help me get into analog tape

[Harry]

Thanks everyone....Check this out
Did you know Tascam was making a new machine???

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showth ... p?t=127756

[I'm Painting Again]

your welcome and if you ever have any specific questions (hopefully I can give you a good answer) dont hesitate to pm me..

one other thing you might consider..just to get a feel for working with tape is buying a 4track cassette machine and working on that for a bit..it will give you an idea of how working with the tape medium is and may let you know if you really want to go down that road..

[Harry]

Thanks B.o.B Thats very cool of you!

I found a Tascam M-30 for sale for $50 and the guy said all it needs is a new capstain(sp?) roller.
If I can find someplace to get this part I think I'll pick it up.

It will give me someplace to start and learn without much to lose.

I like what I'm recording with and mixing down to now but I'm interested in all things"old school".
I may just be getting old,and it may just be my taste but IMHO records just "sounded" better 20 or 30 years ago(although I'm sure they were a HELL of a lot harder to make)

[Mark Alan Miller]

I found a Tascam M-30 for sale for $50 and the guy said all it needs is a new capstain(sp?) roller.
If I can find someplace to get this part I think I'll pick it up.
)

If it's a pinch roller then check out Terry's Rubber Rollers (taken from this thread.)

If it's a capstan motor you'll need, you may have difficulty. Tascam isn't making parts for many of its machines anymore. Contact Tascam directly, and if that gets you nowhere, contact your favorite tech and see if they know of anyone who might have one. Beware it might be difficult to track down, if not impossible (or, they could be readily available..!)

[matyas]

Tape is fun, and it's cool to work with, and it sounds neat - but as everyone has pointed out, it's hard to maintain, and it's expensive to get into, and the machines are expensive to keep running. Personally, I've found that when I want to track to tape, I just book time at a serious studio that has a nice, well-maintained tape machine. At the end of the session, I dump to digital to take it home for mixing and editing. What I paid to track to 2" was far less than what it would have cost to purchase a tape machine, have it shipped and serviced, and keep the thing up and running. Obviously, if you're going to be using the thing everyday, that's out of the question, but even if you need it once a month or so, it might be worth it to check out.

[joel hamilton]

Tape is fun, and it's cool to work with, and it sounds neat - but as everyone has pointed out, it's hard to maintain, and it's expensive to get into, and the machines are expensive to keep running. Personally, I've found that when I want to track to tape, I just book time at a serious studio that has a nice, well-maintained tape machine. At the end of the session, I dump to digital to take it home for mixing and editing. What I paid to track to 2" was far less than what it would have cost to purchase a tape machine, have it shipped and serviced, and keep the thing up and running. Obviously, if you're going to be using the thing everyday, that's out of the question, but even if you need it once a month or so, it might be worth it to check out.

Totally a great, great point.You also get the added benefit of seeing another engineer work, or at least working with another engineer...Can be inspirational. I always pick up a few tricks when I work with other people... even if it is just an obscure quick key or something...

[Harry]

I found a Tascam M-30 for sale for $50 and the guy said all it needs is a new capstain(sp?) roller.
If I can find someplace to get this part I think I'll pick it up.
)

If it's a pinch roller then check out Terry's Rubber Rollers (taken from this thread.)

If it's a capstan motor you'll need, you may have difficulty. Tascam isn't making parts for many of its machines anymore. Contact Tascam directly, and if that gets you nowhere, contact your favorite tech and see if they know of anyone who might have one. Beware it might be difficult to track down, if not impossible (or, they could be readily available..!)

I believe it's the rubber piece that slips onto the capstan(is that a pinch roller?)
Thanks for the heads up on the Terry's Rubber Roller ...I'm sure that will be a handy place to have bookmarked if I get into this

[I'm Painting Again]

the capstan should be a metal shaft that is connected to a motor and spins..the capstan idler is the whole mechanical piece that the rubber roller (pinch roller) is part of..the pinch roller presses against the capstan, with the tape between the the two, on play and record..

[blixton]

the Fatso cost 3 grand. Thats a lot of money.

[blixton]

what about a tascam 388? Is that thing cursed with the same problems? Sounds like tape is a pain in the ass.