Teac, 80-8 tascam series. questions.

[Bass Rocket]

Hello,

I've recently acquired a 80-8 1/2" reel to reel 8 track tape machine and I have no idea what so ever where to start.

1st. I guess It'll need setting up. There is loads of info about setting up so that shouldn't be to much of a problem although I'm not exactly sure about doing this without a reference tone tape.

2nd. I think I want to use good ole quantegy 456, although I’ve heard a lot of things about 406 and 468. Also I heard that quantegy are stopping production, is this true?

So my question is, what do you think would be a good first buy, also, what sized reel 7" or 10.5" NAB or HUB? I've go one metal empty reel, which came with the machine.

I'll probably have a load more questions after I've got some tape as I don't have a manual, does anyone know where there is one online?

hummm.
Suggestions welcome.

Bass Rocket

 

[jmarkwolf]

I've got a question for you. I also recently acquired a used 80-8.

It is in mint condition (still in the original box!), although rewind and fast/forward are both slow. Might be sticky shed issues. I'm in the "tape purchasing que" waiting to acquire a new tape for testing.

I've noticed that the impedance wheel continues to roll a long time after I've stopped the tape. Does yours do this? I don't remember my original 80-8 doing this back in the 80's.

Incidentally I may have an extra DX-8 noise reduction unit for the 80-8 to sell soon.

 

[A Reel Person]

You'll need:...

An MRL 31J229 multifrequency calibration tape, & a signal generator, minimum, for proper setup.

You should stay with Quantegy 456, 1/2" on 10.5" reels w/NAB hubs.

The Quantegy situation should hopefully improve in a few months. I'd not sweat it too much, at this time. 1/2" tape is a bit harder to find now, but is still available if you look hard enough. As I said, analoggers are looking to the Quantegy & tape situation to improve, as time goes on. Quantegy is under bid from buyers interested in restarting production, and there's at least one company waiting in the wings to come out with an independent brand of analog mastering tape. Hold tight on the tape situation, for now. News changes daily.

Any older tapes with sticky shed can cause some real problems, mimicking electro-mechanical transport problems, but the answer is always the same: source some brand new tape, clean thoroughly & test again.

Just a few tips, for starters.

 

[Bass Rocket]

Thanks for the replies.

Jmarkwolf- I haven’t used my 80-8 yet, I haven’t got any tape: ( and I’m lucky the guy that GAVE me his 80-8 also GAVE me a dbx noise reduction unit. I don’t even know if any of this stuff works yet, it looks like someone has spat tea at it! Probably during a splicing frenzy! So I’ve got a lot of work to do on a tight budget.
A reel person – ‘multifrequency calibration tape’ is a bit out of my price range at the moment. Q.Can I roughly calibrate using tones from a computer and my ears?
I guess that after recording a tone on to tape the playback will determine what sort of adjustment the record eq level needs etc. will I be wasting my time, what do you think?

 

[The Ghost of FM]

You can't mimic flux levels with a computer and flux level is the starting point of any calibration procedure because from that level on the test tape, all other levels are set to reproduce it. It is your one and only measuring stick to set the repro head levels to and then make test recordings on a fresh roll of 456 to meet the repro levels attained via the calibration tape.

A calibration tape is crucial.

Cheers!

 

[Bass Rocket]

as regards tape

I've heard it boasted that 1 pass tape is better than new tape, is that possible?
Also, I’ve spotted some 468, which is 1 pass. It’s cheaper than everything else and apparently as good. Normally in life 'you get what you pay for' , would it be a bad idea to get this '1 pass 468 tape'? is there any truth in it being better than new tape?

 

[A Reel Person]

I don't think 1-pass tape is "better" than new,...

but it could be almost as good as brand new tape. Better? No.

You need that calibration tape to start at a known standard. Nothing else will do, & that's why calibration tapes are so expensive,... they're very precisely recorded across the entire width of tape. It's a very specialized item.

To calibrate without a standard reference calibration tape is not a calibration at all,... more like an un-calibration. Sorry!

 

[studiorite]

Hey guys,
Can antone give some insight as to the current value of an 80-8? I have gone totaly pc based recording and I have an excellent variable speed 80-8 with the factory calibration tape (I bought new in early 90s), matching dbx unit, service manual & schematics, operators manual, variable speed control, hand remote, stacks of Ampex 456 tapes each used once for various clients, and even the Teac Tascam ad brochure for the late 70s! Everything has been wrapped in plastic and stored in a closet in the studio (climate controlled, especially important for the expensive test tape)! As far as one pass tapes; we always ran a new tape through at least once in order to stretch the tape and drop any "flake" to reduce dropouts. Calibration tapes are critical to keep any mechanical machine maxed. We were a light duty home studio and thrurowly cal'd every few years.