I have one of these. Two tape speeds are possible: 7.5 ips (inches per second) and 15 ips. There are several reasons why this kind of deck will sound better than even the best cassette deck. First off, because the tape is moving so quickly past the heads there is far less chance of oversaturating the oxide on the tape. Thus, it will have much greater dynamic range (diffeence between the quiet and the loud sounds). Secondly, there will be a superior frequency response in the high frequencies without needing lots of tricks such as Dolby and metal tape and lots of EQ and bias adjustments. Thirdly, there is less chance of wow and flutter. Cassette tape runs at a very slow 1-7/8 inches per second and on much narrower tape than on this class of open-reel recorder which uses 1/4”. To improve on this class of machine you’d go up to half- track tape heads rather than what was called quarter track (1/4 track). That means the record and playback heads would have two gaps rather than the four like you can see in the video. OR, you’d get a 1/2” tape machine and shell out some pretty good money for 1/2 tape. Basically, this of it this way: The wider the tape and the faster the tape speed the quieter the result (less tape hiss), wider the dynamic range, and wider frequency response. Now, this A-3440 must be a later model than mine because Teac engineers went more ‘pro’ with its design. The overall layout of mine inside is messier, with little PC boards stuck here and there , making access to the motors, solenoids, flywheel, andbelts more difficult. The simul-sync switches on mine are up on the tape head cover, looking almost like an after-thought. In fact, the PCB (printed circuit board) that the simul-sync switches are soldered to is broken because the recorder must have fallen over on its front sometime in its life. Those switches stick out more than anything else, including the reel locks so they took a beating. Anyway, thanks for doing a video about this unit. Yours and another guy’s tear down and servicing YT video have helped me get mine back up and running! We’ve come a long way since this type of sound source for home listening, haven’t we? Now I can say to my Alexa Dot (which cost $40 and has no moving parts) ‘Play Beethoven string quartets on Tidal’ and I’ll get it in about 5 seconds, playing through my wonderful Mirage M1 speakers, Parasound FET preamp and Parasound power amp. I didn’t have to touch a thing. Still, I do miss the machinery sometimes - the feel of tape, the excitement of rewinding when you fear the plastic reel is going to fly apart and cut your finger off, that kind of stuff. Heck, I could barely list my 3440 up onto the shop bench to work on it a couple of days ago. I can’t say I miss having to demagnatize and clean the heads, either.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of this video, I was able to fix a Simul-sync issue I was having with my recorder!!!!! You pointed out the 4 little cards that pertain to simul-sync inside the deck. My Teac was only playing out of one speaker while in "sync" mode on channel 2. The UV meter wouldn't even move on channel 2. But... it played back just fine out of both speakers & the meter worked on channel 2 while in "play" mode. I have spare parts for this machine. So I replaced the channel 2 simul-sync card. Voila!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My machine is working great on channel 2 now. I am excited!!!!!!!!!!!! I got this unit at an estate sale for $200.00 a few years back.
How I love analog electronics. The days of tape MTR are dying away. Analog recordings are so warm. I'm glad they still make turntables and tube amps. MOSFETs are close, but are no replacement for thermionics. Thanks for sharing this.
Kinda. If you really check out some refurbished and perfectly adjusted tape machines you discover almost no difference and colour in the sound compared to other modern media. It's also about the placebo psychic and the fact that those machines will change over time. And if not repaired or refurbished they start to present their character. For home recording this is perfect. Especially when you drive the tape to get some warm distortion. Most Hifi people don't even care about trying to drive it. Most of them use dbx or something and keep it under 0 dB. And I speak from experience. In the studio the sound is almost identical to digital if you really put them side by side and have professional tape machines beside you. But you certainly can see a difference in peoples playing and even eyes when they see a tape machines and record unto it.
