Tascam 38 HELP!!!!!

[WalMan]

So my guitarist was having a clear out and has just given me back a load of 1/2 inch 8 track masters I though had been lost.

They date back quite a while. One set were mixed for a cassette album (that tells you how long ago, we didn't even consider burning CD's!!) and the others were from sessions that we recorded, but for some reason were never finished - I think we had a major style & name change & they became obsolete to what we were then doing.

I did a very rough mix of the first set of tapes when we recorded the second, but that was really only a push up the faders & do a rough mix to cassette while waiting for the others to show up (recording was in my parents old house) and frankly a bit hot on level.

So I have the tapes but need the means to now get it into into my computer to mix.

I thought I had lucked onto a 1/2 inch recorder to borrow from a friend who actually recorded the first set of tapes and went round to pick it up this evening. However, disaster of disasters, when he dug it out from behind the mixing desk looking a bit dusty we found that the pinch roller had completely perished and fell apart when touched

So I need to find either a replacement pinch wheel, or someone with a 1/2 inch recorder to effect the transfer.

Google has not been a great help.

Anyone got any good ideas? I would really like to get these tracks onto the computer & mixed after all these years.

[99ster]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-TASCAM-1-2-ROLLER-38-48-42-44-TSR-8-MSR-16-REEL_W0QQitemZ270226131714QQihZ017QQcategoryZ15199QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-TASCAM-1-2-ROLLE...ksid=p1638.m122[/url]

[WalMan]

[quote name='99ster' post='170533' date='Apr 6 2008, 01:08 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-TASCAM-1-2-ROLLER-38-48-42-44-TSR-8-MSR-16-REEL_W0QQitemZ270226131714QQihZ017QQcategoryZ15199QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-TASCAM-1-2-ROLLE...ksid=p1638.m122[/url][/quote]
Now why the heck did I not think to look there!!

Just have to hope the rest of the machine works after lying untouched & unloved for probably 6 years at least!! That or find a transfer service

Cheers
Al

[WalMan]

Oh look, someone else uses a sniper as well [url="http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=270226131714"]Bid history[/url]

I decided in the end not to bother and go with a guy a friend has used for tape transfers and who has a new 1/2 inch 8 track. It'll cost more, but he has a machine I know works. I could have spent £30+ bidding on this roller and get it back to find something else had died in the years of inactivity and could have ended up on a merry go round of buy, fix, find another problem, buy, fix, find another problem, etc

[WalMan]

So I went to [url="http://www.mobilemusic-fareham.co.uk/"]Mobile Music[/url] who has a working Tascam 8 track 1/2 inch machine and we kept our finger crossed.

Just about got away with transfers from the 1986 tapes, but the 1989 tapes probably need baking so more expense after £100 on Friday

Spent some time tinkering with one track from '86 this afternoon & it seems to have come out not too bad

From our Nik Kershaw phase - [url="http://www.tideway-la.co.uk/AKoF/Storyteller.mp3"]Storyteller[/url]

Be gentle it was a long time ago