missing track on my old Tascam 388

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obi91

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Bonjour, I am new to this forums ...

I have been reading a lot about Tascam 388 problems on forums and I have never read anything about the problem I got on mine exposed :
I have been recording with my 388 for over 20 years now.
Apart some VU lights off , it is still working great ... except the track number one !
It looks like it is recording OK, but when I playback, there isn't any sound on this track !!
Any idea on what could be the problem ?

Thanks for your help ...
 
Have you recently changed from Ampex/Quantegy tape to another brand of tape?

Load an old tape that you know has material on track 1 and play it. Do you hear playback from track 1?

If not, gently apply pressure to the lower edge of the tape so you are slightly shifting the tape away from the machine in the tape path. Do this near the heads. Do you hear playback when you are applying pressure?
 
when you playback do you use the meters responding to signal from track one?

if not, maybe the unit isnt even recording...could be as simple as a really dirty pair of heads!
 
Yes, good call ...
My original tape on the 388 was AMPEX 456 in the 80 and 90's.
Then in the 2000, AMPEX is gone and I replaced them by Quantigy 499.
2 years ago, I could not find anymore Quantigy in the Paris area I then switch to RMG SM911
( I was advise by a pro to this ref ) since then ... I have troubles ....
As per your advice, I found a Quantegy 499 and did a test ( after a good head cleaning and demag ) -> all the tracks are OK !
I never thought the a tape at this price could be ... a problem !!
I saw in your "388 story" that you were talking about RMG LPR35 : would it be THE tape to go for today on the 388 ?

Thanks for your quick help.
Patrick.
 
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Yes. RMG LPR35 is the way to go for tape for the 388.
I use it on mine and it works out great.
 
Ampex/Quantegy tape was slit just slightly more narrow than the BASF/EMTEC/RMGI tape...actually slightly more narrow than the international standard. This had to do with the precision of their (Ampex's) slitting equipment. So a tape path worn by Ampex/Quantegy tape may have the problem you are having if there is a wear path in the head and you switch to any tape precision slit to the international standard width. The problem is more an issue on the 1/4" 8-track format.

Look at your record/playback head and see how deep the wear groove is. Somebody else here was able to rectifity the situation by fast-winding some of the RMGI tape with the lifters defeated.

1mil +6 tape is what the 388 was designed to use so RMGI LPR35 or Ampex/Quantegy 457.
 
looks like you are asking me to grind the record & playback heads with a magnetic tape ... You scare me !
Thank you for your tapes recommendations.

Here are 2 pictures of my old ( june 1988 ) 388. I have integrated it with my Midi expanders mixer and my effects racks into my home studio :

obi91.free.fr/studio1-pat.jpg
obi91.free.fr/studio2-pat.jpg

My 388 is fully working ( with your help :) ) except 2 VU that have the light out ...
Is it a big deal to change ? Is the bulb easy to find ?
Thanks for your great help .
 
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obi91 said:
looks like you are asking me to (grind) the record & playback heads with a magnetic tape ... You scare me !
Click to expand...

This is what happens everytime you play and record on your machine... nothing the heads can't handle.
 
obi91 said:
looks like you are asking me to gring the record & playback heads with a magnetic tape ... You scare me !
Thank you for your tapes recommendations.

Here are 2 pictures of my old ( june 1988 ) 388. I have integrated it with my Midi expanders mixer and my effects racks into my home studio :

obi91.free.fr/studio1-pat.jpg
obi91.free.fr/studio2-pat.jpg

My 388 is fully working ( with your help :) ) except 2 VU that have the light out ...
Is it a big deal to change ? Is the bulb easy to find ?
Thanks for your great help .
Click to expand...

Your home studio looks cool!
I don't know about finding bulbs for the VU meters. Some kinds are easy to get, but I've been looking for ones for my Tascam 22-2, and I have had no luck at all finding the right kind. They're like the "fuse" style, but smaller than usual. The normal size fuse style is too big...
I'm tempted to just replace the bulbs with LEDs and be done with it!
 
ive been told its a bit of work to get to the bulbs in the 388. Anyone?

yeah, both of my 388s are very weak on track one. It makes sense that it might be because of the different tape
widths. I'm going to try the running the tape fast with the lifters disengaged trick. I'll try it on my backup deck first, though.
 
