Good sites for repairing TASCAM 4 tracks?

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paperhatrecords

New member
I'm sure this has been asked many times and I see many assorted threads that all seem to be along the same lines. Now that analog recording is becoming a dead art, I think it is worthwhile that we are able to maintain it, like the Catholic Church maintained Latin for centuries after it ceased widespread secular usage.

The non-technical of us are faced with a particularly difficult dilemma: do we pony up for the $180 to fix failing tracks, bad rotors, faulty springs (the easier stuff) with pro repair people only to have it break a few months later, or do we pony up $180 for a used 4-track of potentially sketchy quality only to have it break a few months later? For me, I went through 5 Tascam cassette four-tracks in my 10 years of recording and I stopped using them because I couldn't (or couldn't afford to) fix them. I'm sure the stuff that usually needs to be done would cost <$20 in parts and 30 minutes of labor. But I don't have the technical know-how to fix stuff that may be as simple as attaching new belts or coils. That's why I have gradually and painfully moved over to digital recording (using the 4-track as a mixing board to get that great four-track distortion.)

If there was a web (or book) resource that tells you step-by-step how to repair analog recording equipment, we could guarantee that the analog form lasts, even if we can't buy new equipment. I've wanted to learn ever since my first four-track broke when I was a teen, but I'm not going to go to technical repair school to fix something that I love but don't desperately need. If such a thing exists, that would be awesome. If not, I really wish someone who loves this equipment and has the know-how can invent something like that... It doesn't have to be how to build one from scratch - just how to perform basic maintenance and repairs when small things stop working.
 
Its not a dead art

unless that's how you see it...it is very alive AFAIK. Art is in the eye of the beholder and thus its state of existence as well.

Forums like this are the best resource for what you are talking about IMHO...I've learned a ton just from the kind folks here in less than a year.

The future of analog lies with each of us individually and what we do as a community...Its grass-roots, baby!! :D

As for me, I choose to get my hands dirty and figure out how to do it with as much help as I can get, making mistakes along the way and sharing as much as I can to give back, help others and further the art form. ;)
 
It's not dead, but has one foot in the grave...

...because one can no longer purchase new analog recording equipment (other than eBay). I would assume repairs will become even more price-prohibitive. There's still enough worthwhile equipment and, if you're lucky, new equipment, to last us a good 5 years before we're going to see real shortages, I bet.

This site is probably the best resource, especially for free one-on-one assistance, but I was talking about more of a central repository so we won't have to keep posting thread-after-thread of what to do when your belts or springs konk out on you. A central resource could be the answer to "My ___ stopped running!!!" threads, where people can go there first and if they don't get the answers, then they can come back and get a better explanation/walkthrough here. I just think this is important if we want to keep analog beyond being just a tiny cult of those who can afford to repair them or who have technical training to do so...
 
The reality is that

1) New analog equipment is unavailable or out of the price range of the "Home Recordist"
2) The 'experts" at repairing R2R machines, cassette decks, mixers, etc are few and far between, often don't really know what they are doing, are overpriced, and usually on the wrong end of a long, risky, expensive two way shipping adventure.

IMO if one is to venture into the collection and use of vintage analog equipment, one must:
A) Buy the right type of equipment; which means QUALITY BUILT equipment of a NAME BRAND in GOOD CONDITION to begin with.
b) Be able to perform basic maintenance including belt replacement, minor mechnaical troubleshooting and adjustment, alignment, have a passing aquaintance with a soldering iron and small hand tools, infinite patience, and good part scrounging and swapping skills.

The reward is some really hands on creativity, unique sound, and a warmth that is not just from the analog sound, but that which you personally get from OWNING AND USING fine vintage equipment.

A 1963 Corvette in top condition drives and rides like crap, but arguably has boatloads more appeal and attraction and driving pleasure than the latest model. They require much more maintenance, have ghost mechanical pissues, are difficult to find parts for, yet people are still attracted to them.

So it is with vintage analog. It's a package deal. You have to buy into the whole deal, or you will be unhappy. If you want to use analog the way many on this board do, you need to understand and agree to the tradeoffs. Some manage it by have one main reel to reel and two parts decks, and a Jensen case of tools to work on it. Analog is hands on....literally


Afterthought:
A central repository of knowledge would be nice, but you will still have to get your hands dirty.
 
technoplayer said:
The reality is that


b) Be able to perform basic maintenance including belt replacement, minor mechnaical troubleshooting and adjustment, alignment, have a passing aquaintance with a soldering iron and small hand tools, infinite patience, and good part scrounging and swapping skills.
Click to expand...

well, this is what the topic-starter wants to know: how to do so or who is able to do/explain it
 
Exactly

Yeah, pehjott got exactly what I'm asking. If you smash your four-track to bits, you're going to need to buy a new one or get professional help; I'm just talking about how to do basic month-to-month maintenance. It's not that I don't have the patience - I just don't have the knowledge in the first place. I don't want to start taking my four-track apart with no idea of what I'm doing and risk breaking it beyond repair.

