Teac A-3440 Advice

[jrdamien]

I picked up an A-3440 for free yesterday. It kind of worked but it was obviously very clean and very well maintained and was, well, free.

Took the back off - the belts are shot. New ones on the way. Started cleaning it. Not too bad. The erase head is really used but the other 2 heads are in OK condition. I've made good music with heads in worse condition.

So, A: What's the erase head for on this machine?

B: Assuming it works well enough to use do I need DBX (I have heard I do) and if so, what's the best but inexpensive DBX I an find for it?

Anything else to be aware of? Are new heads still available?

[floid]

You won't need the erase head if yr doing all first pass recording to fresh tape. Otherwise, it's gonna come in handy. Don't know about availability.
My 3440 came with a dbx dx-4d "modified to work with the 3440." I forget the"proper" unit intended for it. There should be mention of it in the manual, easy to find online. I've never felt the need for N/R though, and have never even patched in the dbx to see what (I) was missing. There's some hiss, but tracking bright brings it down to very acceptable levels.
Be careful of the tension arm, it's delicate (bendy).
Fun deck.

[markjazzbassist]

i had the older 3340s, great machine and sound. very deep bass bump on the heads.

you don't need DBX if you run it 15 IPS. my stuff sounded great. one thing that was wierd on the 3340 (not sure if it's true on the 3440) is that unity gain on the inputs was 3 o'clock.

[tjcasey1]

The erase head erases the old signal before you record the new signal with the record head.

So if it's blank tape and you're not going to overdub (or even rewind and re-record a new take), you don't need it. But otherwise, the record head will just add more sound onto a track on top of what's already there.

[I'm Painting Again]

no dbx here and it sounds acceptable

hiss only matters if its a quiet classical passage or jazz, etc.

for rock and music with no space it prob won't be an issue for you

best way to understand is record something on it and see what it gives you..

[I'm Painting Again]

heres a good example of how it should sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2quieLxCE0