My first step into ANALOG: Tascam 388 ;)

[C bop a loo bop]

Hello ALL!

I'm very excited to say that I am making my first step into the analog world with a newly purchased Tascam 388 and man is this thing a beauty! This is my first tape machine that I've owned but have worked on quite a few over the years but never really in too much depth.

I'll jump back a week and a half now to a recording session I was doing with a very talented funk/soul band The Gold Magnolias out of Bushwick, BK. I arrived at the session to see this cool little tape machine they had(Tascam 388). I was so impressed with it off first sight that i dug right into prepping it for the session. After heads and tape path and rollers were clean it was time to go over functions of the piece and to get sounds and press record! The band had their parts down pat and it was an extremely easy session with the players being on point. The tape machine really had some mojo and ease of use and i got the exact sound we were shooting for. I was very impressed to say the least with the machine.

Ok, now after that session i had the 388 bug!~ I began looking on ebay and craigslist and researching different forums for information and i stumbled upon this site and Tape Op which have been a HUGE help. I found one 4 days later on ebay for pickup only in northeast Bronx. I found a car and made my way there pronto! It was listed for 400 with a rewind problem. I got there and tested all the inputs and outputs and recorded on each track with no audible sign of a problem minus the rewind being extremely slow and 1 bulb out on VU4. Thanks to you guys i fixed that rewind problem right when i got home by adjusting the tension arms and BOOM, this thing is working awesome and i got it for $250 from the guy This machine was owned by Los Lobos who cut their first album on it and was handed down by them to their engineer Seth who had it for a long time and took good care of it. Kinda cool huh

So now I'm wanting to get the expertise of you Tascam 388er's who know the deal with how heads should look before being relapped. There is a slight dark shadow on the erase head otherwise its pristine looking. Not sure about the rec head though. There are some killer places in new jersey who can relap, clean, align and calibrate for a modest price but I'd like your opinions if you don't mind.

Last question: should i rotate the tape lifters if the have a small flatness to them? Is that not as important as rotating the guides when they become slightly worn? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks! CB

 

[C bop a loo bop]

Also!

Is there an area when adjusting the tension arms where the rewind or ffwd is too fast? Just curious if there is a middle ground as i don't won't to burn out the motor. thanks!

 

[C bop a loo bop]

?

Anybody got some advice on the picture???? Heads look ok?

 

[sweetbeats]

The BEST way to know if heads are good or bad is whether or not it calibrates to spec.

That being said both heads look fine.

The shadowey spot on the erase head looks just like its burnished/polished from tape. No problem. Erase heads typically wear a lot longer than record/play heads. The play head just looks to have nominal wear to my eyes and I suspect it has quite a bit of life in it. You could have it lapped but I don't necessarily see the point if it sounds good and is working right.

You're not going to burn out a motor from it spinning "too fast"...think of it this way...the motor can only go so fast due to the design, and you can be sure it was engineered to go that fast.

If you aren't going to lap the heads don't mess with rotating the guides. The heads are fixed along with the guides (actually the erase head is fully fixed, the rec/play head is semi-fixed, fine-set azimuth being the only adjustment) so the wear pattern sets into the heads and guides and if you rotate the guides now you're going to change how the tape sets in the wear groove. If/when you get it lapped have the entire block done and have it set to the rotated guides.

Don't mess with the lifters. No reason to unless they are causing nasty edge shed issues or something but if they are being kind to the tape then there's nothing to do and no reason to do so. Rotating lifter posts is a mixed bag at best as the posts are punched into place...you try to rotate them and you risk bending/marring the post and/or loosening the joint. I prefer to purchase new lifter assemblies...did this for the 58 I used to have and got a new set for my BR-20T. Dunno if you can still get them for the 388...actually I think you can but I didn't want to spend the money. You can also get surgical tubing. If you can find it this is thin-wall stainless tubing and if you can find material with the right ID you can press-fit it over the existing lifters and create a new bearing surface with this tubing "sleeve".

Bottom line?

Methinks your 388 is ready to work for quite some time before needing to mess with any of that.

 

[Beck]

Rotate the tape lifters yes because the sharp edges are hard on tape. You want the tape path as mirror smooth as you can get it... at least deal with the rough edges where you find them.

 

[C bop a loo bop]

Thanks!

Hey guys,

Thanks for the insight! I was hoping one of you would jump in with some guidance as I've been reading older posts and you both have had solid information on this machine. Much appreciated!

Cheers,
CB