Just picked one of these up for 300 bucks. I ordered a capstan belt and am hoping that is all it needs, but I'm suspecting it might need a new microswitch for the tensioner arm play shutoff
Teac owners could use your help. A video on how to replace burned out VU meter "lamps or lights, or bulbs" would be GREAT!! I've watched all your Teac videos, probably several times. Good quality stuff, thanks.
That beast was my dream machine but I could not afford it back then. Owned many reel recorders and now stuck with a TEAC 10X with auto reverse play. I think the belts are gone as it is long time that Ihave touched it.
hello, thank you for this informative video about the teac 3440. I have had one since the 1980s and I would like to use it again to retrieve old recordings. For that I bought new straps, the old ones were sticky and damaged. after positioning the tape, I can move the tape forward or backward but not play. nothing is happening ? in the video we can see the mechanism which places the tape on the heads. on my 3440 it does not work? the pressure roller does not move up and down and does not drive the belt mechanism. do you have an idea, mechanical, electric? I would like to recover some old recordings ... thank you if you have a start of an answer ...
I have one with the dbx unit. Absolutely a game changer. The nicest sound recordings you xan imagine. I'd even put it ahead of digital. Just warmer, clean, beautiful get a dbx. its worth it.
yeah.. only issue with dbx is you can't drive the tape into the red. It really depends on the music. Sometimes dbx is nice. Especially when you can decide which channels endoce and decode. Which is possible with this machine. Normally it's not usual to have that option.
I found the best Tape formulations for TEAC and TASCAM non EE decks is Scotch 996 or Maxell UD XL1.. Both are extremely low noise, non-shedding, and have MOL @ 15 IPS of +8db VU with no saturation
Heya! Great little vid. Cheers! ..I don't suppose you might know why this machine, working Perfectly before moving to new location, would Suddenly be completely unable to record across all channels? (All jumpers in place, Source shows all incoming signal on all channels. The machine will Erase on all 4 channels, but Nothing coming through the inputs\meters, while recording enabled .. will actually make it on tape. I am Utterly flummoxed. Any ideas welcome. (Also re-seated every last board to be safe..). Thank You!!!
I have a Tascam 32 and the right channel goes out every so often.i wondered if the connections need cleaning. I read that it happens sometimes. I don't have anyone near me that repairs them.
Thanks for all the great information and visual of the inside. Appreciate the explanation of the components. Sounds like you really know a lot about them. I saw your next video about it that shows it working and am now wondering if it is for sale?
I have one of these I I from a friend. It looks jn near mint condition all works apart from when u press play the capstan wheel won't lift the tape to the heads... any ideas? Faulty or operator error?
Hi! So is the pinch roller spinning when you try to press play? Do the fast forward and reverse work? Is the tape correctly fed through all the tape guides? If tape is placed correctly, pinch roller is spinning and fast forward and reverse work, it could be a faulty capstan solenoid or just a bad contact.
@@DaveElectronics ff and rw work as they should and the capstan is spinning. When I press play nothing happens at all. The pinch wheel doesn't move or even make a sound. I've checked and it moves freely and inside there is no gunk gumming it up. Unsure of how to test the solenoid inside
@@billpickle2875 Perhaps is a bad contact on either the play button, or the solenoid. To access the solenoid you have to remove the upper back panel. It's buried behind the left motor (looking from the back of the machine). I would try to see if that moves freely and/or if it has loose contacts. There're many connectors on the power supply board, i would try to reseat them also.
@@DaveElectronics I managed to roll out the play button and the FF and rw stop with the play button. The solenoid moves freely. Thanks for your help. I'll check all the connections to the board and the solenoid although visually they seem fine and checking the wires to the board all appears OK. I might try re flowing the joints before maybe sourcing a new solenoid.
@@billpickle2875 If you have a multimeter you can check if the solenoid is ok by measuring its resistance. Also with the multimeter you can check if current is delivered to the solenoid when you press play.
Not called NABs...They appear to be Revox NAB hubs. NAB=National Association of Broadcasters standard. They were an upgrade from the plastic ones Teac provided with the deck.
