Teac Tascam 32-2B

[rbwtapeinterlink-Bob]

Hello All,

I have an excellent 32-2B stereo tape deck I intend to use to play the TP tapes. I believe this reel to reel tape deck meets all the requirements. It is a prefessional deck and provides switchable bias, it handles the higher speeds and it produces excellent results during playback and record.

The only downside, if there is indeed a downside, is this deck will only record and play back in the 1/2 track mode. Actually it's not a problem for me since my Technics 1506 can handle anything else.

Bob W.

[mep]

Bob-I don't think the Teac has both IEC and NAB equalization.  I believe it is strictly an NAB only machine.

[Ki Choi]

Hi Bob:

mep is correct.  Tascam 32 comes with NAV eq only.  I have one, and it is a nice machine.
In the early days of my R2R only about a year ago, I paid a lot for the 32 but it seems prices of all used R2R machines are in tank like the rest of the toys these days.

BTW, there's a hope. 

Check out this old post:

http://www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php/topic,651.0.html

it has a link for a PDF document with information on how to make a simple NAB to IEC converter so that you can use the 32 for TP tapes!

Ki

Bob-I don't think the Teac has both IEC and NAB equalization.  I believe it is strictly an NAB only machine.

[rbwtapeinterlink-Bob]

Hello all and thank you so much for your comments and great input. Teac/Tascam made a number of high quality prosumer reel to reel tape decks that provided great sound. They made a model 32 and also a 32-2B which is the model I have. Both of these decks operated at 7.5 and 15ips and were able to handle 10inch reels. My 32-2B is dual capstan closed loop with full logic control and is a two (2) track only deck.

The Tascam Teac 32 was made at a later time than was my 32-2B and did not have provisions for changing the Eq. I think at the time they (Tascam) was looking for ways to shave $$ off the cost of the deck. I also think they were paying attention to the fact that most music lovers were satisfied with the NAB setting which accomodated the majority of pre-recorded tapes. At any rate my deck (32-2B) has settings for changing the record EQ as well as changing from NAB to IEC with the touch of a switch.

While these tape decks look similar, the 32-2B has more features to include a means by switches to change a number of settings. It may also handle tape as well as my Technics RS 1500 series. When I play tapes on my Technics I really can't tell the difference. Both have done an outstanding job so far. The one thing I do wish my 32-2B had is the digital readout that is standard on the model 32. Thanks again my friends and please comment.

Bob W.

[ironbut]

That sounds like a nice deck. I've wondered about some of those latter Tascam machines since they were some of the last ones made. It sounds like that's a nice model to use for the Tape Project. You should make a posting about it in the "Tape Machine Compatibility Database Project" sticky (at the top of this forum).
BTW Tascam has a forum which isn't that active anymore but if you have any questions specific to the 32 series, I'm sure you could do a search there and come up with past posts to help you get on the right track (so to speak).
http://tascamforums.com/index.php?

[ceved]

As long as Robert has brought up the Tascam name; I continue to be puzzled by the lack of note for the Tascam BR 20 which is a very nice machine.  Fit and finish are superior.  One of the, if not the last machine Tascam made.
Aside from the lack of 4 track capability, an apparent winner in every other respect to this neophyte.
Anyone know/care to speculate in the relative obscurity of this machine for use by TPers and others.

Robert, glad to see that you have surfaced once again.

[ironbut]

Same here CV. I've bid a couple of times on BR20's that were located locally but never gotten one. There's a lot going for the late production reel to reels. I know that Steve Hoffman uses one as a small playback machine (at least on his web site).

[rbwtapeinterlink-Bob]

Hello again all,

The BR20 is an excellent reel 2 reel deck. There is not much it can't do for the near pro. As a matter of fact I've looked at several in my area but they did not meet certain standards. The main one was price (smile). I was absolutely stunned at some of the prices asked for this particular tape deck. Also, the 2 that I looked at were not in the best mechanical shape. Both were used in radio stations where the engineers did not take great care of them. Both looked very used and one was actually dirty. YE GADS!

As I continued to look for a nice 2 track deck, I ran accross the Tascam 32-2B at the Audio Proz shop. The deck was described to be in excellent condition and had been gone over by the techs there. New belts were added as well as the deck was given a through cleaning in include the tape heads which are nearly new. I paid $500 for it but I have no sorrow because this deck does what I need and more. However, I still long for the BR20 and may some day be able to acquire one. Til then I will have to work with what I have (smile) and I don't have a problem with that at all.

Bob W.

