HA! My bad. Hopefully this info is useful to someone else.kslight wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:27 amMagnetic Services wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 9:01 amI had JRF relap and align the heads on my 38 (not 388) several years ago, and it cost $190 plus $18 for shipping and insurance. Customer service (by his wife Cookie) was good. I wasn't really listening critically for improvements when I got it back, but I don't remember having any crosstalk or dropout problems since having it done.
(just looked at my receipt and apparently I also ordered an MRL calibration tape from them too. That was $145 + $12 for shipping).
I had mine done sometime in the 4 years since this post was made Thanks
Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
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Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
I'm having the following issue.
I've recently had my monitor buss pcb and m. board (the green one that joins all the other pcbs together) repaired. The first required two new pots to be soldered on and the latter required a repair to the Earth/Ground trace. When I put the monitor board and the m.buss back in place and then reconnected all the connections to the monitor pcb I noticed that a signal from any mic jack, routed to any one tape track is weak and makes all the channel pgm meters move at the same time. By contrast, a signal sent straight to the stereo buss is perfectly fine. I cannot for the life of me figure out why my machine's mixer is behaving in such an odd way. All the connections are connected to the right place so if I want to send a signal from channel 1 to track 1 only track 1's VU meter needle and the left buss meter needle should move. The other seven meter needles should stay perfectly still. Especially since I have no tape on the machine right now.
I've recently had my monitor buss pcb and m. board (the green one that joins all the other pcbs together) repaired. The first required two new pots to be soldered on and the latter required a repair to the Earth/Ground trace. When I put the monitor board and the m.buss back in place and then reconnected all the connections to the monitor pcb I noticed that a signal from any mic jack, routed to any one tape track is weak and makes all the channel pgm meters move at the same time. By contrast, a signal sent straight to the stereo buss is perfectly fine. I cannot for the life of me figure out why my machine's mixer is behaving in such an odd way. All the connections are connected to the right place so if I want to send a signal from channel 1 to track 1 only track 1's VU meter needle and the left buss meter needle should move. The other seven meter needles should stay perfectly still. Especially since I have no tape on the machine right now.
WWRHS?
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
The take reel side of my 388 stopped holding tension. Any ideas how serious of a problem this is?
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
Hmm. There's a tension arm adjuster screw in the top section (where the meters are). Do you have the manual?
WWRHS?
- shedshrine
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Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
https://museumofmagneticsoundrecording. ... Manual.pdf
I see the link on the first post of this thread is dead, but this link above has a nice scan of the Tascam 388 manual that is working as of 12/08/2021.
(I would have replaced the dead link on page one as well, but the new site won't allow the length of that post any longer, and so I can't make any edits that will save without losing most of that post)
_____________________________________________________________________
And, if any of you find you just don't want to futz with your 388 any longer....Behold, the Tascam 388 plugin.
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/trtascam/
Tascam 388 Plugin vs Real Tascam // IK MULTIMEDIA
Tascam 388 Plugin MUST BE STOPPED!
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Last edited by shedshrine on Wed Mar 27, 2024 3:00 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
shedshrine wrote: ↑Wed Dec 08, 2021 1:50 pmhttps://museumofmagneticsoundrecording. ... Manual.pdf
I see the link on the first post of this thread is dead, but this link above has a nice scan of the Tascam 388 manual that is working as of 12/08/2021.
(I would have replaced the dead link on page one as well, but the new site won't allow the length of that post any longer, and so I can't make any edits that will save without losing most of that post)
_____________________________________________________________________
And, if any of you find you just don't want to futz with your 388 any longer....Behold, the Tascam 388 plugin.
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/trtascam/
Tascam 388 Plugin vs Real Tascam // IK MULTIMEDIA
Lol.
I know my ideas are pretty “out there”, but even though I accept no one will make a reel 388 again (see what I did there?), I always thought it would be nifty if someone just made a digital 388 (much smaller)…same functionality just not to tape…coupled with all the 388 limitations, track ping pong, varispeed, dbx, and baked in software magic.
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
I am working on a project that was mixed using Logic Pro X. I was hoping to mix down 4 stereo stems to 8 tracks on the 388. However, the outputs of my focusrite interface are balanced and the line ins of the 388 are unbalanced. Will just using 8 1/4 inch TS cables be an issue? Usually I track to tape and then bounce those to logic to finish mixing, but that was not possible for this music. Any guidance would be massively appreciated
- digitaldrummer
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Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
I would bet that your Focusrite interface will adjust automatically to use the TS cables. the only thing you will have to worry about is cable-length, and any interference from the computer (unbalanced TS or RCA cables are more susceptible to high-frequency interference). So keep the cables as short as possible and away from the computer as best as you can and it should work.
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
digitaldrummer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:11 amI would bet that your Focusrite interface will adjust automatically to use the TS cables. the only thing you will have to worry about is cable-length, and any interference from the computer (unbalanced TS or RCA cables are more susceptible to high-frequency interference). So keep the cables as short as possible and away from the computer as best as you can and it should work.
thanks. that's good to know! Interface and 388 are about 4 or 5 feet from computer and cable is 4 feet, so should be good!
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
I'm suddenly having a problem with the tape transport in Play. FF and Rew/RTZ are both working fine.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
WWRHS?
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
Take the base plate off and have a look at the drive belt
WWRHS?
- shedshrine
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Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
Glad it was an easy fix if that is all that was needed!
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..So now Rhett Shull has a video discussing Why The Tascam 388 is his Favorite Piece Of Gear.
Which will surely lead to Rick Beato (taking a break from his stellar run of interviews) doing deep dives on various recording gear, starting with the Tascam 388, covering its influence and appeal for its fanbase.
Which will lead to Josh/JHS doing a limited run Tascam 388 pedal variation on their Colour Box.
____________________________________
..So now Rhett Shull has a video discussing Why The Tascam 388 is his Favorite Piece Of Gear.
Which will surely lead to Rick Beato (taking a break from his stellar run of interviews) doing deep dives on various recording gear, starting with the Tascam 388, covering its influence and appeal for its fanbase.
Which will lead to Josh/JHS doing a limited run Tascam 388 pedal variation on their Colour Box.
Re: Tascam 388 Maintenance, Repair and FAQ thread
Yep, belt was gone. As in no longer fulfilling its intended function.
So I got a new one.
So I got a new one.
WWRHS?
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