Some relevant info, and a link for relapping (the giant jrf link):

"Tascam analog support said the last replacement heads they had were sold out in 2003.
He also explained that after they tool up for production and the run ends, the tooling blocks are scrapped so that's that.

JRF magnetics no longer carries them, as the originals are sold out and their current supplier could not reproduce them to Tascam's original specs,
crosstalk noise was unacceptable. "Tascam was really proud of that head design".
He went on to say that relapping the two heads from a 388 would run $280.00. (as of 02/04/2011)
For and additional $50 they will create edge relief slots that will help prevent the tape edges riding harder on the outside edges causing tracks 1 and 8 wear the head faster. "
 
zorf said:
ive been told its a bit of work to get to the bulbs in the 388. Anyone?

yeah, both of my 388s are very weak on track one. It makes sense that it might be because of the different tape
widths. I'm going to try the running the tape fast with the lifters disengaged trick. I'll try it on my backup deck first, though.
Click to expand...

I've done it on mine.

Its not too bad depending on what is not "too bad" for you.

You have to pull all the audio cards and dbx cards out as well as the balance amp and meter amp card...bias cards too IIRC...shoot maybe EVERY card has to come out...and then there are screws at the top inside of the card bay that hold retainer strips for each set of 4 meters. Depending on which meter has the dead lamp you may need to remove both sets of meters since they are hardwired together...but once you have whatever removed to get access to the meter the lense is held on by clear adhesive tape...peel that away and you can remove the lense and then heat up the soldering iron and swap out the lamp.
 
hey Sweets,
thats too much for me to do right now. maybe someday.
 
bonjour sweetbeats,
on my 388, I have the track2 and the left master VUs that have the lights to be replaced.
I understand that, for the track VUs light replacement, I need to pull out the boards from the
card bay which is back of the VUs.

Will I have to go thru special adjustements once I will put all the boards back in the 388 ?

Will this remove and install of all the boards ( dbx, audio, power ... ) change the 388 settings ?

Thanks for your help :)
 
No, nothing should change as long as you put each board back in the same spot from which it was removed. There are two dbx cards, 4 amp cards and two bias cards. Label them so that you can be sure each one goes right back where it came from and no settings should need any adjusting.
 
bonjour shedshrine,

thanks for these informations about "relapping".

Now I understand much better the problem / behavior I can observe on my 388, especialy on track 1, with the differents tapes I have used througout the years.

When I run old Ampex ( from 1988, the year I bought my machine ), the result is >>> head cleaning required ... even If I store my tapes in a safe, clean, heated place and verticaly.

So now, I just use brand new tapes. I have found new Quategy 456 on eBay and I plan also to test the RMG LR35 as I am not happy at all with the recordings I have done with RMG SM911.

Thanks for your informations :)
 
sweetbeats said:
No, nothing should change as long as you put each board back in the same spot from which it was removed. There are two dbx cards, 4 amp cards and two bias cards. Label them so that you can be sure each one goes right back where it came from and no settings should need any adjusting.
Click to expand...

Sweetbeats, I will then do so ... Thanks a lot for your "experience sharing".
Take it easy.
 
bonjour,
I have just received the 4 Quantegy 456 tapes I found last week on the french
eBay and : They work like a charm, just like the good old Ampex 456.

I did a quick record of :
- 1000Hz and 10KHz sinus signal out of my iPhone ( BF generator app ) on the 8 tracks at the same time : when I listen back; the signal is super stable on the 8 tracks.
- another test with the same song on the 8 tracks : the output level is the same on all the 8 tracks :cool:

This is so cool, now I am back in business and not worried any more about the 1st and 8th track.

note : I still need to find some replacement lamps for my VUs and my 23 years old 388 will be like new.

Have a nice musical week end ;)
 
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