tascam 388 not playing

[hotel2tango]

hey, i have a tascam 388 that i love more than any woman.
yesterday i fired it up to record but for some reason it won;t play. it still ffw and rwd and was fine the last time i used it. it makes a sound like its trying to play but just won;t. any help would be err... a big help

 

[jjones1700]

I haven't opened my 388 up yet, but I'm going to assume it is a 3 motor deck. It sounds like you may have a bad belt. Either it dryrotted and broke apart, stretched a bit and won't grab the flywheel/pulley, or it turned to goo. It's just an assumption, but probably the most likely culprit if you still have ffwd/rewind functions.

 

[sweetbeats]

that's exactly where my thoughts went...with tape UNLOADED, turn the 388 on and lift up the right tension arm...does the capstan shaft spin? If it doesn't spin can you hear the motor spinning up? If the answers are no and yes to those two questions I put my money on a broken or worn capstan belt like jjones said...Tascam has them. Its pretty easy to DIY replace it.

 

[hotel2tango]

argrgrh damn. was just about to record ah well thanx for the fast replys.

 

[jjones1700]

argrgrh damn. was just about to record ah well thanx for the fast replys.

We've all been there man. Call Tascam tomorrow and order the belt. Most likely, by the end of the week you can drop the new belt on and be ready for the weekend! As a side note, have you taken a good look at your rubber pinch roller? I'm beginning to think that one should change both at the same time. Seems like both have been the culprit of my problems, mostly simultaneously. Just a thought.

You'll be up and running soon enough.