Questions I want to know:
1.) how would you replace a belt?
2.) what do you do if a track stops working / how do you resolder a wire onto a tape head?
3.) how do you replace an old motor?
4.) what do you do if your tape head won't hold in the play or record position (i.e. that you have to hold it down)
5.) what if your record function stops working?
6.) what if you have to replace the whole tape head?
7.) how do you get in and out alive without breaking more things?

If there were step by step instructions (with graphics = even better) the site would be of infinite value to analogophiles who aren't technical geniuses everywhere. Thanks!

Mind you, there are libraries worth of basic car repair books and sites, ranging from basic maintenance to full rebuilding of a car. There is no such thing (not even much of a "basic care manual") that I know of for analog recording equipment repair. I hope/wish that there would be...
 
paperhatrecords said:
Yeah, pehjott got exactly what I'm asking. If you smash your four-track to bits, you're going to need to buy a new one or get professional help; I'm just talking about how to do basic month-to-month maintenance. It's not that I don't have the patience - I just don't have the knowledge in the first place. I don't want to start taking my four-track apart with no idea of what I'm doing and risk breaking it beyond repair.

Questions I want to know:
1.) how would you replace a belt?
2.) what do you do if a track stops working / how do you resolder a wire onto a tape head?
3.) how do you replace an old motor?
4.) what do you do if your tape head won't hold in the play or record position (i.e. that you have to hold it down)
5.) what if your record function stops working?
6.) what if you have to replace the whole tape head?
7.) how do you get in and out alive without breaking more things?

If there were step by step instructions (with graphics = even better) the site would be of infinite value to analogophiles who aren't technical geniuses everywhere. Thanks!

Mind you, there are libraries worth of basic car repair books and sites, ranging from basic maintenance to full rebuilding of a car. There is no such thing (not even much of a "basic care manual") that I know of for analog recording equipment repair. I hope/wish that there would be...
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, wasn't someone on here trying to start a type of wiki site with regards to analog equipment? Sounds as though it would be just the type of thing you're after.

On a side note paperhat, I checked out your website, and there's some cool tunes on there. It's too bad y'all jetted from NC. I'm moving out there (near the Winston-Salem area) in a few months. I'm actually from TX---grew up in Houston, moved to the DFW area and went to UNT, and lived there until 2005, when I moved up to Milwuakee. But now we're heading out to NC. :)
 
famous beagle said:
If I remember correctly, wasn't someone on here trying to start a type of wiki site with regards to analog equipment? Sounds as though it would be just the type of thing you're after.

On a side note paperhat, I checked out your website, and there's some cool tunes on there. It's too bad y'all jetted from NC. I'm moving out there (near the Winston-Salem area) in a few months. I'm actually from TX---grew up in Houston, moved to the DFW area and went to UNT, and lived there until 2005, when I moved up to Milwuakee. But now we're heading out to NC. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! I'm hoping to get out an Exploding Schoolgirls cd sometime later this year, followed by a lot more stuff. I appreciate you checking it out. NC was where I went to college (Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC); moved back home after that (what with the good job market/low cost of living/etc. here).

A wiki would be a great first step, if it exists somewhere...
 
paperhatrecords said:
Thanks so much! I'm hoping to get out an Exploding Schoolgirls cd sometime later this year, followed by a lot more stuff. I appreciate you checking it out. NC was where I went to college (Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC); moved back home after that (what with the good job market/low cost of living/etc. here).

A wiki would be a great first step, if it exists somewhere...
Click to expand...

The cost of living in Dallas is incredibly low. I didn't realize how low it was until I moved to Milwaukee. The houses are literally twice the price here.

I thought that NC was fairly comparable in that department, though?
 
