The Tascam 388

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:30 am

It was the cap for the Buss 3/4 assign switch in channel 2.

I'm working on some new songs. Just writing. Not recording. Yet.

Mr. Scott Anthony · Post by **Mr. Scott Anthony** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 5:44 am

Yesterday, my new MacBook Pro, Apogee Ensemble and sundry other pieces of an upgraded recording rig were shipped to me. In getting together a list of old gear to sell on ebay/craigslist, I considered for the first time, selling my old 388, which has been in a closet for a few years.

I end up on this thread, which now has me primed to have her cleaned up and serviced to see how tracking drums on the 388 and dumping to the DAW works for me. Looks like I need to buy a few new reels of tape.

markjazzbassist · Post by **markjazzbassist** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 11:46 am

thank you everyone for this wonderful thread, i am going to be taking the dive into a tascam 388 in the very near future, i've read the whole thread, started reading the manual, and am going to get some tape so i'm ready to go when it arrives.

thanks for all the great info

j.harv · Post by **j.harv** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:27 pm

Welcome to the wonderful world of the 388.
If you get yourself a good working unit,you'll be happy.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:43 pm

So I'm getting around to replacing the fuses in my 388...

According to the PCB I need:

4x T3.15A 250V
1x T4A 250V

But I don't know about slow blow vs fast blow and it doesn't specify which is suitable...does it matter? At the place I went they didn't seem to have the 3.15A fuses in fast blow.

shedshrine · Post by **shedshrine** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:11 pm

(from page 4)

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:39 pm

Coool thanks shedshrine.

Are the ratings different because I'm in Australia?

markjazzbassist · Post by **markjazzbassist** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:27 pm

what outboard gear compliments the 388 well? I'm thinking about compressors (dbx 160xt), preamps (Art Pro Channel), and maybe a spring reverb unit (vanamps, some old ebay finds).

what have you found pairs well with it?

TheRealRoach · Post by **TheRealRoach** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:25 am

markjazzbassist wrote:what outboard gear compliments the 388 well? I'm thinking about compressors (dbx 160xt), preamps (Art Pro Channel), and maybe a spring reverb unit (vanamps, some old ebay finds).

what have you found pairs well with it?

Doing a mix off the 388 with a spring reverb unit and and tape echo wired up to each mono fx send/rtn is glorious. Killer. As far as pre's I would say that the brighter modern pres are not a bad choice since the 388 is a pretty mellow, thick tone. This has a lot to do with 7.5ips tape speed. That being said, some kind of crazy old pre like a Presto would probably sound kick ass through this.

analogfil · Post by **analogfil** » Thu May 12, 2011 11:26 am

Hi everybody, congratulations on this amazing thread. Keep on the good work!

Anyway, my Tascam 388 which I bought in 85 brand new and still using it (next to my computer...) is in perfect condition but now is getting painfully slow when I rewind it.
I'm thinking in getting into the owner manual as I know it guides you trough pretty much any trouble... I'm guessing that is an easy adjustment but before that I'm asking for someone who could tell me what could specifically the problem be and what to look at... I'm just a musician doing music. Not a technical guy...

Thank you

analogfil · Post by **analogfil** » Thu May 12, 2011 11:52 am

By the way, I realized that if I push the left tension roller down just a bit it speeds up. I guess the trouble is in the tension roller adjustment? yes?

franiturbe wrote:Hi everybody, congratulations on this amazing thread. Keep on the good work!

Anyway, my Tascam 388 which I bought in 85 brand new and still using it (next to my computer...) is in perfect condition but now is getting painfully slow when I rewind it.
I'm thinking in getting into the owner manual as I know it guides you trough pretty much any trouble... I'm guessing that is an easy adjustment but before that I'm asking for someone who could tell me what could specifically the problem be and what to look at... I'm just a musician doing music. Not a technical guy...

Thank you

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Sun May 15, 2011 9:56 am

franiturbe wrote:By the way, I realized that if I push the left tension roller down just a bit it speeds up. I guess the trouble is in the tension roller adjustment? yes?

franiturbe wrote:Hi everybody, congratulations on this amazing thread. Keep on the good work!

Anyway, my Tascam 388 which I bought in 85 brand new and still using it (next to my computer...) is in perfect condition but now is getting painfully slow when I rewind it.
I'm thinking in getting into the owner manual as I know it guides you trough pretty much any trouble... I'm guessing that is an easy adjustment but before that I'm asking for someone who could tell me what could specifically the problem be and what to look at... I'm just a musician doing music. Not a technical guy...

Thank you

Your 388 is having a problem with either the tape tension or the rewind motor.

Adrian Pro Audio in Canoga Park is one of the leading repair facilities of narrow-format reel-to-reel decks in Los Angeles. Take you deck there for an evaluation and repair. The cost will be worth the trouble and you'll have your 388 back and ready to go quickly.

analogfil · Post by **analogfil** » Sun May 15, 2011 11:13 am

Hi Thank you very much. At the end I figured out via owner manual witch gives you a very good guidance. I mean, you must have kind of this spirit of a child curiosity breaking down your parents radio but... I did it and it was pretty simple. Just needed adjustment of left and right tension arms. In order to do that you have to locate the specific screws that manage that on the Reel Servo Adjustment PCB... just did what the manual says and my Tascam runs like a Champ...
Anyway is not the first time I get recommendation of Adrian Pro Audio and I'm thinking on have a general evaluation of my baby, bias, dirty console faders, etc.

Thanks again

tweak · Post by **tweak** » Sun May 15, 2011 4:21 pm

I just picked up a 388 today for $250, the seller also gave me a reel of quantegy 642. I'm completely clueless when It comes to analog recording. help!

shedshrine · Post by **shedshrine** » Mon May 16, 2011 11:36 am

tweak wrote:I just picked up a 388 today for $250, the seller also gave me a reel of quantegy 642. I'm completely clueless when It comes to analog recording. help!

Tweak-
My personal opinion from experience and reading similar posts. You will probably get better response if you at least make an effort to explore what is so readily available here . This thread alone has step by step procedural directions and photos for the very process you are asking about. Have you opened the manual? Do you have the manual? It?s also available in this thread. Analog gear is a labor of love, or of finding a good tech. If you have just got this deck and have no mechanical aptitude or experience, get it to a tech. Once you have a working up to spec unit, then you can dabble..carefully and familiarize yourself with the maintenance. I took mine to a tech from the git go, and it was well worth the money, time and effort. That story as well is included in this thread. Get it up to spec, and get to recording.
Hope this doesn?t come across as a rant, just trying to point you in the right direction.

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