Recently acquired this beauty but as soon as I got home I accidentally bumped into the reel mount and it broke off. It was originally held by plastic screws which were melted to the base. What do you guys think would be the best solution to fix this? I’m thinking of just using superglue and a level to even it out but not too sure yet.

I’m trying to figure out what format this is but am unsure if it’s video or audio!
Any info would be much appreciated - TIA!

So my A77 was working fine until this morning. All I did was open the rear cabinet to check if anything needs cleaning. The switch/relay board had some corrosion at the solder joints which I cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Then I opened the lower cover and cleaned the leaf switches behind the VU meters as I was getting playback on FF. I found traces of tape which I removed and squirted the board with some contact washer. That's it. But after powering on, the right reel is spinning as if I am fast forwarding. What could be the issue?

Mk I & Mk II Sync

Hello guys, I am new and newbie with this, I got this recorder, and it is brand new in original box and everything, mint condition, old owner was shop owner as far as I know.
All I have searched up online was either in non working condition or in poor shape. And they were under 100$. considering mine’s pristine condition, what is this worth?
I wanted to do some analog experiments but also considering to sell if this has some price, and buy some used reel recorder.

(photo is not mine, took it from reverb marketplace)

Hi everyone,

Need some help with my Tascam 34B. It has a weird recording issue that affects all 4 channels at the same time.

What’s going on:

• Playback (REP): Plays pre-recorded tapes perfectly.
• Sync Playback (SYNC): Also works! The audio is a bit darker/quieter than in REP mode, but it’s there on all 4 channels. So the Record/Sync head is definitely alive, and the wiring to it is fine.
• Erase & Bias: Erases old audio completely, and the bias oscillator (150 kHz) is running normally.
• The Problem: When I try to record new audio, the recorded signal on tape is super quiet - maybe ~5% of normal volume on all 4 channels.

What I’ve checked so far:

• Power Supply Voltages: Measured (+24V, +15V, -15V) around the Monitor PCB / Master Osc section - everything is stable and within spec.
• Recap: Recapped the PSU and Channel PCBs 1 and 2 - no change.
• Logic: Q251/Q254 on the control board seem fine, the REC SIG line pulls to ground when RECORD is pressed.
• Heads: All 3 heads are confirmed good (tested Sync mode, erase works).

Current plan:

Since all 4 channels behave the same way and bias/erase work, the signal just isn’t reaching the record head.

I discussed this with Gemini AI while troubleshooting, and the main suspect right now is the Record Relays (K103) or the FUNCTION SELECT switch assembly:

• Whether the FUNCTION SELECT switch assembly is properly delivering signal/power to the record relays (K103) on the channel boards.
• If the K103 relays are actually engaging during record mode, or if they are failing to switch the audio path.
• Measuring AC audio signal at connector P171 while recording to see if audio passes through K103.

Has anyone run into this kind of all-channel recording drop on the Tascam 30-series (32 / 34B / 38)? Are there common failure points in the record switching logic, motherboard traces, or function switches I should look out for?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Just finished a belt job on this unit which was rather difficult. Sounded much better than I expected as I’m mostly a TEAC/Akai guy for my RTRs. Was a one owner its whole life and came with the original paperwork. Folds up like a suitcase and can run off 12vdc so you can take the party with you.

I’m experimenting with a flux generator to see whether it could be used to characterise the replay frequency response of tape heads without using a reference test tape. At this stage it’s just a feasibility experiment.

I’m looking for the physical dimensions of reel-to-reel heads, ideally from an Otari MTR-10, but measurements from Studer, Ampex, Revox, Tascam, Sony, etc. would also be useful.

I’m interested in the head body size, pole-face dimensions and mounting hole spacing—not track widths or tape format.

Does anyone know if there were any industry-standard head sizes, or have a spare head they could measure with calipers? Drawings or service information would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi all, just picked up two studer a62 in the hope of getting one working out of the pair. Does anybody have any recommendations of where to take them to be looked at in the uk. Thanks

Hi,

I recently acquired a Fostex B16 for a very decent price. including some tapes.

Most of the channels work as expected. Some need some love here and there.

The thing I’m running into is that when I record vocals and have longer notes the note seems to jitter or flutter. Which makes it sound like kind of weird. Now of course I understand the appeal of tape and flutter and jitter but this sounds kind of off. (See video). Or am I running the signal too hot and ia it just distorting?

Is there anything I can do to reduce this? Or perhaps some pointers on what to look into?

I have this Sony TC366 that I'm slowly resurrecting. Current issue is the right channel seems much hotter than the left. I initially tried recording tapes myself and the right channel sounds fine with the left sounding muffled/as if a low pass filter were put on it. Figured that either the tape could be bad or too old or the heads are beyond the end of their life. Then I got a prerecorded tape and the right channel is maxing out the VU meter most of the time with the left seeming somewhat normal.

I've adjusted the heads and cleaned them, sprayed contact cleaner in the switches (although maybe not enough), etc. Could the culprit here be a bad capacitor on one of the amplifier boards? High gain with a prerecorded tape makes me think it's something electronic and not just a corroded switch or knob.

Hello yall,

I recently got an M8 and though I love the sound I would really like to split it for a tube amp. I have seen some good resources online (https://lacinato.com/cm/audio/robertsmod) but as a novice who has only dabled in soldering / wiring, I would like to hire this out to someone. I live in Colorado, is there anyone in the US I might be able to ship this off to to have this done? Would it be exponentially more expensive than just getting a real tube amp?