[douglas787]

The Tascam 32 is one of the best decks made for those who want a deck for their own. Their seems to be a lot of them listed on ebay, so you can pick up a second for spare parts. The sound is great, I love half track. I have seen working ones go for under $200 which is a steel because the hub adapters by themselves are worth $50. They are not much good for playing back tapes you get from other people, or old ones you want to listen to, most likely, they will be recorded in 4 track. I never use the 15 ips speed myself, I feel the added benefit is not enough to outweigh the extra wear and tear on the heads and other parts.

[ironbut]

Hi Douglas, welcome to the forum.

I have to admit that I know very little about the various Tascam 2 channel machines that were made in their latter years of reel to reel production. They do seem to be holding steady price wise and easily found.

If you or anyone else know the particulars about these machines such as features, intended/actual use such as radio etc and what would make one more desirable than another for playback or recording, I'd love to see a Tascam thread started. Maybe if you could start one stating what you know about 32 and maybe a link to a picture, other member(s) can put in a vote for their BR-20.

My hopes are to have a resource where folks could read about the different models available and make up their own minds what might be a nice machine to look into.
In the spirit of this forum, I don't believe that there's any one size fits all machine, particularly when it comes to recording, and if you've read very deeply into our member posts, sometimes 4 or 5 machines just aren't enough!

[xcortes]

The Tascam 32 uses the 5378301000 head that JRF installed on Mickey's machine replacing the stock (Technics) RS-1500 playback head as supposedly more tube friendly:

http://www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php/topic,31.0.html

The BR-20 has different heads 5378301800 both for recording and playback. I have the BR-20 and is a very solid machine. Very nice with tape handling although from my limited experience the isolated loop is great, and the BR-20 doesn't have it. From Bob's comments the 32 does.

As nice as the BR-20 is, the sound (playing TP tapes) stock is slightly congested and colored (compared to a hot-rodded Technics driving Bottlehead electronics ans having a Flux Magnetics extended response head, that is). Still much better that the stock technics sound which was harsh. Opposed to the stock Technics I could listen to the BR-20 all day and enjoy it. Problem is I'm pampered so I rewired the playback head. Still much evaluation to do but apparently the BR-20 head didn't like the BH Seduction load. I can change the Seduction input resistor or maybe try the "800" head instead. I don't know if they're phisically compatible though.

Addendum: The BR-20 has IEC eq and 15 ips so is TP ready

[warrenmacd]

Hi all,
I have owned a 32-2B since 1992, and it's been well-used, although not in the past 5 years.  In response to the NAB / IEC Eq. question, this switch works ONLY in the 15 ips mode, as per the owners manual.  Even though I'm a die-hard Maxell user, I've found that 3M 996 tape is matched perfectly with the electronics of the 32-2B, giving output levels of +3dB over Maxell XLI ( plus the reel are a nice goldish bronze colour ).  My unit is running through the matched TEAC DBX DX-2A unit which truly gives over 90dB s/n.  Alas, it needs a good cleaning inside as the pinch roller mechanism is sluggish, (some good lubrication info in this thread, thanks )
Thanks for now
Warren

[joeljoel1947]

I recently bought a Tascam 32 and stumbled upon what I believe to be misinformation in this thread.  Accoding to the service manual for my 32, you CAN convert the deck from NAB to IEC by switching some jumpers on the internal amp.

From page 39 in the manual of the 32:
Note:  If necessary, inter-switching between the NAB and IEC standards can be accomplished by simply removing and repatching the jumper wires on 5 points of the amplifier.  The details are explained as a note on the schematic of the amplifier section.

From schematic of amp section:
For NAB Standard: With the A, B, and C jumper connections being disregarded, jumper D is connected to the terminal side of C129 and jumper E to the terminal side of C128.

For IEC Standard:  With the A, B, and C jumpers in place, jumper D is connected to terminal side of C127 and jumper E to terminal side of C130.


Now, I have not tried this myself, but it seems straight-forward.  This then makes the Tascam 32 a "tape project ready" machine as it is a half-track, 7.5/15ips/IEC compatible machine out of "the box".  I hope this may help someone down the road because it took a bit of digging to find out!

[ironbut]

Nice find Joel. I've fooled around with 32's and they seem like a nice solid machine.
I wonder how many of the other Tascams are internally switchable too. It seems like something that they would build into the boards of all the machines that might have been sold in both regions.

[joeljoel1947]

Thanks Steve.  Yeah, the 32 is a solid no-nonsense deck. I got it for a song locally, and couldn't pass it up. 

 Nice machine, very straight-forward and sounds good too.  Stock vs. stock, I like it a lot more then my Teac X1000R from the same "family".  Just seems built better.

I'm sure you are right on the NAB/IEC thing.  I bet a lot of the Tascam/Teac/etc. have the capability to "switch" its just a matter of knowing WHERE and how that is accomplished that is probably left out of manuals, schematics, etc.  Only the dude who built the board would possibly remember how!