My New Tascam 38

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Hey there!

I recently just purchased a Tascam 38 1/2" and I'm looking for some advice on recording on the darn thing before I get my operation/maintenance manual.
(it came without one)

Basically I'm testing it out and putting it through the ringer ... I don't consider myself new to recording by any means, but it's really only a hobby and something has me stumped on this lovely little thing. The stump that shouldn't be stumping me.

I can playback, listen, FF, rewind (although I have to tweak my right tension wheel for this), but for some reason I cannot record! Ugh!

I have a reel with songs already on it ... let's say: Kick Drum on track 1
I can playback this kickdrum, but when I try to record over it I can't ...

The VU meters appear to be getting signal and I can hear myself when in "input" mode ...but everything I try will not allow me to record on that track...

Anyone have any advice on this while I'm waiting for this balsted manual??

Nice to meet you all and thanks!

Chris
 
Hey Chris welcome :)

I have a 38 as well, yet couldn't say what the issue you are experiencing might be, but fear not as several members with tons of experience here also have or had 38's along with the troubleshooting know how you seek. In the meantime be sure to pop into the Analog Only section of this site or even try the search feature for 38's.

Hopefully the problem is something easily resolved.

:)
 
Hey! Well thanks for the kind words.

I'm hoping I'll figure it out tonight when I get home.

Also to note: All my lights on my tracks (1 through 8) are either out or when pressed solid red ... should there be blinking?
Maybe I'm just not recording properly ...
It seems simple enough but without that manual I could be just doing something wrong.

I have done some searching, but when I am trying to search I get errors... I will try again though.

Thanks again!
 
Try Sync mode instead of Input mode

.....................;)
 
Ok try this.
put your recorder in input mode. And then press one ot the function buttons
so that its in the down position with the red light on.
Now hit the record and play buttons at the same time and record somthing.
Now rewind to the beginninig and push the repro button or sync button and hit play.
If it doesnt play what you recorded then you have a problem else where.

When they work the 38 is a great machine.

Good luck
 
Thanks for the suggestions folks ... I thought I was doing everything fine the night before when trying to record. So I decide a fresh stab at it again last night might help.
I put the machine on input mode ...got track 1 solid red and put it into SYNCH mode. Made sure I was getting a nice signal, pressed record ... and the machine caught fire and blew up.
HEh ... kidding. It worked fine .... I actually got it recording.
I didn't do anything different that I could tell from the night before so I'm still not certain what the issue was??
After this was successful I tried overdubbing a few other parts on the other tracks and everything is running quite smooth... .
This machine sounds like Gold.
I've givin it a nice cleaning and everything but the right tension arm seems to be working properly ...

Thanks for the suggestions and not jumping toofar ahead with BIAS etc ...
I needed to know what I was doing was something right from the get go.
It's nice to have a forum to sift through for issues with good help.
If anyone wants some digital recording info, I can lend advice ... I've only recently drifted backwards. AND loving it!

On another note. I have some tape that is REAL gummy. Is there any suggestions to cleaning tape? It gums up the pinch something fierce when playing back and slows the reels.
Otherwise it's a playback dump for 4 of the 8 tapes I received with the machine.

Thanks again!

Chris
 
Chris,

Glad you got it going :)

You can ask again fresh in the analog forum about or search baking tapes, i've never done it myself, but some here have and while I can't answer for them, I THINK they do it to revive an old tape just long enough for that one last mixdown or to transfer it to a fresh medium, but some might do it just to "renew" old tape. (Not sure) I recieved like 10 reels of 456 with my machine and the gumminess was nothing but a nightmare of sticky shed, in the end i just bought a new tape and things were happy again.

For caution's sake you might wish to investigate the proper cleaning solutions and procedures for maintaining your machine's heads,rubber parts and even demagnitizing do's and don'ts.

-Billy-
 
DON'T mess with that sticky tape!

That shit will screw up all kinds of things on the machine. Its cleanable, but it tends to screw up the rubber something fierce.

Does it sound like I'm speaking from experience? :) I had to replace the roller on one of my machines almost as soon as I got it because the guy who had it before me ran a bunch of sticky stuff through it before selling it to me. When went to clean the roller all this black gunk came off. I couldn't tell where the gunk stopped and the rubber started. In the end it was easier to just replace the roller.

Search for "Sticky Shed" just about anywhere on the net and you'll find out all about it.

Caig cleaning solution is also around here somewhere. I think Ghost of FM recommended it. It helped me save the roller on my other machine.

I've since baked tapes in my oven (I know, I know, you aren't supposed to do that!) and it works (but I think only because there was almost no humidity when I did it). I'd only do it to transfer stuff OFF a tape onto something more stable. I wouldn't record on a sticky shed tape even if it was baked. Why set yourself up for eternal tape bakes?

Welcome to the wonderful world of analog! :)

-C
 
papercut said:
On another note. I have some tape that is REAL gummy. Is there any suggestions to cleaning tape? It gums up the pinch something fierce when playing back and slows the reels. Otherwise it's a playback dump for 4 of the 8 tapes I received with the machine.
Click to expand...

Chris,

With all the new tape available from Quantegy, Emtec RMGI and soon ATR, why not just buy fresh stock ?

Just dump the old sticky tape and keep the empty reel. (I'd suck the tape from the reel with a vacuum). Make sure to clean (the empty reel) so that no residue exists. If it's aluminum then it has screws and in which case you could take it appart and clean it. You then should get some new tape in the form of a pancake and spool it onto the empty reel. You save money that way.

As was mentioned, learn to properly and regularly maintain / clean the tape path and go on over to the Analog Only forum, do a search and / or just ask. If you don't have the manual, both owner's and service, get one from Tascam parts.

Remember, Analog is a lifestyle! :D
 
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