Tascam 388 Story...

Wow

I just think that tascam designers might be proud to see someone cares so much after years...so much poetry and dust in your fingertips...a man bringing back all the glory to the tascams secret weapon...ive done some tracking now my 388 is running again and that ....sound is thick...rmgi tape is awesome too
 
HomeGos...I can't wait to use it...thick sound. I miss that.

I'd like to think somebody at Tascam would be pleased with the following their products have...maybe they do...they probably do. Unique company, but they have always been focused on what their consumers are needing now and so I think, in a way, they move on. I thought somebody there would be excited about the M-__ prototype mixer but there was no interest at all. Even if they have moved on, they ought to be proud of what they did. The list of great innovative well made and engineered products is big. They've got a fan in me for sure. :D
 
Maybe the old time engineers, who left TEAC long ago, would appreciate it more. I wonder where they are now?:confused:

Unfortunately, there's nothing really exciting about the current TASCAM products. It's certainly not as innovative or artsy as back in the analogue days. The 388, especially, is one extraordinary feat of engineering. I'm actually surprised that something like that actually got off the ground. It was maybe too ambitious. Can you imagine someone coming up with a concept of a reel recorder / mixer combo, quite sizable, weighing close to 100LBS and then suggesting a retail price that would be close to $10,000 in today's money? Wow!:)
 
Yeah I know, Daniel...and I agree...Its not my bag either. But the way I see it, Teac took availble technology back in the day and innovated...made it within reach of the budget artist. You see that repeated over and over with both open reel, mixing and cassette products. Today they are using the available technology that is at hand...digital. And they set the bar way back when...if you ignore the sonic differences between cassette and a wide format multitrack system just look at the chasm Teac created in price...in my perception Teac has made awfully difficult to out-do themselves and to stay competetive things have finally been engineered for low-cost manufacturing...more plastic and such. Their guitar and bass trainers are a neat product. Not innovative on the level of the cassette portastudio, but they ARE still innovating. I just think that, as with anything, the idiom 'there's nothing new under the sun' becomes more and more a reaility and there's less and less room to innovate when cost is a consideration. Just look at how the portastudio concept has grown up...it truly is a genre of gear. Roland, Yamaha, Zoom, Korg, Fostex...they're all doing it to the 9's...STILL! And Teac started it and they're slouch in their own market either...the 2488 really comes to mind. Reminds of the 488 in a way. They said it couln't be done and Teac said watch us. The 2488 was very successful because it packed more in less space for less price than anybody else. Sound familiar?

So, yeah, not my bag, and I don't see the same comraderie between manufacturer and consumer as I sense was the case back in the day, but I also don't think consumers in general have that kind of loyalty either. Its the fast food culture.

Yes the 388 is quite a product and I'm glad it made it to market. A few more years and it truly would have been an Edsel and it nearly was anyway but I'm so glad it did make it to market because, as I've said before, there truly is nothing like it.

The person I've talked to the most that supports the older analog gear is Jimmy in analog support at Teac...he's been there 24 years I think. Very knowledeable but my guess is he is deluged in calls on stereo cassette decks and I think he stays busy...I think I'm way more interested in the gear I have than he is, which isn't a discredit to him or anybody else.
 
I figured out how to completely disassemble the transport compartment cover. I did this so that there was no metal trim attached to the plastic window so I could try my and at polishing it. It came out good. I did the test on the lid off of my parts 388. Next I'll try it out on the one off the working system.

I got the RC-71 cleaned up, repaired and reassembled. Looks better and I also got to test to see if it works...and...it does!
 
Thanks to The Great Cobb my interest in getting the 388 back together and finished has been rekindled amdist the work on the Tascam M-__ mixer and the Ampex MM-1000...Got the transport plate cleaned up...getting ready to clean up the rollers...need to polish the transport cover and then its on to getting the transport adjusted and then to try my hand at calibrating it...who knows how long that will be but after studying the manual to get a firm handle on the monitor path and functions, and recalling just how cool is the 388, I'm eager to get it done.
 
Wow that thing is cool! The PCBs are arranged for easy access and it's the all in one design that gets me. The mixer built into the recorder like that gets rid of tons of cables and more setup time. That thing has gota be so fun to use :) One of the pix shows dbx? Dang if it has built in DBX too that's... just too much lol ;)
 
Oh boy, samth3mancgp you've got it...the 388 bug...I think you just nailed why the 388 has such a dedicated following. It is indeed self-contained. The whole Portastudio concept but big-brother size in features. Built-in dbx, precision fixed tape path, full microprocessor logic servo transport, can be slaved in a sync relationship, 3-band eq with 2 swept bands, inserts on all channels...super-duper neat-o. I have yet to use mine but I really look forward to playing with it. Yup...its a winner.

AllenM, I'm really confident with my mechanical skills. I'd call myself an advanced amatuer at best when it comes to electronics. I know enough to be dangerous and the smart people are kind enough to (frequently) get me out of hock! :D

Okay...so I haven't cleaned up the rollers yet but I did clean all the roller spindles and thrust washers as well as the guides and lifters and cleaned and lubed the lifter linkages...the transport bay is all reassembled up to putting the rollers and headblock back on and then I can start the mechanical alignment and adjustments.

