Noise on a channel on my tape machine.

[willhouk]

I just got a TEAC 3340 4 track. I have a problem with channel 1. When I record there is a buzz on the track after I'm done. When I'm not recording the channel is noisy but it's more of a hiss and not a buzz. Any ideas on how to fix this? Is it too expensive to repair? I am new to the tape world so any thoughts would be very helpful.

One good thing is the buzz is not noticeable when the music is playing. You only notice it when the music fades.

[Snarl 12/8]

Have you swapped out cables and such? Make sure the cable for that channel isn't going by any power lines or transformers?

[willhouk]

Swapping cables was the first thing I tried, it was not a bad cable. I tried to reproduce the buzz this evening and I couldn't get it to buzz again. Intermittent problems are the worst.

I do have a refrigerator and a freezer next to my recording desk, could one or both of those cause interference? I guess I can unplug them when I record. I also have two fluorescent lights in the garage and I think those can cause issues, but it seems like all of those things would be consistent and not intermittent.

[Snarl 12/8]

I do have a refrigerator and a freezer next to my recording desk, could one or both of those cause interference? I guess I can unplug them when I record. I also have two fluorescent lights in the garage and I think those can cause issues, but it seems like all of those things would be consistent and not intermittent.

The fridge/freezer could definitely be causing it and it would be intermittent. The lights might be contributing, but not noticably on their own, or you could be getting lucky and they're fine. Electromagnetic fields can have really whacky jurisdictions.

[snatchman]

I just got a TEAC 3340 4 track. I have a problem with channel 1. When I record there is a buzz on the track after I'm done. When I'm not recording the channel is noisy but it's more of a hiss and not a buzz. Any ideas on how to fix this? Is it too expensive to repair? I am new to the tape world so any thoughts would be very helpful.

One good thing is the buzz is not noticeable when the music is playing. You only notice it when the music fades.

Have you tried cleaning/demagnitizing the heads..?..If all fails ( as I had a 3340 some years ago that I recalls had this sorta problem). I think the tech replaced the op-amps ( 4558's) to lower noise better spec'd (#OP-275s).Seems to have sounded much btter and less noise too..!..Good luck..

[willhouk]

I have not done that and I don't believe it's been done to this machine in quite some time. I have read about the need to do this but I don't know how. Do you know of a good resource that explains this process. I know that I can really mess things up if I do it wrong but it seems like something I should know. This is my first tape machine and I've had it for a couple months.

Any books or articles you could recommend?

[willhouk]

A little update in case anyone is interested. It was the fridge. I can turn it off while I record so it's an easy fix. The beer gets a little warm but that's alright.