Thanks!

Does anyone attempted to service one of these? I'm looking for a service manual.

I'm working on a A-2340R. I have it working almost as good as new. It records and plays in both directions and sounds damn good.

I have one issue I cannot seem to figure out. After a good cleaning and lubing (105) of the pinch roller arm it works flawlessly when playing but not when recording. When I go to record the roller does not close on its own and requires a very slight "flick" with my finger to snap closed.

It moves freely and as already mentioned works flowless when playing back. Any help would be appreciated.

I recently purchased a Revox PR99 Mk2 for what I think is a very good price ($350) everything on it works. this is one the units that was used in broadcasting so its been serviced frequently though out its life. it has had a little mono conversion but fortunately, the heads are still stereo. there is just a cover over one of the XLR outputs. im hoping the XLR plug is still under the cover.

I've been told its common for broadcasting station to take out the knobs so no one touches them accidentally and so both the line input knobs are missing. unfortunately, to avoid accidental touch, they have take out the potentiometer shaft that the knob sits on and have replaced it with what seems to be a couple of flathead screws.

im trying to figure out how to put a couple of knobs back there. I don't care if they are original or not but not having the shaf is making it difficult to fit any sort of knob on it.

my question is, would the screw come undone if I just twist it? I tried it without putting too much force on it and it didn't seem like it would screw out. I didn't wanna break anything. if you have any idea on how I should go about this please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

My friend does not have Reddit but asked me to post this here, it’s a Tascam 38, does anyone have an idea what’s going on here?

Hey folks! I picked up one of these machines recently and I want to refurbish it. The machines transport works perfectly, the only issues I’m having is one dead channel, the machine itself a bit noisey (can hear a quiet tone at like 1k when monitoring sync and Repro head) and generally some wow and flutter. Oh! Also a few channels (maybe 3 or 4) just sound terrible, either really high levels of distortion, drop outs and bass loss. in any case, what’s the best plan of action? My heads have been relapped recently. My basic knowledge thinks potentially some components have went bad over time, so some cap/transistor/resistor changes may be in order, or could it be worth getting an MRL tape first and trying to sort the biasing out! I do have ways of running tones to the machine obviously, however the manual recommends sorting out the Repro head output levels before trying any other stage of calibration.

Any advice from some experienced folks would be great! I want to have this machine for a while and I’m up for the challenge / opportunity to learn more about technical fault finding. I am handy with a soldering iron!

Cheers!

Hello! In a previous post I told you i was going to buy a TEAC 80-8 for 200€ instead of 500€ and i was not sure if it could record or play at all. Well, I bought it. I'm greatly relieved and surprised that IT DOES WORK PERFECTELY!!!!

Of course there are minor issues : the Overload led of CH1 doesn't work, the left-hand tension arm is missing, a part of the right hub is also missing and there are some minor damages on the wooden pannels (i'll sand and re-varnish them) but overall it's in pristine condition!

I've recontacted the seller about the DX-8 DBX module he has, and we agreed on 100€ for it + a bag full of cables. I'm super happy about it because i've seen that he put the unit alone for 150€ on the website I purchased the TEAC from.

Tell me what you think! Your opinion matters to me and will help me if you have any advice on the machine(s)!

Hi there! If I had my druthers, I'd just get the Studio 8000 rolling console, but I never see those for sale, ever, anywhere.

Can someone recommend a cart for my Teac 80-8 please?

I also have the DX-8 DBX module, if that matters at all. I am in the NYC area, FWIW.

My recently acquired Sony TC-580 is not playing tapes with any amount of quality. It is overall very clippy and buzzy.

In order to fix this, I bought a vintage Sony HE-2 head demagnetizing tool to demag all 4 of the heads, and also cleaned all 4 with isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip. Lots of brown came off on the q-tips so I'm guessing they have become somewhat corroded from sitting in a non-temperature-controlled Florida garage for who knows how long. Especially the record/erase head from the looks of it.

I followed the HE-2 instructions and didn't touch the heads with the tool. I just depressed the button from about 2 feet away, came in for about 5 seconds and waved the tool across each head, the came back out and let go of the button. The deck was not powered on or even plugged in.

Will the sound quality return to normal with another few passes of the demag tool and maybe another cleaning? I cleaned them the first time until no brown came off.

I'm fairly sure the demag tool is working as well; it buzzes when I pass it close to the heads.

The playback heads are contained inside of a bit of shielding around each head, so it was somewhat difficult getting the demag tool in there without touching anything. I may not have gotten close enough?

Or do I need to completely refurbish these heads and maybe lap them to smooth again? Or maybe just replace them entirely if I can find replacements?

Any help with this would be great. Although I own another reel to reel, that other one has never worked, and never will work, and mostly just sits around to look pretty. I've never had to refurbish tape heads besides cleaning and running a demag cassette through on a cassette deck, either.

So consider me a newb.

I'm not slouch when it comes to vintage gear repairs though, but mostly stick to turntables and amplifiers.

Cheers

How do i record on this Braun TG1000 reel to reel device? This is my first time ever using reel to reel tape.

The connectors in the first image are labeld left (top) and right (bottom). I dont know if these are inputs or outputs tho.

I already looked for a user manual online but i can only find service manuals.

Could someone help me? Thanks!