B
Beck
Guest
I think I need a keeper (I’m sure some of you would agree even before reading on). 
Anyway, I bought a new pinch roller for my TSR-8 a couple years ago just to have a spare. The one on my machine was fine at the time but may have been the original. When I got the new one from TASCAM I thought about whether I should just put the new one on and be done with it, or wait until the old one started acting up.
Problem is I forgot what I decided. So a couple weeks ago I started getting some problems… the tape was sticking to the pinch roller and intermittently sliding off the roller. I checked it and it was really tacky, though I wouldn’t say gummy.
I cleaned the heck out of it with rubber conditioner because I thought it was the new one. I was cursing TASCAM under my breath “What crappy replacement parts... it’s almost new... what the Hell!!!”
Then I went on a wild search through my studio for the “old one” since I thought it would be better than the new bad one. Guess what? I couldn’t find it or any other spare stuff for the TSR-8. Tonight I dragged half of my studio into the living room looking for that stuff. I finally found it, a new belt and a couple spare clampers and a reel table in a small box. I opened the plastic bag from TASCAM and there was the new pinch roller I had bought two years ago.
There are at least two lessons here.
1. Keep a log of every part you change and any other maintenance. I know this rule, but I was busy and got lazy.
2. Don’t put spare parts in any old box just because it fits, especially one for a Zenith Security Infrared Motion Sensor Patio Light.
I must have moved that box out of the way 50 times over the last week or so looking for those damn parts.
It should have dawned on me, as it was quite out of place in my studio. But because it was closed and looked new it was basically invisible during my search... and you know the fog of war and all that while you’re looking for something... you often don’t find the thing you were looking for until you’re looking for something else later on.
So there it is... I just had to tell someone that would understand and maybe even relate. My wife was wondering why I was getting so mad, and why I just didn’t go to Wal-Mart or the hardware store to get a new pinch roller.
(However, she did say she thought the name of the part sounded delightful). 
Anyway, I bought a new pinch roller for my TSR-8 a couple years ago just to have a spare. The one on my machine was fine at the time but may have been the original. When I got the new one from TASCAM I thought about whether I should just put the new one on and be done with it, or wait until the old one started acting up.
Problem is I forgot what I decided. So a couple weeks ago I started getting some problems… the tape was sticking to the pinch roller and intermittently sliding off the roller. I checked it and it was really tacky, though I wouldn’t say gummy.
I cleaned the heck out of it with rubber conditioner because I thought it was the new one. I was cursing TASCAM under my breath “What crappy replacement parts... it’s almost new... what the Hell!!!”
Then I went on a wild search through my studio for the “old one” since I thought it would be better than the new bad one. Guess what? I couldn’t find it or any other spare stuff for the TSR-8. Tonight I dragged half of my studio into the living room looking for that stuff. I finally found it, a new belt and a couple spare clampers and a reel table in a small box. I opened the plastic bag from TASCAM and there was the new pinch roller I had bought two years ago.
There are at least two lessons here.
1. Keep a log of every part you change and any other maintenance. I know this rule, but I was busy and got lazy.
2. Don’t put spare parts in any old box just because it fits, especially one for a Zenith Security Infrared Motion Sensor Patio Light.
I must have moved that box out of the way 50 times over the last week or so looking for those damn parts. It should have dawned on me, as it was quite out of place in my studio. But because it was closed and looked new it was basically invisible during my search... and you know the fog of war and all that while you’re looking for something... you often don’t find the thing you were looking for until you’re looking for something else later on.
So there it is... I just had to tell someone that would understand and maybe even relate. My wife was wondering why I was getting so mad, and why I just didn’t go to Wal-Mart or the hardware store to get a new pinch roller.
(However, she did say she thought the name of the part sounded delightful). 
Good one!