Tascam 58-OB Story...

  • Thread starter Thread starter sweetbeats
  • Start date Start date
Back burner but not forgotten

I needed some scrap capacitor tails for another project so I stuffed and soldered new caps in the Power PCB (B); the little one for the balanced I/O on the 58-OB...I had caps on hand to stuff 5 of the 7 positions...the other two are on back-order.

BTW, all you 58-OB owners, if you ever recap your Power PCB (B), be mindful that the schematic shows cap C3 as being a 35V 100µ, while the parts list shows it being a 25V 100µ cap...I double-checked and it was a 25V cap that was originally installed at the factory. Dunno why the schemo sez 35V, but I replaced the original with a new one of the same value.

This 58 will be running again one day.

In recent months I've been working more with my 48 and love a number of things about it, but every time I tinker with the 58 I find that I have a real affinity for it, despite its hair-splitting short-comings when compared to the 48... :o
 
Ouch those battered 58 pics brought a tear to my eye. Having owned a 48 and now a 42, I would not mind trying a 52 or 58!

PS I see a lot of familiar names here! Hey Sweetbeats and Vintage TX! :D
 
Welcome mastercontrolmedia!!

Its great to see you posting here! :D

Yep, a number of people migrated over to here...mamm7125 posts over here as does pianodano. I found it to be a really great community right from the get-go. ;)

Guys, mastercontrol and I go back a little ways over at the Tascam Analog forum...he used to have some of the nicest 34's I've ever seen as well as a 48...now he just picked up one of the snaziest 42's I've ever laid eyes on...check it out: http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19520

Again, welcome!
 
A friend of sweets is a friend of ours!;) Indeed, welcome to the forum mastercontrolme! :D
 
cjacek said:
A friend of sweets is a friend of ours!;) Indeed, welcome to the forum mastercontrolme! :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! Unfortunaly, my username seemes to be too long and cut off the "dia" :D I am also known as vincei and sonyeslover on other audio forums out there. Great to be here and now I have yet another place to chat! :)
 
Sweet-beats,

Do you happen to have, know or note the type (or inscriptions) of the reel motor bearings? :confused:

My motors are noisy too! (BR-20, which I think uses the same motors as a 32.... are they the same on a 58?) :confused:


Mike
 
Mike, welcome aboard! :D

The reel motors in the BR-20 are not the same as the 32, and the 32 motors are not the same as the 58...now that is according to part numbers. I think the only difference between the 58 and 32 motors is the shaft length (1/2" machine vs. 1/4"). The BR-20 is a different story...totally different housing. I'd be happy to get the numbers off the 58 bearings for you if you'd like. Let me know. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are the same size as the BR-20 bearings, but I can't confirm that for you at this point (maybe someday I'll be tearing into my BR-20 reel motors... :D:D:D)

Let me know.

How are you using your BR-20? What else do you have in your setup? Again, welcome!
 
Hello there Sweetbeats!

Yes, please do! I'd love to have the 58's bearing numbers...

I'm down in sunny Mexico (for a lot of years now), and a few months ago (Nov. I think), I scored a local BR-20 for 215 bucks! :eek:

The heads are almost pristine as is the deck itself. Besides head misalignment and missing feet, it's a real keeper.

Sadly, both RW and FF exhibit noisy motors (not so on PB). Bearings are my guess. Maybe I can try some of those super full ceramic CZ bearings showing up! :D

Anyways, I have a moderate recording studio down here (weekends). I joined up with another fellow and began making dance house music about 3 years ago.

We use the R2Rs to "warm" up our final mixes a bit, though all 3 of them have been decommissioned for adjustment, tuning, cleaning, etc. (by me! ...this is where I spend most of my free time with).

All replacements (for the BR-20s) have been obtained from Mr. Kawashima at Kawashima Audio Service from Kyoto. Real cool guy! I wonder if he can get those darn bearings??? :confused:

Anyways, here's an approx. list (from memory, since I'm at my daytime job) of the gear we have (totally owned by me) at the studio (Velvet Dream Studios). A partial documented (illustrated) tear-down of the BR-20 is at my blog (velvet-dream).

