The Tascam 388
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- zen recordist
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A good friend and client just posted this. He did it on his 388
http://www.amanwholived.com/blog/2017/5 ... -to-boogie
http://www.amanwholived.com/blog/2017/5 ... -to-boogie
- markjazzbassist
- tinnitus
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Re: The Tascam 388
prices have gotten outrageous lately. it was my first real analog Reel to Reel so i've looked at getting one recently (why i bailed on that though is at the end of this thread). I bought my original one for 400 bucks (and bought a parts one a few years later for the same price). I saw them rise to around 800-900 and still saw the value, mixer and reel all in one for that much, separates plus cabling, etc would be around the same. ok. saw them rise to 1000 and thereabouts, still ok in my mind, expensive but i get the want and desire.
now i see them all over reverb, ebay, CL for $1800 !!!!!!!!! yes i said 1800 dollars!!! like they just doubled overnight or something. This makes no sense as at that much you could get a solid mixer and reel that would considerably out perform the 388. world gone crazy.
now i see them all over reverb, ebay, CL for $1800 !!!!!!!!! yes i said 1800 dollars!!! like they just doubled overnight or something. This makes no sense as at that much you could get a solid mixer and reel that would considerably out perform the 388. world gone crazy.
Re: The Tascam 388
Very "reel" value these days, haha, I had no trouble finding buyers for 2 of mine last year within a few days of each other for about $1500 each, locally in not even a super popular market (KC) so $1800 isn't crazy to me at the national level.markjazzbassist wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:31 pmprices have gotten outrageous lately. it was my first real analog Reel to Reel so i've looked at getting one recently (why i bailed on that though is at the end of this thread). I bought my original one for 400 bucks (and bought a parts one a few years later for the same price). I saw them rise to around 800-900 and still saw the value, mixer and reel all in one for that much, separates plus cabling, etc would be around the same. ok. saw them rise to 1000 and thereabouts, still ok in my mind, expensive but i get the want and desire.
now i see them all over reverb, ebay, CL for $1800 !!!!!!!!! yes i said 1800 dollars!!! like they just doubled overnight or something. This makes no sense as at that much you could get a solid mixer and reel that would considerably out perform the 388. world gone crazy.
Also the maintenance fees can be considerable so I totally think that's reasonable for a good one, to someone in the market.
And while I agree the 388 is sonically flawed, I think a good analogy is like an instant film camera. It is fun to use, instant gratification, self contained, has a characterful tone (good or bad depending on the goal), and is far less expensive to use than something Pro level.
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- takin' a dinner break
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Re: The Tascam 388
I have a 388 question (good to see this thread is still alive). Had one for years, sold it for a move, picked up another recently and except for some blown lamps the sucker is 100% - except for one thing: when a track is recording there is an audible pop on the tape (recorded) one full revolution of the reel later on any track that is recording. What the hell is that?
i 've got my own map, sucker
- shedshrine
- deaf.
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Re: The Tascam 388
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EDIT: PHotobucket is under new management or something, all photos have been restored. I was dreading the thought of replacing every freaking image on the first 8 pages or so of this thread.
EDIT: PHotobucket is under new management or something, all photos have been restored. I was dreading the thought of replacing every freaking image on the first 8 pages or so of this thread.
Last edited by shedshrine on Sat May 19, 2018 7:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: The Tascam 388
Having a little issue with channel 2 on my 388. I've been through the entire thread as well as the 388 maintenance/repair thread and haven't seen this addressed anywhere. My apologies if I missed it.
I did find the same problem on this thread in the HomeRecording.com forum, but it didn't appear to be solved there. He seems to have articulated it well, so I'm copying his description of the issue below...
"Track 2 meter does not read on record function enabled (red light on track 2). So no monitoring of input regardless of what channel is used to assign to track 2. The actual input does work on both Line & mic in (channel 2) and I can record on track 2 fine enough (assigned from whatever channel). The VU meter does show signal on playback AND IT CONTINUES TO SHOW LEVEL ON TAPE EVEN WHEN THE TRACK 5 RECORD FUNCTION IS ENGAGED (which is when it should be reading the line/mic in)."
EDIT: Heads have been cleaned and de-magged and the problem is still occurring.
Any ideas or input would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Mike
I did find the same problem on this thread in the HomeRecording.com forum, but it didn't appear to be solved there. He seems to have articulated it well, so I'm copying his description of the issue below...
"Track 2 meter does not read on record function enabled (red light on track 2). So no monitoring of input regardless of what channel is used to assign to track 2. The actual input does work on both Line & mic in (channel 2) and I can record on track 2 fine enough (assigned from whatever channel). The VU meter does show signal on playback AND IT CONTINUES TO SHOW LEVEL ON TAPE EVEN WHEN THE TRACK 5 RECORD FUNCTION IS ENGAGED (which is when it should be reading the line/mic in)."
EDIT: Heads have been cleaned and de-magged and the problem is still occurring.
Any ideas or input would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Mike
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- audio school
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Re: The Tascam 388
Hi. Does anyone here know where I could get my 388 serviced in the UK? I'm in the south of England, just below that there London. Anyone had any good results with a local tech? Is there anyone still out there who really knows old Tascam machines and could check mine over? Thanks in advance.