A little tidbit all Maxell tapes have a leader tape of head cleaning and on the end as head cleaner as well the beginning is clear and the end of the tape it's red so you know whether you're at the beginning or the end of the tape
I think these were manufactured between 1974 and 1977. I think I found a date code of 1977 on the motor on mine. I replaced my ICS from the 4558 to the 740SL op amps. Mine is a lot quieter now.
The DBX unit was actually made by Teac, The RX9 and will achieve around the same signal to noise as 16bit digital at 85dbs/n, here is the RX9 www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/teac/rx-9.shtml
Hi, I have no experience with the 3340, but judging from some pictures of that model, the audio boards should be located on the bottom of the machine. I highly suggest you to search online for a service manual for your machine and look for a component location diagram to find the relay. I would try also spraying some contact cleaner on potentiometers and buttons, relays are much less exposed and thery rarely go bad.. Hope it helps
Hi, the only manufacturer that i'm aware of is MRL (www.mrltapes.com/). If you can find them you could also search on ebay to save some money (here in Europe are quite rare, you might find some from the USA..)
although i have a stock of old tapes i always use new tape for recording (RMG SM900). I have to say that my Ampex 456 tape is still good (no shed) but with disappointment i recently found out that two of the tapes i used as archive branded Scotch (3M) are barely playable anymore..
You bake them(3M),lowest setting with over door open for twenty minutes,place on glass or ceramic plate top and bottom to prevent heat damage to centre hub).as regards the 456 Grand master,the binder problem is a well known one by those studios worldwide.Ampex changed its formulation around 2000 or a bit before,so i'm assuming your 456 is post 2000 known as Quantegy,I have a reel of that that is also ok.
I heard about the baking process on old tapes, but never tried it, i suppose i don't have anything to lose on that Scotch tape, so i'll try. Thanks for the tip! Anyway i also have some Quantegy reels (Quantegy 661), but those are small format 7-inch reels, so i don't really use them..
Just curious, is your 1st language German? You sounded like you have an English accent initially, but the more I listened to you the more I thought English is not your 1st language. I'm from Texas.
Hmmm ... 4 trks > 1/4”. I could bypass 244’s cassette recorder, get better fidelity then mix down > stereo cassette. The tapes should sound awesome. Don’t laugh @ the newb🤓
Yes, with a reel to reel 1/4” tape recorder you’ll have better fidelity than a cassette recorder, not only for the physically wider tape, but also for the much faster speed of the reel.. (and remember that cassettes have 4 tracks squeezed inside that 1/8” tape!)
@@DaveElectronics Commercial cassette & reel-to-reel tape machines NEVER had a signal-to-noise ratio of better than 58dB, regardless of the Dolby or MXR filters, or chrome or metal tapes. The industry secured its own early demise by intentionally designing consumer tape recorders to be SIGNIFICANTLY NOISER than professional equipment.