NC Cost-of-living

Not to get too far off topic, but yeah, it's really good in NC too. I've never been to Winston-Salem myself, but I'd assume it's far better than average (and certainly better than Milwaukee!) Fortunately for me, Dallas may be one of the only places in the country that's actually still doing pretty well economically for the most part...
 
paper, I feel like I'm having a hard time knowing what it is you really want...in one sentence you are asking about "month-to-month maintenance", followed directly by a bulleted list of items none of which are routine month-to-month maintenance tasks; you don't want to be a full-fledged tech and yet many of those tasks are very techy...

Items 1, 3, and 6 would be covered in a service manual.

Items 2, 4 and 5 would be highly dependent on the specific make and model of tape deck, and would require troublehooting/sleuthing/invesigating to resolve (except for the soldering question, there are threads here on soldering tips/tricks/technique)

Item 7 is a brain-bender and simple at the same time but if you wanted step-by-step instructions on basic maintenance and repair tasks for every common model of open-reel atr and how to execute those steps safely without impacting anything else, that would be a lifelong project to put together. :eek:

So, I'm just saying that it feels a bit like you are wanting to have your cake and eat it too. There are plenty of commonalities between decks, but many more specific differences in even basic maintenance and repairs. The how-to book would be chock full of "refer to your service manual" statements...do you see what I'm saying? that's where the hands getting dirty comes in. Look at my thread on the Tascam 58-OB...I've tried to use that as somewhat of a resource for fellow 58 owners and there's stuff in there that apply particularly to other Tascam decks, but it takes a lot of time to put all that info up, and that's only on one model of atr. I've done similar threads on the M-520 mixer, some on the 48 atr...But that's how this forum ends up being sort of like that book you're looking for. Yes there's a lot of material to sift through isn't there? But that's what that "book" looks like IMHO...its gihugic.

I'm glad to see a reference to the reel-to-reel wiki that ethyrvalve started...its a great idea, but again it takes time and it will always be full of holes. Plus it was never intended to be a step-by-step guide to basic maintenance and repair tasks for the bevy of common atr's out there. It is scant, and maybe someday it will grow, and I whole-heartedly support your zest for a resource such as you describe. If somebody has the time, know-how and experience to put that together, I will support you all the way and contribute where I can, But I know I fail to qualify on any of the three qualifiers (i.e. time, know-how and experience).

Now, all that blah-blah being said, in all honesty, if you feel I'm misunderstanding you still and I'm missing the mark, would you please help me understand where I'm off-base? The last thing I want to do is be a wet blanket...I'm being a realist relative to my corner of the world...sometimes that's good, and other times not. :o
 
Sorry if I was a little confusing in my verbiage - the "month-to-month maintenance" probably threw you off.

First of all, I'm personally referring to repairing cassette four-tracks, although reel-to-reels could definitely use a similar or the same resource. The reel-to-reel wiki is a good resource, although as you said it lacks substantial repair stuff for each model, at least from what I saw.

I don't know if the service manuals are proprietary knowledge (i.e. that only licensed repair shops can access them), but having access to something like that in PDF form for all the major models of cassette and reel-to-reel multitracks would be pretty useful. Otherwise, some people who know what they're doing could do the whole analog-loving world a favor by creating such a resource for everyone.

Also, while the models may all be different, I'd assume things like the basic tape mechanisms are pretty similar enough between models to where even one example would go a long ways towards understanding. For example, they have generic car repair manuals that give a general feel for how to locate stuff, maintain what needs to be maintained and fix stuff when it breaks without specifying a model.

As a backup, perhaps the best way to create such a resource would be to go back through all the threads on this site and compile all the repair stuff that can be found for each model into a wiki-like structure that could be edited by people who know what they're doing. I would gladly volunteer my free time, but I don't have much of it (none of us do, right?), and I don't have the technical expertise to know if the compiled info is actually the right thing to do...
 
There has been some thought on these boards of putting together a database of manuals. Many of the members here are concerned - and reasonably so - about the copyright issues. I suspect that none of the manufacturers will have any issue with manuals of no longer manufactured equipment being placed online for free access. There is pleny of precedent for this all over the internet, and if huge companies like Pioneer and Sony don't object, I doubt that Tascam or Fostex would either.
The second concern brought up in regards to a database of manuals was allowing access to people who might sell the .pdfs on Ebay. I really understand why people get angry over that. Unfortunately, as long as there are people willing to BUY these on Ebay there will be someone selling them. I'm, suprised (ok maybe not) that Ebay hasn't cracked down on people selling a computer file instead of a tangible product - but clearly the auction sit emerely wants it's fees. One of the things that we can do to get around this issue is to secure the database with a password system of some sort, so that only members from these forums can access the manuals.

