Tascam 424, some issues with tape speed playback.

[pM of impk21.co]

I know the best thing is to take my 4-track to a service center. But I am curious if somebody else may have had the same problem and whether or not it's even worth fixing.

I have had this unit for about 5 years, up until two years ago it worked fine. I quit using it when the unit started acting up. Every time I went to turn the unit on, the tape deck would play auto-matically and then would just keep clicking and do nothing else no matter what button I pushed until I would shut the unit off. I have since moved on to digital and stored it in my basement, which you can only imagine how stupid that was. Anyhow, I pulled it out of the basement today for the hell of it and when I played a tape, it played w/o the previous issue. But when I play my old recordings now, it plays it really slow, I mean really slow, its not the tape speed adjustment or the pitch control, already tested that, any thoughts, previous experiences shared would be appreciated. Thanx, PM

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Could be something as simple as a lose drive belt that is in need of replacement.

As for the original issue, that sounds like a sticky FET transistor switch in the transport logic board but as that's not acting up any more, it's hard to say?

Service shops do offer estimates you know. Perhaps the unit is worth the fee to find out for sure.

Cheers!

 

[A Reel Person]

That's the typical symptom of a worn out capstan drive belt,...

a low cost item, $3 generic and about $12 from Tascam.