Need thoughts on prices for MSR-16 repair/maintenance

  • Thread starter Thread starter Seeker of Rock
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Seeker of Rock

Seeker of Rock

Let us be unburdened by that which has been ?
The MSR-16 I recently bought is at Amp Services in West Palm Beach for a look over. Tom there advised me it needs the following:
Tach roller (which I knew...it was very sticky) $140
Heads relapped (they had uneven wear, excessive on one side) $220
Calibration $150

OUCH!! They come highly recommended by some higher end studios in Miami, and seem to know their business. Tom said the pinch roller needs replaced as well but I told him I could do that. It is not sticky and seems fine, but I am new to reel machines. I knew it wouldn't be cheap getting into it, but a little $$ shocker before I even ran tape. :(

Anyway, any thoughts on these rates for a professional service?

p.s.-sorry, I cross-posted in TASCAM but no responses :(
 
acorec, you seem to have dealt with reels quite a bit before digital, any thoughts? ARP, you and Ghost and Beck among others still do. Sounds like a lot of tape users have learned to do things themselves. I'm not even close, and am going to go with A service, being this one or not, until I learn a little about these cool machines. How are the prices? Too inflated, about right, or is the guy taking me for a ride?
 
If these guys truly know what they are doing, I'd say the rates are about right.

I pay $100 an hour for my technician in Toronto who makes HOUSE CALLS, shocking, I know! :eek: ;) But, on a 300 pound, MS16 deck, it beats the prospect of hauling it in to his shop @$75 an hour plus tax. :o

While I do as much as I feel comfortable doing on my own, service wise, it's always smart to know your limitations and let the pros take it from there...Kind of like home dentistry, it's not a good idea! :D

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks, man. I knew I should not stop believing in GHOSTS, even when others were reluctant to answer :D
I'm hoping to brunt a mutual cost with the ebay seller, an engineer Gary M from San Fran, and feel decent about the whole thing. Gary has been good about communicating back, and actually called and talked to my tech Tom today.
Still have some costs, but knew I would before buying...just thought it may be after I ran tape for the first time :( :(
Thanks as always GHOST :)
 
Out of curiosity, how messed up do your heads have to be to need relapping? Just curious, but my intial guess may be "pretty messed up". From what I hear, that's like saying on a car 'the engine needs to be rebuilt' Really that bad, huh? Just wondering what kind of details to look for aside from the obvious...

Damnit (Beezelbubba kind of face and growl), $550 more on top of $910 paid. Plus $760 for a Mackie 24.8, plus $250 for Rapco snakes (I guess with Switchcraft ends). And another $700 I need for a meter bridge for the 8 bus. All this for what is being argued over in the next thread or two down, analog vs. dig. Still stand behind analog, though?....You betcha sweet ass I do :) :) :)
 
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Seeker of Rock said:
Damnit (Beezelbubba kind of face and growl), $550 more on top of $910 paid. Plus $760 for a Mackie 24.8, plus $250 for Rapco snakes (I guess with Switchcraft ends). And another $700 I need for a meter bridge for the 8 bus. All this for what is being argued over in the next thread or two down, analog vs. dig. Still stand behind analog, though?....You betcha sweet ass I do :) :) :)
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I remember seeing a Tascam price list around 93/94 - the NZ price was slightly over $10,000 for the MSR16, that was around US$5500 or so at the time, so you're still on the winning side.

Interestingly enough I remember that the MSR16 was about the same price as the DA88. I know which I'd prefer to have 12 years later :)
 
Not an engine rebuild. Its more like a new set of tires.
 
Yeah,...

the only thing I'd question is the replacement cost of the Tach Roller, that I'd verify by calling Tascam Parts. (323)727-8480. $140 seems a little high, but I'd call Tascam for specifics, before getting all worked up about it.

The other costs seem reasonable. Tech time is expensive, by definition. The head-relap cost seems reasonable, as does the calibration.

Note: @ $150, that calibration's $9.38 per channel, and you can assume that calibrating 16 channels on a 2-head deck will be a pain in the -aye! You're probably getting a deal on that, considering!

That the cost seems reasonable, IMO, does not preclude you from seeking to recoup some of these costs from the seller, as it's clear that the listing & description was less than 100% accurate. When an item is listed in "mint" or "near-mint" condition, it should be so,... not otherwise.

So,... in analog you get your initiation by fire, sometimes. To pay these repair/calibration costs up-front may be necessary and seems reasonably priced, for a one-off,... but to learn to do as much of it yourself as possible saves cost in the long run. That's why we're DIY'ers, in a lot of cases.
 
Aaaagh!

I don't know why I always misquote Tascam's number, since I call it often enough!

Tascam Parts' CORRECT NUMBER is (323)727-4840.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:
 
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