Panasonic MDA-1 ADAT deck
Panasonic SV-3700 DAT deck
Tascam DA-78HR DTRS-HR deck
2 Akai DR-4 HDD recorders
Linksys WRT54G WiFi router
Alesis 3630 processor
Stanton C.504 dual CD player
Behringer T-1952 tube processor
2 Sun Cobalt RaQ4i web servers
Marantz PMD520 pro dual cassette deck
Akai DR-8 HDD recorder
2 Behringer MX882 Ultralink Pro line mixers
SoundTrack processor (can't remember model)
dbx 224X Type II noise reduction
dbx 400X program route selector
Lancast Century 8112 VFD 100/10 lan switch
2 Tsunami 31 band EQs (can't remember model)
Antares AVP-1 processor
Behringer HA4700 PowerPlay Pro-XL 4ch headphone amp
Phonic Helixboard 12 USB mixer
2 NEC caddy CD players (can't remember model)
Behringer MX9000 EuroDesk mixer
Panasonic AG-5700 pro SVHS deck
Sony EVO-9500A pro Hi-8 deck
Mitsubishi BV-1000 pro SVHS deck
Sanyo GVR-S955 pro SVHS deck
Panasonic AG-7150 pro SVHS player
Akai S5000 sampler
2 Neoware thin clients
2 Tascam BR-20 R2Rs
5 dbx 150X Type I noise reduction
Tascam 32 R2R
Tascam DX-2D dbx Type I noise reduction
Mitsubishi DT-40s cassette deck
Sanyo Plus N55 noise reduction
Fatar Studiologic VMK188plus MIDI master controller
Yamaha SLG100N silent electroacoustic guitar
Yamaha ERG112C electric guitar
Yamaha RBX375 electric bass guitar
CAD Trion 6000 condenser mic
2 CAD GXL2200 condenser mic
2 CAD GXL1200 condenser mic
iMac Alum 24" late 2008 Edition
Gateway T-1602M laptop
Sun SunFire 2U server (can't remember model)
A bunch of Koss earphones
Sony EVW-300 camcorder
JVC GY-X2B camcorder
JVC KY-27U camera
Sony XC-003 camera
Sony DPA-300 still image recorder
3 Panasonic WV-E550 cameras
Some Minolta, Sony and Nikon film and digital photo cameras
Sony DCR-HC32 MiniDV Handycam
2 Polaroid film scanners
Video scaler (can't remember make or model)

I probably have some more stuff lying around, but I can't remember! :eek:

All this stuff is at the studio!


Mike
 
Last edited:
Mike,

That's quite a list! :D

I'll have a look at the bearings and get the numbers up here. I have a number of partially disassembled reel motors. I'll also measure the bearing dimensions with a micrometer.

You should be able to source bearings from any bearing supply vendor. They don't appear to be anything custom or special. I used to work in a machine shop.

Either way, I'll get the numbers off of them. Whatever numbers that are on them should cross-reference with a trade number, and worst-case scenario you'll have the dimensions +/-0.001" to reference.
 
The reel motor bearings are

608Z's made by NSK...that's the OEM spec.

I found some here under the trade number 608ZZ.

The dimensions are:

ID = 8mm
OD = 22mm
Thickness = 7mm
 
For the "collector" in me...

Just scored this on eBay:

"TEAC Tascam Series 50 Recorder Advertising Brochure ad. 10 pages, full color, very good condition."

Got it for $2.99 shipped. :)
 

Attachments

  • abca_1.webp
    abca_1.webp
    14.3 KB · Views: 133
I saw that brochure, if it was for the 40 series I would have bit. It's a nice addition for your collection.
 
I got the brochure...

Wow...it really has a wealth of info in it...gives me a whole new level of respect for Teac and the design of the 58...I'm sure I'd feel the same if I saw similar documents for other Teac/Tascam decks, but I own the 58, so I guess I'm partial. :D

The evolutionary picture of 1/2" 8-track decks from that era from Teac is becoming more clear...the 80-8 is kind of the grand-pappy of them okay (and yes it does go back to 70-8, but there is such a difference between the 70 and 80 series, yes?), and then the lineage splits into the 58 and the 38. The picture above of the 80-8 tape path shows that the 80-8 has some of the robust professional build ideas in it that made it to the 58, but there is a whole new ball-game in the 58's global tape path, logic and amp circuitry and physical build. The 38, though a robust deck for sure, had production ideology that helped it stay in a certain price bracket. That's part of what makes it special; what they were able to include in the product for the price it was offered...they did well IMHO. Then comes the 48 and it is like a super 38...if you look at the component layout, tape path design and all that there is a direct lineage there...and the 48 is where sync capability came into that line. Then the 38/48 lineage continued into the TSR-8. The 58 lineage continued in the ATR60-8. This is all IMHO...did I miss a deck in there?

My point is that in the whole 10 pages of the brochure it is dripping with professional application information...design ideology that was driven by and geared toward the professional environment...not one mention of the "professional home recordist".

The component architecture (PCB locations and such) is goofy compared to the 48 for sure as I've said, um, a couple times before, but they really went gangbusters on the technology of the time and the physical build of the deck.

Gotta get it going...

BTW, the brochure was in quite good condition...covers a but scuffed, a tad wrinkled here and there...maybe 7/10, but inside was minty. ;)
 
That's a great deal on that brochure, Cory.:) There's a guy on eBay selling that same one for $95!:eek::D
 
Interesting stuff, I love brochures. I once had one for the 30 series decks and loved it, the 50 series brochure must be fantastic! Come to think of it, I had one for the BR20 too...I wonder where those darn things are...:(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top