Not sure what else is lurking in wait for me to fix on this (aside from VU meter #2 and #8 not working...might just be connections or something else...they worked when I picked it up from the seller), but I know he said the stereo out jacks weren't working and I'm hoping that's because the stereo fader was pretty messed up. So we'll see but I'm getting closer to knowing.
 
Okay...tape cover disassembled, inspected and cleaned...plexi-glass panel polished.

On to the rollers...
 
Okay...

Rollers are all cleaned up...2 thrust washers are missing but I've got them in spares...

MAN I'm a sucker for fine machining...:o
 
Bit by bit...

Got the headblock installed and the tape cover reassembled.

Pretty soon its time to bulk erase some of that BASF LPR35 I got for $5 a reel...
 
Hi there Sweetbeats,

I live in the Seattle area and I'm about to take leap into the world of the Tascam 388! I see you have quite a handle this machine.The guy I'm buying from has two. He's willing to sell one to me for $150. He says says the only noticeable issue is when the play and record buttons are pressed nothing happens,but the fwd and rew work.

He also has one with that he wouldn't sell for less than $800 in great condition, low hours and all accessories. I'm not as inclined to tear into it as you have,but would love to have one of these and learn how to take care of it. Obvious big difference in price. I haven't seen either unit in person yet, I will soon. It could be something as simple as a belt or fuse or worse on the one not working. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Mato
 
Mato,

Wish I had more to offer than this but it is really hard to say what the problem might be without at least a multimeter and some time...unless you are committed to getting into a project that may never resolve I'd stay away from the $150 unit. Yes, it could just be a bad connection or a bad fuse or something simple like that, but it could also be a bad logic circuit or something like that. IC logic issues creep me out. :eek:

And the thing is, if you can't get it to PLAY or REC then there's a whole HOST of functions for which you have no idea whether or not they work...what if...what if something went haywire on the PSU board and toasted a bunch of stuff downstream? You just don't know.

If you are set on a 388 you could get the $150 unit and think of it as a parts deck. If you can't get it going, then you've got a good donor machine for the right one when it comes along...and $800 is too steep IMHO. I can see paying $500 for a really nice 388 in fully-functional condition, but not much more. I paid $350 for mine and it needs a little TLC but not much, and cleaned up nice...I paid $125 for my parts 388 that was 100% complete and its only issue was a bad reel motor.

So think about that stuff before diving in, but the 388 is a wonderunit.

What's your background BTW? And welcome!
 
Got all the rollers back on, brake linkage adjusted, brake torques adjusted as well as the pinch roller pressure. It needed little adjusting except for the brake linkage...:cool:
 
Thanks for your suggestions Sweetbeats. I will consider all things said when looking at my 388 purchase! I don't have a background in analog tape recording. I've been using computers the last 10 years. My favorite machine at the moment is a Tascam SX1 Le Plus. I've been interested in recording to tape for some time, but the convenience of computers always stopped me. I recently discovered the 388 and liked the fact that it's a self contained unit. My recordings are usually just my own songs.

The $150 machine was initially $300, but he said he would take 1/2. I just came across another one for around $500. It's the original owner and has lots of extras. He says the operation is a bit sluggish and was told that it needs an adjustment of tape tensioning wheels. We'll see what happens. I'll let you know how it works out.

thanks again!

sweetbeats said:
Mato,

Wish I had more to offer than this but it is really hard to say what the problem might be without at least a multimeter and some time...unless you are committed to getting into a project that may never resolve I'd stay away from the $150 unit. Yes, it could just be a bad connection or a bad fuse or something simple like that, but it could also be a bad logic circuit or something like that. IC logic issues creep me out. :eek:

And the thing is, if you can't get it to PLAY or REC then there's a whole HOST of functions for which you have no idea whether or not they work...what if...what if something went haywire on the PSU board and toasted a bunch of stuff downstream? You just don't know.

If you are set on a 388 you could get the $150 unit and think of it as a parts deck. If you can't get it going, then you've got a good donor machine for the right one when it comes along...and $800 is too steep IMHO. I can see paying $500 for a really nice 388 in fully-functional condition, but not much more. I paid $350 for mine and it needs a little TLC but not much, and cleaned up nice...I paid $125 for my parts 388 that was 100% complete and its only issue was a bad reel motor.

So think about that stuff before diving in, but the 388 is a wonderunit.

What's your background BTW? And welcome!
Click to expand...
 
Just keeping the "Story" in one volume...related thread here regarding the MRL tape I plan on using to calibrate which is a 15ips tape without fringing compensation and I wanted to get that all straight in my head before I get started as its coming up pretty soon here, though clearly I'll need to figure out what is happening with PGM #'s 2 & 8 meters before I can calibrate...:mad:...anyway, here is the related thread:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?p=3296495#post3296495

Moved the 388 into the studio booth in the garage now where it is in company with the oscilloscope and other tools as well as the DAW system which has the signal generator stuff. The booth is better climate controlled and at least now the 388 is among the company of a much higher percentage of functional bits as opposed to my little work hovel out in the shop which is loaded with a crazy amount of parts and geear in various states of condition and repair...mostly Ampex stuff. The 388 looks good sitting on the table in the studio booth...
 
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