Tascam Midiizer

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novocane99

New member
If i want to slave my tascam TSR-8 to the DAW, can i use a midiizer to facilitate?

Exploring this as oppose to my current setup which uses a midi timepiece to convert smpte from the TSR-8 to word clock
 
That should work, yes. It can control machines like the TSR-8, and do a 'code only' sync where it slaves the tape deck to any old timecode. That would allow you to make it chase a non-TASCAM multitrack, a video deck, or in your case, a timecode provided by the DAW.

Keep in mind that it can take a while for the TSR-8 to lock, so giving it a lead of about 10-15 seconds before the song starts properly is a good idea. You can sometimes manage with 5 seconds if the deck is cued close enough to the start when you hit PLAY on the master, but it may take a few attempts.

Also, the accessory-2 cable can be a bit of a faff to build, as it works best if the line containing the capstan reference is shielded. Some of TASCAM's documentation omits the capstan reference line as well, which is a common "Why doesn't it work?" reason.

EDIT: I am using an ATS-500 to lock the TSR-8 to a 24-track, but the same principle applies. So that might be another sync unit to look for if you can't find the midiizer.
 
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I’m surprised the TSR-8 takes that long to resolve, because the transport and servo system is similar mechanically and electronically to the BR-20T halftrack I used to use, and I had a TimeLine Micro Lynx I used to chase-lock the Tascam to Cubase, and it resolved super-fast, even chasing and lock on-the-fly…was super-stable. I wonder if the latency to lock with the MTS-1000 and TSR-8 is more about the synchronizer and less about the tape machine itself? Nothing against the MTS-1000, that was just not my experience with a similar transport in chase-lock.
 
any recommendations for another unit that will slave TSR-8 to DAW that doesnt require a cable that needs to be built DIY?
 
Unless you find a synchronizer that was already setup to slave a TSR-8, or any other Tascam machine with the same protocol connector and pinout, you will have to make the cable. The painful process of having to do this in 95% or more of the cases where somebody is trying to do this is one of the main reasons people don’t pursue slaving the tape machine. It’s still my preference to slave the tape machine, but I 100% agree it is WAY harder to go this route.
 
novocane99 said:
any recommendations for another unit that will slave TSR-8 to DAW that doesnt require a cable that needs to be built DIY?
Click to expand...
You're going to have to connect something to the TSR-8 to control it, and the Accessory-2 cable is pretty straightforward as these things go. It's a 15-pin D-sub connector and only 8 pins are actually needed. The only other connector is a 38-pin parallel one which will be even more awkward to construct as there's more connectors to go wrong. And it won't work with the MIDIIZER or ATS unless you have a very rare interface board for them.

Now, making a 50-pin connector for the TimeLine Lynx - that's something I hope never to do again.

sweetbeats said:
I’m surprised the TSR-8 takes that long to resolve, because the transport and servo system is similar mechanically and electronically to the BR-20T halftrack I used to use, and I had a TimeLine Micro Lynx I used to chase-lock the Tascam to Cubase, and it resolved super-fast, even chasing and lock on-the-fly…was super-stable. I wonder if the latency to lock with the MTS-1000 and TSR-8 is more about the synchronizer and less about the tape machine itself? Nothing against the MTS-1000, that was just not my experience with a similar transport in chase-lock.
Click to expand...

It's very possible that mine's a little finicky because my servo line isn't shielded. FWIW the manual says to leave 30 seconds of timecode at the start which seems really excessive. I can usually manage with less than 10.
 
Thanks for all this information, could i use an ats 500 as oppose to the midiizer, and whats a reasonable price to pay for the ats 500?
 
novocane99 said:
Thanks for all this information, could i use an ats 500 as oppose to the midiizer, and whats a reasonable price to pay for the ats 500?
Click to expand...
Yes, either one would do the job - I'm just pointing out that you do have multiple options for this in case the Midiizer proves hard to find. I don't know what the current street price is for them because I bought mine in 2007.
 
A much better setup would use the TSR-8 as the master and let the DAW chase it. Called Code only Master. You don't have to deal with the TSR-8 lock up time.
 
Well well well, i bought a tascam midiizer, its a 120v, im in the uk, and foolishly plugged it into what i thought was a step down transformer, but was just a standard adaptor

Que a hum sound which rapidly got louder then it switched off, and as expected, it won’t turn on now i’ve tried it with a step down transformer

Anyone got any ideas on whats the damage? Are we talking repairable or has my carelessness turned it into a heap of junk?

I took the back off and think ive fried the transformer

Facepalm etc
 
That’s possible. Get out your multimeter, set it to resistance and measure for resistance across the primary winding…so between the two input wires of the transformer…if there is no connection, infinite resistance, “open”, the transformer is toast. Does it smell burned?
 
Assuming that it hasn't taken any other components out downstream - and hopefully the voltage regulators will have stopped that - melting the transformer shouldn't be the end of the world. The biggest problem is if it's designed for the transformer to go directly onto the PCB and you can no longer get ones with the same footprint. I had that problem with my Cheetah MS6 and ended up building an external power unit for it, with the transformer and some fuses.

(Incidentally the MS6 had both power transformers instantly die after I accidentally shorted a regulators to ground while trying to snoop the voltages. They did so with no outward sign and it took me a while to realise that both had failed simultaneously because that didn't seem statistically likely. So don't rely too much on burning smells as a diagnostic)
 
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