..?
For whatever reason, that one stuck'. :>) But man that was so many ears ago
Now I wonder how it would sound..?
W
wkrbee
Active member
I still have an old old DOD 1020 digital delay.The slapback echo with a touch of LFO can't be duplicated. Now if I just had my old Systech flanger and MXR Pitch Transposer back...
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