Hi I'm new here, can I get your opinion on T38 heads?

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jamievespa

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Hi everyone, long time lurker here but really want to get into analog recording after playing with the Studer B67 at uni :)

Just found a good deal on 2 Tascam 38 machines, however having asked the seller for a picture of the heads I'm not so sure, they look like they could do with a very good clean but I'm afraid it looks like the heads are opening up?

As I can't post links till after 10 posts please remove the " " (space) after photobucket on each link :)

1) The "Parts" Machine

i604.photobucket .com/albums/tt126/jamievespa/1.jpg

2) The "Main Machine

i604.photobucket .com/albums/tt126/jamievespa/2.jpg

Could you give me your opinions?

Thanks :)
 
Found how to upload on the forum :)

Opinions please.... :)

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Only the second pic is there.

Yes the tape path requires a good clean. Unfortunately from my experience if that crud is sticky shed material and has been there for a long time, it may have damaged the head faces, requiring work on the head or even replacement.

Impossible to tell if the heads are "opening up" from that photo. That requires a very good, very macro photo of just the heads which that one aint.

The Tascam 38 is a pretty old machine. You may have problems with a worn out belt and dead channels to name a couple of likelies for this model. Also, if you are after tape distortion, its older electronics may not be up to it with the modern +9 tape types. The less high output tape types suit it better especially if you plan to deliberately overdrive the tape.

Cheers Tim
 
Aside from the gunk the picture isn't that great. The playback head looks like it has a little wear, but evenly. Need a cleaning. Note, the Tascam heads are socketed, if you had to you can get them relapped. You didn't say your location, I can recommend places in the USA and UK. I had a 16 track head relapped for about US$120.
 
Hi there thanks for the replies.

Apologies they are the only images the seller sent me. The second photo is from the main machine the other machine is slightly worse on the SSS problem, both need a good clean but the heads don't look too bad :)

I'm in the UK, I've had a quote for new heads at £550 (+20%) each :O but hopefully at the most they'll need a relap in the future :)

I'm going to check the machines on Wednesday and if they're okay I'm going to pick them up.

Thanks for all your advice :)
 
Hopefully it will work this time, here is the first pic from the "parts" machine - missing tension arm sleeve and head cover

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That picture in post #6 looks quite a bit clearer then the first. The lifters seem to have the most wear but it looks pretty light on the erase and play head. The sync head is hard to tell because its a head on angle to the camera, so it might look worse in the picture then it does in person. If you can get the lifters and guide posts rotated to a clean arc, they'll be fine. And the heads look OK too.

Cheers! :)
 
Cheers! The pic in post #6 is the second machine that's missing a few parts (head cover and tension roller sleeve) however if the heads are better on that machine then I'll swap the parts over. If both machines are useable then I'll sell the other machine for someone else to get the use out of :)
 
Hey thanks for that that's a great link, I got quoted £550 a head by a tech in the UK, however I think he was trying to get me to buy one of his Teac 80-8 machines, as he also said that the heads weren't compatible with any other machine.. Hmm

Picking them up tomorrow so will report back with pictures and more :)
 
The heads on the 38 are the same as found on the following Tascam models:

48
58
ATR60-8
TSR-8

The 80-8 heads are unique to that model.

No way to know for sure (condition) because there's know way to know if the guides and lifters have been replaced or if the headblock is off of another machine but if we assume the parts machine headblock is native to the machine and the guides and lifters are original then I see even nominal wear, means there is life left and I bet they cal up just fine which is the true test of whether or not a head is good or not...will it calibrate to spec?
 
I will be picking them up this evening, I don't have a test tape yet, is there anything I could do like running a signal generator from my DAW?
 
Hi all,
Well after a 6 hour drive and 260 miles later I'm finally home with the 2 T38's. Tested both machines as best I could at the seller's home, machine 1 worked well in all respects, machine 2 capstan wouldn't spin so I guess it's a belt issue?

Now I've got them home I've set up both, machine 1 still works fine but playback slows down to a crawl and I can hear a whirring noise inside, could it be the capstan belt? I know I need to clean both capstan posts too

Tomorrow I'll go through both machines and clean the tape path fully and see what else I can get :)

Here's a pic at home:
IMG_0021.webpIMG_0023.webp
 
Yeah, check the belt on the dead machine. For slowing down, it might be the belt if it's becoming loose, but I would also check what tape you're using. Old Ampex stuff that's gone sticky will cause this kind of problem. If it's still doing it with brand-new tape, I would suspect the capstan belt.

Another possible suspect is the pinch roller. First make sure it isn't dissolving. After that, see if pressing it upwards during play magically fixes it. If so, it might not have sufficient pressure.
 
Hi there,
Yeah I'm gonna delve into the dead machine soon, want to focus on getting the main machine working 100%

The tape I got with it is old BASF911 and even though this tape isn't known for sticky shed yet I don't think this tape has been kept very well, looks like its sat on the reels for most of its life..

The pinch roller on the main machine is in good condition and after 10 mins of warm up and FF and RW the tape across the reels to perhaps 'unstick' it from itself it runs well but I still think the capstan needs a good clean to get the glaze off but sometimes I can hear a whirring noise inside so perhaps the belt is slipping..?

The pinch roller on the dead machine is dissolving, all over my fingers when I checked lol on the dead machine the capstan doesn't turn at all but the pinch roller engages and both reels turn, however the capstan refuses to move by hand when the machine is either on or off so I'm thinking it may be the flywheel or the motor? Sorry I'm new to all this but have done as much reading as I can on these machines :)

Thanks
 
Also, I've recorded onto 2 tracks (I only have stereo outs atm) and recording levels are good: nominally 0dB occasionally hitting +3db, however on playback the needles hardly move when set to either Sync or Repro but the playback levels are a good level signal? Thoughts?
 
jamievespa said:
Also, I've recorded onto 2 tracks (I only have stereo outs atm) and recording levels are good: nominally 0dB occasionally hitting +3db, however on playback the needles hardly move when set to either Sync or Repro but the playback levels are a good level signal? Thoughts?
Click to expand...

It could be a calibration issue.

Do you have the owners manual? If so, read about calibrating the deck. It will step you through the procedure.

Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
It could be a calibration issue.

Do you have the owners manual? If so, read about calibrating the deck. It will step you through the procedure.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I've got a copy of the manual and have just been reading through the calibration part of it, looks like I'll be needing to pay MRL a visit :)
 
jamievespa said:
Also, I've recorded onto 2 tracks (I only have stereo outs atm) and recording levels are good: nominally 0dB occasionally hitting +3db, however on playback the needles hardly move when set to either Sync or Repro but the playback levels are a good level signal? Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Just checking. Did you thoroughly clean the tape path first? Was it still clean after running the tape through it?
 
No I haven't managed to get hold of any iso today, so that could the issue, I started reading about Loss Of Lubricant last night which could be the culprit.. But I'll definitely have some iso tomorrow (going past a shop which sells it) so I'll give the tape path a good clean and see how I get on!

Thanks!
 
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