As for a general guide or guides, it should be easy to take all the threads about specific models and combine them into guides by make and model - a very good idea!



AK


AK
 
Here's what I've done.

Paper....This is kinda how I went about it.........My story so to speak......A long time ago I started using the cassette based 4 track recorder. The cassette door broke so I took the risk of "opening up" the unit to see if I could fix it. I'm pretty mechanically inclined so I wasn't too afraid of proceeding with this activity. I also have a very good memory (where that screw goes/ which color wire goes where) but sometimes if you have to go deeper and deeper in the repair: take pictures step by step of everything. Every angle. Several pictures if you need. I then started buying project machines off ebay for cheap in hopes of fixing them. Some I fixed, some I couldn't. You kinda cut your losses on the broken stuff and keep them as parts machines. Fortunately, all the machines I have I couldn't fix, I have one that works really well. So I keep the others as parts machines. Sometimes, If something breaks, like a track not wanting to record, I'd have a spare parts machine and take the tape transport out of it and replace into the other unit, in hopes of making the repair. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. Lately, I've been taking some of my cassette and reel based recorders apart and have been painting the shells funky colors. Just making things more interesting. Every unit is a little different, but everytime I took (that particular model apart) it got easier. You get to know the unit because every model is slightly different. It takes a lot of time, a lot patience, and a little money too. Believe me, I'd love to see one too, but My best advice to you until this dream repair site comes into exsistance is to: Save a little cash and buy the best machine you can find on ebay. Wait a year if you have to to find one that is in mint condition with original box, the whole nine yards. I've even seen "New Old Stock" unopened units on there before. No so often, but they do pop up from time to time. Once you buy it, Use it without jamming on the buttons (manhandling it) use a dust cover, clean your heads, general maintenance. You should be good for a while. There is soo much more I could talk about, but the main thing that really helped me learn how to repair ANYTHING was:
"Sometimes" you can't be afraid to take it apart without knowing what you are doing. This is how I learned the best way, by pure good old fashioned hands on learning. God knows my neighbor has no idea, and my close buddies don't either. You have to take some risks to learn. Cheers.:D
 
Wow...AA...that's really a great post...really.

I think you can do so much if you don't fear the outcome, but if you are hung up on not screwing up, you'll miss the learning opportunity. Learning is a risk. Sometimes things do go wrong, but the kind folks here have gotten my through it every time. Its good to be smart about it for sure, and there is no room for plain old foolishness, but its okay to give it a shot. Taking lots of pictures is a key piece of advice. This has been essential in my disassembly of the Tascam M-___ mixer since I have no documentation on it...no schematics and such.

Thanks, AA! :)
 
I'll post..........

I'll post some pics of my latest project on here in the next few days. It's a Fostex R8 r2r I picked up super cheap. The cable for the remote was chewed up and lucky for me the unit had some minor internal mechanical issues which I was able to repair at ease. I spent $1.85 on some generic cable (5 ft) perfect for the repair at this electronic goverment supply store in town. Some superglue and a can of really good quality spray paint I got from this art store I work at. Spent about 10 bucks total and about 4 hours total. So, I made an extension cable for the remote panel and painted pretty much the whole unit. Had to do some small internal repairs, but nothing major. I have 3 of these units and I love them. I like Tascam overall a little better. But I really think Fostex made a great machine when designing the R8. It's super light weight and portable. Has 8 tracks on 1/4" tape, Looks really cool and works and sounds great too! Some of my friends and my girlfriend think I'm crazy for owning all these machines, but I love it. One day all this stuff is gonna be really scarce and I'm gonna be good for a while. Unless a meteor hits and destroys the earth, then it's all for nothin' Hahaha. Other reasons I "jumped into" learning the whole thing is:
A. (I think someone mentioned this earlier in this post, and great point!)
A lot of so called "qualified techs" at your local electronics repair shop don't really have an idea of how to repair a r2r or a cassette unit. They may know how to solder and things like that, but they really don't know. They are also expensive and I can't afford and also wouldn't want to take a repair to them anyhow BECAUSE they don't know. I'll take my chances myself and 80% of the time (because of help from folks on here) I am successful with my own repairs. What I really like about this site is that I can ask a question about a unit (most of the time, it doesn't matter which model, someone or several people are bound to help) and I can comeback later in the day and I'll see a few replies to my question(s) Many which are very helpful.