Dave Schachne well yes, probably, but not all commercial machines had a poor s/n. A Revox A77, had a s/n of better than 66dB, but if you really wanted something better you had to pay a premium price for that... average commercial cassette or r-r recorders sounded good, but they were... well.. average ;)
I have one of these. Two tape speeds are possible: 7.5 ips (inches per second) and 15 ips. There are several reasons why this kind of deck will sound better than even the best cassette deck. First off, because the tape is moving so quickly past the heads there is far less chance of oversaturating the oxide on the tape. Thus, it will have much greater dynamic range (diffeence between the quiet and the loud sounds). Secondly, there will be a superior frequency response in the high frequencies without needing lots of tricks such as Dolby and metal tape and lots of EQ and bias adjustments. Thirdly, there is less chance of wow and flutter. Cassette tape runs at a very slow 1-7/8 inches per second and on much narrower tape than on this class of open-reel recorder which uses 1/4”. To improve on this class of machine you’d go up to half- track tape heads rather than what was called quarter track (1/4 track). That means the record and playback heads would have two gaps rather than the four like you can see in the video. OR, you’d get a 1/2” tape machine and shell out some pretty good money for 1/2 tape. Basically, this of it this way: The wider the tape and the faster the tape speed the quieter the result (less tape hiss), wider the dynamic range, and wider frequency response. Now, this A-3440 must be a later model than mine because Teac engineers went more ‘pro’ with its design. The overall layout of mine inside is messier, with little PC boards stuck here and there , making access to the motors, solenoids, flywheel, andbelts more difficult. The simul-sync switches on mine are up on the tape head cover, looking almost like an after-thought. In fact, the PCB (printed circuit board) that the simul-sync switches are soldered to is broken because the recorder must have fallen over on its front sometime in its life. Those switches stick out more than anything else, including the reel locks so they took a beating. Anyway, thanks for doing a video about this unit. Yours and another guy’s tear down and servicing YT video have helped me get mine back up and running! We’ve come a long way since this type of sound source for home listening, haven’t we? Now I can say to my Alexa Dot (which cost $40 and has no moving parts) ‘Play Beethoven string quartets on Tidal’ and I’ll get it in about 5 seconds, playing through my wonderful Mirage M1 speakers, Parasound FET preamp and Parasound power amp. I didn’t have to touch a thing. Still, I do miss the machinery sometimes - the feel of tape, the excitement of rewinding when you fear the plastic reel is going to fly apart and cut your finger off, that kind of stuff. Heck, I could barely list my 3440 up onto the shop bench to work on it a couple of days ago. I can’t say I miss having to demagnatize and clean the heads, either.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of this video, I was able to fix a Simul-sync issue I was having with my recorder!!!!! You pointed out the 4 little cards that pertain to simul-sync inside the deck. My Teac was only playing out of one speaker while in "sync" mode on channel 2. The UV meter wouldn't even move on channel 2. But... it played back just fine out of both speakers & the meter worked on channel 2 while in "play" mode. I have spare parts for this machine. So I replaced the channel 2 simul-sync card. Voila!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My machine is working great on channel 2 now. I am excited!!!!!!!!!!!! I got this unit at an estate sale for $200.00 a few years back.
How I love analog electronics. The days of tape MTR are dying away. Analog recordings are so warm. I'm glad they still make turntables and tube amps. MOSFETs are close, but are no replacement for thermionics. Thanks for sharing this.
Kinda. If you really check out some refurbished and perfectly adjusted tape machines you discover almost no difference and colour in the sound compared to other modern media. It's also about the placebo psychic and the fact that those machines will change over time. And if not repaired or refurbished they start to present their character. For home recording this is perfect. Especially when you drive the tape to get some warm distortion. Most Hifi people don't even care about trying to drive it. Most of them use dbx or something and keep it under 0 dB.
And I speak from experience. In the studio the sound is almost identical to digital if you really put them side by side and have professional tape machines beside you. But you certainly can see a difference in peoples playing and even eyes when they see a tape machines and record unto it.
matching DBX unit is RX-9 (I have one), although other DBX's like the 224 would likely work
Just picked one of these up for 300 bucks. I ordered a capstan belt and am hoping that is all it needs, but I'm suspecting it might need a new microswitch for the tensioner arm play shutoff
Teac owners could use your help.
A video on how to replace burned out VU meter "lamps or lights, or bulbs" would be GREAT!!
I've watched all your Teac videos, probably several times. Good quality stuff, thanks.
That beast was my dream machine but I could not afford it back then.
Owned many reel recorders and now stuck with a TEAC 10X with auto reverse play. I think the belts are gone as it is long time that Ihave touched it.
hello, thank you for this informative video about the teac 3440. I have had one since the 1980s and I would like to use it again to retrieve old recordings.
For that I bought new straps, the old ones were sticky and damaged. after positioning the tape, I can move the tape forward or backward but not play. nothing is happening ?
in the video we can see the mechanism which places the tape on the heads. on my 3440 it does not work? the pressure roller does not move up and down and does not drive the belt mechanism. do you have an idea, mechanical, electric? I would like to recover some old recordings ... thank you if you have a start of an answer ...
