Tascam 244 pinch roller repair

  • Thread starter Thread starter Benjileo
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Benjileo

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Hi everybody,

I need to get a new pinch roller for my Portastudio 244 and have heard that Terry Witt is a good option for restoring the roller I already have. However $40 + international shipping is a lot for and I've come across this site: Dynamic Technology Group which offers them for $12. Are these going to be total crap? Has anybody else bought rollers from here?

Also the roller has left a sticky rubber mess on the capstan head - would standard isopropyl alcohol do the job?


Cheers!
Ben
 
That roller will probably be old stock, so you could try it but it might not last. Terry is very good, used him a lot. Re the goop, try turpentine and/or meths. Try not to get anything in the shaft bearings. Maybe take the motor off and work with it upside down.
 
Thats a problem with alleged 'new' parts. Its usually New old stock.

While finding New old stock parts can be great (for vintage cars), not so much for rubber parts for electronics.

Old rubber can deteriorate in the package. Although sealed, once you open it up and try to use it it's no better than what you're replacing. Ever buy a pack of rubber bands and toss em in a drawer? No good after a few years. Sometimes months.

Sorry for the long ass response. But if you are buying 'new' rubber, make sure it is newly manufactured. Or bite the bullet and have Terry redo it.
 
I personally stay away from Dynamic Technology Group...there's some negative personal history for me, and I've read a number of other accounts of either poor or unreliable service.

I don't know when the last time was anybody called Teac in Montebello, CA to see if they have any 244 pinch roller assemblies in stock. I got a new one from them for my 234 a couple years ago and I think the 244 maybe uses the same assembly. Might be worth a call.

But aside from that you absolutely can't go wrong with Terry. He will back his work, and he does beautiful work. I've only had one issue and I don't even think he was responsible and he made it right. If he can do the 244 roller you won't be disappointed. I know for a long time he didn't do the cassette transport rollers because they were too small. I know he started doing them some time ago...I recently sent a 238 pinch roller to him but something about the design of it made it not possible to rebuild. Can anybody verify Terry can do the 244 roller? Or you can always contact him to verify.

Oh by the way 91% isopropyl alcohol gets rid of the tarry black rubber goo just fine as another option. That's what I've always used. It's my go-to cleaning solvent.
 
I tried buying a PRW from that Dynamic place last summer and was told that he cannot get them anymore. So, why do you keep them on yr website then?
Stay away from that company. Not a good place to do business with. I'm going to contact TEAC and see if they still supply them. I don't think they do anymore but it's worth a shot.
 
I've bought a number of pretty cheap (£2 or less) pinch rollers (AV1722) from eBay fro my 244s as shipping costs make it a bit prohibitive to use Terry. I've had one which was slightly elliptical and produced some wow but the other have been fine - w&f below spec. I've been using 2 of them for 9 months now with no problem.
 
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