B. The self satisfaction YOU get out of making repairs is soo fullfilling. Especially when you don't have any documentation, sometimes do get little help, and jump into the repair yourself. It makes you feel sooo GREAT like you could just run and punch through a brick wall. Well, maybe not. HAHA.:(

Check out Dr. Zee's repairs on his site at www.mzentertainment.com He is a great inspiration for me. His Teac 144 and Tascam 244 repairs are awesome and creative. Am I a jedi yet master Zee?? Maybe Zee, A Reel Person and I could join forces and start our own analog repair shop and SAVE this world!?
 
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analog aaron said:
I'll post some pics of my latest project on here in the next few days. It's a Fostex R8 r2r I picked up super cheap. The cable for the remote was chewed up. I spent $1.85 on some generic cable (5 ft) perfect for the repair at this electronic goverment supply store in town. Some superglue and a can of really good quality spray paint I got from this art store I work at. Spent about 10 bucks total and about 4 hours total. So, I made an extension cable for the remote panel and painted pretty much the whole unit. Had to do some small internal repairs, but nothing major. I have 3 of these units and I love them. I like Tascam overall a little better. But I really think Fostex made a great machine when designing the R8. It's super light weight and portable. Has 8 tracks on 1/4" tape, Looks really cool and works and sounds great too! Some of my friends and my girlfriend think I'm crazy for owning all these machines, but I love it. One day all this stuff is gonna be really scarce and I'm gonna be good for a while. Unless a meteor hits and destroys the earth, then it's all for nothin' Hahaha. Other reasons I "jumped into" learning the whole thing is:
A. (I think someone mentioned this earlier in this post, and great point!)
A lot of so called "qualified techs" at your local electronics repair shop don't really have an idea of how to repair a r2r or a cassette unit. They may know how to solder and things like that, but they really don't know. They are also expensive and I can't afford and also wouldn't want to take a repair to them anyhow BECAUSE they don't know. I'll take my chances myself and 80% of the time (because of help from folks on here) I am successful with my own repairs. What I really like about this site is that I can ask a question about a unit (most of the time, it doesn't matter which model, someone or several people are bound to help) and I can comeback later in the day and I'll see a few replies to my question(s) Many which are very helpful.

B. The self satisfaction YOU get out of making repairs is soo fullfilling. Especially when you don't have any documentation, sometimes do get little help, and jump into the repair yourself. It makes you feel sooo GREAT like you could just run and punch through a brick wall. Well, maybe not. HAHA.:(

Check out Dr. Zee's repairs on his site at www.mzentertainment.com He was a great inspiration for me. His Teac 144 and Tascam 244 repairs are awesome and creative. Am I a jedi yet master Zee?? Maybe Zee, A Reel Person and I could join forces and start our own analog repair shop and SAVE this world!?
Click to expand...

You seem like a perfect candidate for the question I'd like to ask. I've seen several people around here with tons and tons of recorders (you and Reel Person, for instance), and I always wonder, "do they actually use all of those?" It seems I barely have the time to record on my one recorder, much less 20 of them (and much less time now that my wife and I have our first child at 2 1/2 months).

So, are all these machines to use, or is it more in the spirit of that you just like repairing, maintaining, and/or collecting them? I don't mean to sound derogatory whatsoever; I'm just honestly curious. I'm a big DIY person myself, and I know the satisfaction you're talking about that comes with that.

Since I started studying electronics about 2 years ago on my own, I've really grown to love it. I've built a few guitar pedals, made some small repairs on various equipment, and now I'm 3/4 done with building my own Marshall 18-watt clone amp, including doing the cabinets from scratch (carpentry is another hobby of mine).

It's funny, because I've thought seriously about going back to school to get a degree in electronics, but then I think ... "but wait ... the electronics I like is from the 50s-early 80s. Everything nowadays is digital this, nanoprocessor that, and blah blah blah." That stuff doesn't interest me at all! :(
 