I have one with the dbx unit. Absolutely a game changer. The nicest sound recordings you xan imagine. I'd even put it ahead of digital. Just warmer, clean, beautiful
get a dbx. its worth it.
yeah.. only issue with dbx is you can't drive the tape into the red. It really depends on the music. Sometimes dbx is nice. Especially when you can decide which channels endoce and decode. Which is possible with this machine. Normally it's not usual to have that option.
I found the best Tape formulations for TEAC and TASCAM non EE decks is Scotch 996 or Maxell UD XL1.. Both are extremely low noise, non-shedding, and have MOL @ 15 IPS of +8db VU with no saturation
Heya! Great little vid. Cheers! ..I don't suppose you might know why this machine, working Perfectly before moving to new location, would Suddenly be completely unable to record across all channels? (All jumpers in place, Source shows all incoming signal on all channels. The machine will Erase on all 4 channels, but Nothing coming through the inputs\meters, while recording enabled .. will actually make it on tape. I am Utterly flummoxed. Any ideas welcome. (Also re-seated every last board to be safe..). Thank You!!!
I have a Tascam 32 and the right channel goes out every so often.i wondered if the connections need cleaning. I read that it happens sometimes. I don't have anyone near me that repairs them.
Thanks for all the great information and visual of the inside. Appreciate the explanation of the components. Sounds like you really know a lot about them.
I saw your next video about it that shows it working and am now wondering if it is for sale?
Thank you for the nice comment! The machine is not for sale. Although i might sell it in the future, right now it's still being used in my studio.
I have one of these I I from a friend.
It looks jn near mint condition all works apart from when u press play the capstan wheel won't lift the tape to the heads... any ideas?
Faulty or operator error?
Hi! So is the pinch roller spinning when you try to press play? Do the fast forward and reverse work? Is the tape correctly fed through all the tape guides?
If tape is placed correctly, pinch roller is spinning and fast forward and reverse work, it could be a faulty capstan solenoid or just a bad contact.
@@DaveElectronics ff and rw work as they should and the capstan is spinning. When I press play nothing happens at all. The pinch wheel doesn't move or even make a sound. I've checked and it moves freely and inside there is no gunk gumming it up.
Unsure of how to test the solenoid inside
@@billpickle2875 Perhaps is a bad contact on either the play button, or the solenoid.
To access the solenoid you have to remove the upper back panel. It's buried behind the left motor (looking from the back of the machine). I would try to see if that moves freely and/or if it has loose contacts. There're many connectors on the power supply board, i would try to reseat them also.
@@DaveElectronics I managed to roll out the play button and the FF and rw stop with the play button. The solenoid moves freely.
Thanks for your help. I'll check all the connections to the board and the solenoid although visually they seem fine and checking the wires to the board all appears OK. I might try re flowing the joints before maybe sourcing a new solenoid.
@@billpickle2875 If you have a multimeter you can check if the solenoid is ok by measuring its resistance.
Also with the multimeter you can check if current is delivered to the solenoid when you press play.
Where did you get those blue NAB sdspters? Do you have the link?
Not called NABs...They appear to be Revox NAB hubs. NAB=National Association of Broadcasters standard. They were an upgrade from the plastic ones Teac provided with the deck.
Any tips on working on those flat relays
A little tidbit all Maxell tapes have a leader tape of head cleaning and on the end as head cleaner as well the beginning is clear and the end of the tape it's red so you know whether you're at the beginning or the end of the tape
I think these were manufactured between 1974 and 1977. I think I found a date code of 1977 on the motor on mine. I replaced my ICS from the 4558 to the 740SL op amps. Mine is a lot quieter now.
1980 on
Looks to me like you can find the date code of your machine (approximate) on the back of the VU lighted meters.
