Need help with Tascam MS-16

[runnamucks]

Hello, I was just doing a session and everything was going okay, until a guitar suddenly wouldn't play back at the proper volume. Everything was going into the machine, but when I looked at the VU meter during playback, there wasn't anything there.

I looked under the tape at the heads and there were hair-lenth shreds of tape sticking to the record head. I cleaned it off and then tracked. Everything was okay. Then we did another song and decided to re-track the trouble song. THE SAME THING HAPPENED! Is this song cursed, or what?

I just demagnetized my tape heads and cleaned them right before this session. I've been using this tape machine since 2003 and have never had a problem like this. I just switched degaussers... used to have a Tascam E-3, now I've got the Annis Han-D-Mag 115.

Does anybody know what the hell is going on here? Am I screwed????

[JBStephens]

First, try to determine if it's a recording or a playback problem. Is there anything at ALL coming off the track, light hiss, etc. that would tell you that the playback head is working? Does the channel work with other tapes? The same thing happened to me several years ago, zero output on one channel, with tape that was known to be recorded on that channel. All it took was a little push with a pencil eraser on the fine wires that connect to the head and the channel started working again. And it's worked ever since.

Too bad your first post here has to be because of a BUMMER!

JB

[Rolf Erickson]

The Han-D-Mag is far more powerful than other de-mags out there.. I had one until a stupid intern in my partner's new studio in 1982 used it too long until it overheated and popped the breaker in it, and because he was an ignorant chimpanzee, tossed it in the trash before I knew about it. It would have worked again after the breaker re-set. I never got another, because I sold the studio shortly after and put it all into video production gear and made 3 times the income as before. Now, as to YOUR problem, it may be a coincidence, but could you have done some kind of damage to the heads with the demag procedure? Like pulled some laminations loose and out of the head which are now shredding tape? Or, scratched the head surface which is now shredding tape? Just musing freely, don't know really what's occurring to your heads. Keep cleaning, and check the surface with your fingers to see if they are smooth. Good luck... R.E.

[lemonjello]

Did you switch brands of tape? Like from Ampex/Quantegy to Basf/Emtec/Rmgi. If so I found your problem.

Jake

[lemonjello]

Did you switch brands of tape? Like from Ampex/Quantegy to Basf/Emtec/Rmgi. If so I found your problem.

Jake

[lemonjello]

Did you switch brands of tape? Like from Ampex/Quantegy to Basf/Emtec/Rmgi. If so I found your problem.

Jake

[runnamucks]

I FINALLY have a tech guy coming over this week and I'm going to do some more experimentation myself. Thanks a lot for all your ideas. Hopefully, it's not something to do with the heads. That was one of the suggestions that he made. They look fine, but that seems like it might be the only real possibility... that something from the head is scratching the actual tape and producing these hair-like curls of tape which are sticking to my record head. ARGH!! Alright, thanks again everybody. Let me add that it's near impossible to find any audio technicians around here in Orlando, FL, even though I live in the same town as Full Sail. Go figure...

[Rolf Erickson]

Aside from my aforementioned damaged heads possibility, you may be having some shedding/shredding phenomenon going on. Like perhaps tape is slit too wide and the edges are peeling off in a twirling, spiral hairlike manner? Or something? The world wonders....