- vivalastblues
- steve albini likes it
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Re: The Tascam 388
Hey everyone. One little problem on my 388. One channel won't send, or at least won't meter on the even program outs (2,4,6, and and the Right stereo channel. Any ideas on what to do here? Every other channel works as it should.
Re: The Tascam 388
As we're all in lock up over here in the UK I've decided to go over all my bits that need repairing, and the first thing is my not yet used 388. Ive posted this before but basically the problem is track 4 isnt working when you monitor or record. the channel receives a signal but the meter doesnt register and the track records blank. i have an old tape that plays back track 4 but nothing records onto it. everything else seems to be working fine, ive even swapped the cards over to make sure its not that but nothing changed.
this is a short video i made showing the issue. would love to know anyone's thoughts!
https://youtu.be/_hqf8H-V6vY
this is a short video i made showing the issue. would love to know anyone's thoughts!
https://youtu.be/_hqf8H-V6vY
Re: The Tascam 388
I don’t remember if I’ve answered your ask before so sorry if you’ve already tried this. But I have fixed multiple machines with similar symptoms - the channel’s fader was intermittent/bad. I don’t guarantee this will fix it, but It is very easy to determine if this is the issue. Just take a working fader from another channel and swap with the other one.Dandna wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2020 4:23 amAs we're all in lock up over here in the UK I've decided to go over all my bits that need repairing, and the first thing is my not yet used 388. Ive posted this before but basically the problem is track 4 isnt working when you monitor or record. the channel receives a signal but the meter doesnt register and the track records blank. i have an old tape that plays back track 4 but nothing records onto it. everything else seems to be working fine, ive even swapped the cards over to make sure its not that but nothing changed.
this is a short video i made showing the issue. would love to know anyone's thoughts!
https://youtu.be/_hqf8H-V6vY
Re: The Tascam 388
Yes you did reply before but it completely slipped my mind to try your suggestion. I appreciate you reminding me, it will be the first thing i try. ill report back!
Re: The Tascam 388
Yes you did reply before but it completely slipped my mind to try your suggestion. I appreciate you reminding me, it will be the first thing i try. ill report back!
Re: The Tascam 388
okay, so had the Tascam on the bench today.
Tried swapping over the Channel PCB for channel 4 with channel 3, no change. can strike off the problem being channel related.
Swapped the faders between 3 and 4, no change, can also rule this out.
Next we removed the Monitor PCB, checked it over visually and put a multimeter over it to test all the points we could, everything seems fine with the card. checked the continuity of the cables for tracks 1-8 going to the motherboard (1) PCB and the Buss A PCB, all fine again.
Ive included some pics of the head, although i dont see why it would only be one track not recording, but just included them here in case anyone can see anything in them.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bemdfqtkxx...204_4.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v2u5hays4...215_3.jpg?dl=0
one last thing - after we had put it all back together as i unplugged my guitar (which i had been using as a sound source to check the problem) I noticed the needle on the VU meter went up to just below -20.
Every time i held the tip of the jack onto the metalwork of the guitar the meter seemed to register a very low signal (i was using a balanced XLR to 1/4" jack to plug my guitar into the XLR input of the 388).
Does this prick up anyone's ears?
Tried swapping over the Channel PCB for channel 4 with channel 3, no change. can strike off the problem being channel related.
Swapped the faders between 3 and 4, no change, can also rule this out.
Next we removed the Monitor PCB, checked it over visually and put a multimeter over it to test all the points we could, everything seems fine with the card. checked the continuity of the cables for tracks 1-8 going to the motherboard (1) PCB and the Buss A PCB, all fine again.
Ive included some pics of the head, although i dont see why it would only be one track not recording, but just included them here in case anyone can see anything in them.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bemdfqtkxx...204_4.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v2u5hays4...215_3.jpg?dl=0
one last thing - after we had put it all back together as i unplugged my guitar (which i had been using as a sound source to check the problem) I noticed the needle on the VU meter went up to just below -20.
Every time i held the tip of the jack onto the metalwork of the guitar the meter seemed to register a very low signal (i was using a balanced XLR to 1/4" jack to plug my guitar into the XLR input of the 388).
Does this prick up anyone's ears?
Re: The Tascam 388
Can you route the input of channel 4 and record to another track? Or vice versa?Dandna wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 11:55 amokay, so had the Tascam on the bench today.
Tried swapping over the Channel PCB for channel 4 with channel 3, no change. can strike off the problem being channel related.
Swapped the faders between 3 and 4, no change, can also rule this out.
Next we removed the Monitor PCB, checked it over visually and put a multimeter over it to test all the points we could, everything seems fine with the card. checked the continuity of the cables for tracks 1-8 going to the motherboard (1) PCB and the Buss A PCB, all fine again.
Ive included some pics of the head, although i dont see why it would only be one track not recording, but just included them here in case anyone can see anything in them.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bemdfqtkxx...204_4.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v2u5hays4...215_3.jpg?dl=0
one last thing - after we had put it all back together as i unplugged my guitar (which i had been using as a sound source to check the problem) I noticed the needle on the VU meter went up to just below -20.
Every time i held the tip of the jack onto the metalwork of the guitar the meter seemed to register a very low signal (i was using a balanced XLR to 1/4" jack to plug my guitar into the XLR input of the 388).
Does this prick up anyone's ears?
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