shedshrine
Member
Tascam 388 capstan belt install primer
CAPSTAN BELT REPLACEMENT
Lay the deck face down and take off the back.
Take out a screw on one leg of the large wheel bracket, and loosen its other one, then slide the new belt under the free leg and put the belt around both wheels like this.
While we're at it, another issue I had with mine was that the tape counter wheel wouldn't spin, so the readout wasn't working. Two things fixed this.
One was to scrub the rubber that contacts the tape with a damp qtip until it was nice and grabby.
(the black screw top cover on the left in this picture threads into the shaft the wheel rotates on and should come off easily with a good twist)
The second was to coat a little light machine oil on the shaft to allow the wheel to spin freely.
One of the things I read about that can also cause poor readout accuracy is if these little sensors get dusty.
They optically read the little stripes turning on the bottom of the wheel. Pretty cool.
The threads lately about how tape machines are not point and shoot plugins make good points.
You definitely want to educate yourself about basic maintenance before jumping in.
I paid a pro for Initial setup and fortunately, for the limited usage it sees, has been tanklike since, and nice to have around.
But basically I just keep it around to take pictures of. :wink:
A vintage pampered and not used enough Tascam 388 and her owner share a tender moment
CAPSTAN BELT REPLACEMENT
Lay the deck face down and take off the back.
While we're at it, another issue I had with mine was that the tape counter wheel wouldn't spin, so the readout wasn't working. Two things fixed this.
One was to scrub the rubber that contacts the tape with a damp qtip until it was nice and grabby.
(the black screw top cover on the left in this picture threads into the shaft the wheel rotates on and should come off easily with a good twist)
The second was to coat a little light machine oil on the shaft to allow the wheel to spin freely.
One of the things I read about that can also cause poor readout accuracy is if these little sensors get dusty.
They optically read the little stripes turning on the bottom of the wheel. Pretty cool.
The threads lately about how tape machines are not point and shoot plugins make good points.
You definitely want to educate yourself about basic maintenance before jumping in.
I paid a pro for Initial setup and fortunately, for the limited usage it sees, has been tanklike since, and nice to have around.
But basically I just keep it around to take pictures of. :wink:
A vintage pampered and not used enough Tascam 388 and her owner share a tender moment
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