The Tascam 388

mjt335 · Post by **mjt335** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:51 pm

Found the back panel online...

I don't see a +4/-10, but there is bal/unbal switch below the stereo outs... Maybe I have it set to unbalanced. I'll double check on my interface too.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:38 pm

Worth a shot. I don't have time to mess with it on my end at the moment. You might pay attention to how hot your mix is in general, as well? What are your meters showing?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:08 am

The RCA phonos are -10 dBV and the XLR jacks are +4 dBm. The Bal/Unbal switch effects the XLR jacks and enables the use of balanced (all three pins wired) or unbalanced (ground unconnected) cables. It has no effect on the signal strength of the outputs

*Has the manual* No, I can't copy it for you. Sorry.

mjt335 · Post by **mjt335** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:08 am

Thanks, Mark. I'll try the RCA's next time I get a chance to mix.

illuminations · Post by **illuminations** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 11:19 am

Hoping someone may be able to help with a small issue. The fourth channel on my 388 is not producing sound during mixing. I can listen to it while recording but when I switch over to RMX I'm getting nothing. I have some replacement channel strips, but is there a way to find out what's wrong with this one? I'll pull it apart tonight to take a look - is there anything I should be looking for? Besides the switch maybe something specific that might need soldered? I have OK/basic soldering skills and can sort of read schematics (although I've just realized the downloaded manual I have is incomplete).

illuminations · Post by **illuminations** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:56 pm

There is also a posting for a 388 on ebay right now with this description:

"Professionally re-calibrated Tascam 388. This Tech has eliminated the polar electrolytics from the channel strip chains and utilized ?0VDC offset FET's to achieve massive upgrade in the noise floor and "breathability" of the amplifying circuits. The auction includes a calibration tape, a second roll of new LPR35 that I happen to have, tape head cloths and head demagnetizer. These are for maintenance.

Additionally all of the remaining electrolytics in the entire Tascam 388 have been replaced with new electrolytics in their place."

Seems a little relevant to my other issue. Since I am going to be fiddling with the electronics on the channel strip, is this worthwhile? Will it really have the results described here?

Thanks for any insight.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:16 pm

Maybe your monitor board for that channel is bad, or maybe it's just a bad connection....doesn't cost anything to reseat it, and if that doesn't work, you can swap it with another channel or one of your spares.

Personally I would not suggest hamfistingly "upgrading" the 388...at least not until you have it working 100%. While the shotgun approach sometimes can fix problems..done carelessly it can also create bigger problems. Personally I think the noise is part of the charm!

illuminations · Post by **illuminations** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 10:52 am

Turns out reseating the channel card worked like a charm. I know issues with this machine aren't always this easily solved, so I'll take it.

I agree mostly with your thoughts on upgrading. I love the 388 as it is. Some little part of me wishes it was a little more like it's bigger brothers with wider tape width, which I know it's not. Thought maybe if I could get closer, especially with the extra monitor boards, it might be worth a shot. I'll just use my time to record for now!

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 11:16 am

Glad to hear it!

Forgive me for always being a bit skeptical when someone uses words like "massive upgrade in breathability," it just sounds like audiophile snake oil.

I have no doubts of course that a technician more gifted than myself could improve on the 388, but my love of the 388 has more to do with its workflow and sound compromises, rather than a desire for high fidelity..I would just use digital when I want that.

I could always assume that a 388 that ran 1/2" at 15 ips, with everything but the pre bypassed, and the pre some Burr brown design...would make for a far superior sounding machine...but you know 8 tracks on 1/4" at 7.5ips is still a very cheap machine to use even in 2015..and it sounds kinda bad but in a great way, IMHO.

Best of luck.

mjt335 · Post by **mjt335** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 11:19 am

illuminations wrote:Turns out reseating the channel card worked like a charm. I know issues with this machine aren't always this easily solved, so I'll take it.

Is that pretty easy to do? I'm finding that I have a couple channels that seem to only playback to one side. I need to do some more troubleshooting to see if I can figure out what's happening, but I'm hoping it's a quick and easy fix with just a loose connection or something. I'm a little nervous to open it up myself though.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:45 pm

For as long as I've owned my first 388, channel 8 never worked right. It would record to track 8 but you could not monitor it using channel 8, it barely tagged the meters?etc. I always got around this by using it as a 7 track (a waste) or by pulling it off using an aux send (when transferring to DAW) or using the tape out.

So after years of putting up with this, I finally decided I was gonna swap around cards and see if I could figure it out. Swapped around the Rep cards and DBX cards?made no difference. Then I turned the thing over and was gonna swap the channel cards? And I find that the circuit board for channel 8's fader was actually physically broken? Surely it can't be that easy right (note I love how everything is so easy to swap on the 388s, the fader is just a couple screws and a cable)? So I pull apart my spare 388 and steal a fader from that one?

Turn it on and it works!

Stupidest fix ever.

I'm not sure how someone managed to break the fader circuit board in the first place, but I hope maybe someone will find that fix idea helpful.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:55 pm

mjt335 wrote:
illuminations wrote:Turns out reseating the channel card worked like a charm. I know issues with this machine aren't always this easily solved, so I'll take it.
Is that pretty easy to do? I'm finding that I have a couple channels that seem to only playback to one side. I need to do some more troubleshooting to see if I can figure out what's happening, but I'm hoping it's a quick and easy fix with just a loose connection or something. I'm a little nervous to open it up myself though.

The 388 is super easy to work on and pretty modular. The channel boards are accessed by removing the bottom panel of the 388 (a dozen or so screws) and it will be very obvious what you're looking at. The Rep/Play and DBX cards are accessed on the panel that is on top of the 388, above the meter bridge.

mjt335 · Post by **mjt335** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:10 pm

kslight wrote:The 388 is super easy to work on and pretty modular. The channel boards are accessed by removing the bottom panel of the 388 (a dozen or so screws) and it will be very obvious what you're looking at. The Rep/Play and DBX cards are accessed on the panel that is on top of the 388, above the meter bridge.

Cool. Thanks, man. I may just go for it and crack it open some time. I need to go back and read this whole thread more thoroughly before I do though!

guyohm · Post by **guyohm** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:34 am

Phil Inspector, did you solve the left/right volume issue in RMX mode? I have the same problem and I'd like to fix it if it's possible.

Thanks!

illuminations · Post by **illuminations** » Fri Feb 05, 2016 4:32 pm

Another quick question. My left monitor VU meter works fine, until it peaks, then it just rests there on the right side. It will not work after that. However, if I lightly tap the meter itself, it will swing back to it's normal resting position on the left side.

I guess my question is: is this fixable or does the meter need to be replaced? If it can be fixed, is there a way yo go about this? I have a replacement on hand, but since it is functional otherwise, I'd rather try to get in there and do some tweaking if it can be done. [/list]

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The Tascam 388

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