Tascam 424 plays back distorted

[jgreen]

I recorded on it earlier today and it worked fine. I just tried to listen and it's very distorted. Any ideas? Should I pay to have it looked or just buy another? Thanks.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Distorted because the signal is pegged on the meters in the red or just distorted with normal levels?

Distortion just on 1 or 2 channels or all of them?

Is the distortion present on headphones and the main outs to your monitoring system?

Are the heads clean?

Is it a fuzzy distortion like a dirty electric guitar or more of a warbling sound which might be mechanically related?

The more you can tell us, the more we can pin down the specific problem and then advise to fix or replace it.

Cheers!

 

[jgreen]

It isn't in the red. The volume is very low and all channels distort very broken up and fuzzy. I always clean and demagnetize the heads. It was fine- I turned it off and later tried to listen to what I had done and it was wrecked. I can't test the outputs right now but the headphones are fine.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

It isn't in the red. The volume is very low and all channels distort very broken up and fuzzy. I always clean and demagnetize the heads. It was fine- I turned it off and later tried to listen to what I had done and it was wrecked. I can't test the outputs right now but the headphones are fine.

OK. So, something common to all the channels.

Have you tried simple monitoring of the inputs to the mixer section? IE: plugging in a drum machine or CD player, will it monitor cleanly to the headphones or does that come out distorted too? How about a tape from a previous successful recording project? Does that distort too in the same way or does it play cleanly?

Just trying to pin down the specific issue.



Cheers!

 

[jgreen]

Will do. Thanks. See below.

 

[jgreen]

CDs and all tapes distort except at very low volume, much lower than I'm used to working with. Even then I hear distortion in the bass. What's strange to me is that whatever went wrong seems to have happened while the machine was turned off. It was working when I turned it off and then it was distorting when I turned it back on.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

CDs and all tapes distort except at very low volume, much lower than I'm used to working with. Even then I hear distortion in the bass. What's strange to me is that whatever went wrong seems to have happened while the machine was turned off. It was working when I turned it off and then it was distorting when I turned it back on.

So, we can surmise that its not a mechanical problem and most likely a failure of a simple part like a diode, transistor or capacitor.

So to address your original question, yes. Get an estimate from a reputable repair shop that has experience with these types of products and get it fixed. Scrapping it and buying another one would not save you any money and could possibly expose you to additional problems if the seller is not 100% forthright on the condition.

Cheers!

 

[jgreen]

So, we can surmise that its not a mechanical problem and most likely a failure of a simple part like a diode, transistor or capacitor.

So to address your original question, yes. Get an estimate from a reputable repair shop that has experience with these types of products and get it fixed. Scrapping it and buying another one would not save you any money and could possibly expose you to additional problems if the seller is not 100% forthright on the condition.

Cheers!

I've got a good repair guy. I'll take it in. I appreciate the help, Jim

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Cool.

Let us know how it works out.

Cheers!