The DBX unit was actually made by Teac, The RX9 and will achieve around the same signal to noise as 16bit digital at 85dbs/n, here is the RX9 www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/teac/rx-9.shtml
I have intermittent audio on my 3340...where is the relay contact part? probably just needs deoxit, any help much appreciated.
Hi, I have no experience with the 3340, but judging from some pictures of that model, the audio boards should be located on the bottom of the machine. I highly suggest you to search online for a service manual for your machine and look for a component location diagram to find the relay.
I would try also spraying some contact cleaner on potentiometers and buttons, relays are much less exposed and thery rarely go bad..
Hope it helps
@2:29 tape speeds on the 3440 are 7.5ips and 15ips.
My bad, thanks for the correction!
If you ever , please do a video on an 80 8! There’s not one on RUclips! Great vids
Please, where buy Teac test tape? Sorry my English.
Hi, the only manufacturer that i'm aware of is MRL (www.mrltapes.com/). If you can find them you could also search on ebay to save some money (here in Europe are quite rare, you might find some from the USA..)
I am looking for this reel to reel Teac 3440s for my personal use, if anyone know where to buy then please let me know. Thanks
Asmr level proper
Lol yup
Great overview!
Big ass resistor, I always wondered what those were called.
I want buy one of this units how ldont now
I got mine for $10 put a new rubber belt and it works. tape is expensive
Tengo una teac 3440 con el motor central malo. Busco una igual
I might add,use AGFA or BASF high bias tape and you'll get even better s/n and frequency repsonse AMPEX 456 will shed and has inferior specs.
although i have a stock of old tapes i always use new tape for recording (RMG SM900). I have to say that my Ampex 456 tape is still good (no shed) but with disappointment i recently found out that two of the tapes i used as archive branded Scotch (3M) are barely playable anymore..
Dv555 That's ashame.
You bake them(3M),lowest setting with over door open for twenty minutes,place on glass or ceramic plate top and bottom to prevent heat damage to centre hub).as regards the 456 Grand master,the binder problem is a well known one by those studios worldwide.Ampex changed its formulation around 2000 or a bit before,so i'm assuming your 456 is post 2000 known as Quantegy,I have a reel of that that is also ok.
I heard about the baking process on old tapes, but never tried it, i suppose i don't have anything to lose on that Scotch tape, so i'll try. Thanks for the tip! Anyway i also have some Quantegy reels (Quantegy 661), but those are small format 7-inch reels, so i don't really use them..
Play the drinking game. Take a drink every time he say ACTUALLY. You'll be wasted before the end.
Just curious, is your 1st language German? You sounded like you have an English accent initially, but the more I listened to you the more I thought English is not your 1st language. I'm from Texas.
Hi, you're right, English is not my 1st language but actually i'm from Italy, not Germany. :)
WHERE'S THE "TEARDOWN???
The 'teardown' starts at 9:52
...just more 'show 'n tell' there
ibid
Hmmm ... 4 trks > 1/4”. I could bypass 244’s cassette recorder, get better fidelity then mix down > stereo cassette. The tapes should sound awesome. Don’t laugh @ the newb🤓
Yes, with a reel to reel 1/4” tape recorder you’ll have better fidelity than a cassette recorder, not only for the physically wider tape, but also for the much faster speed of the reel.. (and remember that cassettes have 4 tracks squeezed inside that 1/8” tape!)
@@DaveElectronics Commercial cassette & reel-to-reel tape machines NEVER had a signal-to-noise ratio of better than 58dB, regardless of the Dolby or MXR filters, or chrome or metal tapes. The industry secured its own early demise by intentionally designing consumer tape recorders to be SIGNIFICANTLY NOISER than professional equipment.
Dave Schachne well yes, probably, but not all commercial machines had a poor s/n. A Revox A77, had a s/n of better than 66dB, but if you really wanted something better you had to pay a premium price for that... average commercial cassette or r-r recorders sounded good, but they were... well.. average ;)
22W ≈ 1/32HP
ok
Borrring