Actually,

I DO use mostly all of my recorders. In time. Some may sit for a while, but I have (the ones that sit) wrapped up in plastic bags and in boxes. Stored away for easy axcess. When I take them out I test them to make sure they still perform. And it is true that I have a few I don't use and probably don't need, but I will have them if this world goes Madmax style and everyone has fried hair and unemployed, dirty and wearing scrubs. ALL IPODS WILL SELF DESTRUCT and ALL computers will be destroyed and professional studios will no longer exsist so bands will come to me with their homemade instruments wanting to record on my 4 tracks. My little Teac 144 80's cassette 4 track . Kinda like WALL-E... THE LAST LITTLE GUY WHO REFUSED TO PERISH. :eek: No but really, I play in 2 really good and serious/ fun bands and record every show. We will never run out of gear to record on. I don't really ever use the casssette units for anything other than live shows anymore. Unless I use the Tascam 238 rack Cassette for early band demos. And when we do our serious demos we want to spend a lot of time on, I use the r2r's. I own a house with my beautiful girl and have 2 crazy dogs. I am always on the go, with little extra time. For years Music has taken over my life, but it's my creative outlet. I have to have it. It IS A "NEED". It is true as well that I do it for the "spirit of the fix". I have a few of my favorite, super reliable workhorse machines that I use, But a lot of the time I think "Hmmm, I haven't use the Porta one or the Fostex 280s in a while, I think I'll bust em out and put them to work. I have to be honest. I've been doing this for a while and just now I am starting to run out of room for storage. And I have to stop because it's become a slight obsession. A while back I was finding myself spending more time repairing units than actually recording. I use to try and repair several units at once in a short amount of time because I was impatient and it was very time consuming and frustrating. I have learned that Now I only can pick one project at a time and work on it little by little, and when I am finished I give the other repairs and break and enjoy my new toy. Again, this is where the "Spirit of the Fix" comes in. Cheers!:D And great question by the way.
 
analog aaron said:
Check out Dr. Zee's repairs on his site at www.mzentertainment.com He is a great inspiration for me. His Teac 144 and Tascam 244 repairs are awesome and creative. Am I a jedi yet master Zee?? Maybe Zee, A Reel Person and I could join forces and start our own analog repair shop and SAVE this world!?
Click to expand...

WOW ... what a site! I'd never been there before. His projects are amazing. That synth blew me away, as did the Ampex 1260 project. Holy crap, what cool stuff! Mad props to Dr. Zee!
 
Okay, fair enough.

I've bought way more gear than I've had time to use entirely, but I'm still young and haven't given up on my ideals. I'm a normal person with a family (6-kids), job (40-hours/2nd-shift) and all the typical responsibilities (2-homes). My artistic, techy and production side almost always takes a back seat to e'thing else, e'day. That's life, eh, but my goal is to use each piece of gear to it's full worth. There's something to be said of an inclination to "collect" stuff like this in it's own right, but I'm not a pure "collector". Ever seen my Soundclick page? Nonetheless, I'm always brainstorming my next production nearly e'moment of e'day, but "starting" projects of any tangible quality is difficult for me. Funny, but once I've started, finishing projects is easy. I've some issues with creativity blocks, as per the above lifestyle choices often take priority over my musical aspirations. Then, not to repeat, my goal is to utilize each recorder or system to it's fullest. I like having multiple items of something I like. Not as a pure collector, per se, but I see nothing wrong with having a workable recording setup in each room of the house. Tell me that's a bit compulsive or mental disorder, but it's just me and that's what I like.

I've also "invested" in some cheap fixers that I'd hoped to refurbish and sell at profit, but a) my techy fixit efforts have fallen way off the last few years, and b) once very good at buying items but I've never been good at selling them.

My "issue" of having multiple items of technical and music gear is purely a "selfish" pursuit, but bear in mind I have 6 kids whom I'd aspire to pass this along to some day, along with my passion for music, technical production and the gear that goes along with it.

Although I have more stuff than the usual hobbiest, I've literally spent years acquiring it. A lot of it goes beyond practical use and borders on selfishness or hoarding mentality, given that I have precious little time to produce as any person in my position. That doesn't preclude me hitting a better stride in line with my highest ambitions in music and recording, as my 2009 goal is to crank up the production and fixit efforts, complete with recording as much as possible and re-setting up my techy repair bench. Plus, I've bought precious little in the way of recorders or music gear in the last couple years. Just cherry-picking a couple items here & there on occasion. I have an entire house to utilize as my studio, so regardless of whether it borders on the irrational, my wife doesn't mind. She actually understands my passion for home recording and supports me. Sure, I've heard "why do you spend thousands of dollars on that when you hardly use it" a few times, but she basically understands where I'm coming from & it's not for a lack of trying. I'm 47 and I can't live/breathe/eat music and recording 24/7 like I did in my 20's. Not to get off track or drag a complicated dynamic into this topic, but was possibly a contributing factor as to why I was divorced at age 26.

Not e'one could be me or follow my example, nor would e'one want to, but I'm happy to be me and to set a certain example for some people, some times. I'm not a fake or poser. I'm an artist and producer in this game we call home recording.

Hey, great question! That's my answer!:eek:;)
 
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