I do not. I have no tech docs for the M-3700. Plenty for the M-3500. But the M-3700 stuff is readily available for a fair price from a number of resources. You might even call Tascam Parts. But if it was me I’d reach out to the folks at servicemanuals.net first…it’s like $20 for a high-quality complete operations/maintenance manual downloadable in pdf format. I’ve obtained a number of Tascam manuals this way and if they have the M-3700 this would be a good way to go; nothing but good things to say about them.

Do you have the manuals? There are also lots of resources online. You can even watch the tutorial VHS tape on RU-vid. If you’re on FaceBook there is a really fantastic AW4416 user group as well.

Hard to say without more detail. How long are your cable runs? What type or brand of cables are you using? What is the greater environment like as far as UHF and RF noise? Is it just general residential or do you live next to a radio broadcast tower? If your environment is typical and your cable runs are less than 25’ or so, and you’re using cables with decent shielding, it absolutely should be a problem.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Considering having some RCA > D Sub connections fabricated, likely no more than 3-5'. The space is around more of a warehouse district, so not an RF/UHF-dense are from what I can tell, never had a problem but I've mostly had a balanced cabling setup. Appreciate the response!

You should be totally fine then. Usually custom snakes or cables use good quality bulk cable, and truly anything up to about 25’ is usually not a problem, and then anything over that just depends on the environment. I had some issues with unbalanced connections and RFI years ago, but I was three blocks away from the second highest power AM radio station transmitter in my state, and had a console with a poorly designed ground scheme. Correcting the ground scheme issues resolved my problems even in that unusually harsh environment. The M-520 ground scheme is okay. There are things that can be improved but it’s really at the threshold of diminishing returns as it is, especially when it’s setup in a typical environment as far as RF/UHF noise. You should be in good shape.

You’re welcome! None of the info is in the E1 Operation or E2 Reference Guides, but the information is provided in detail in the E4 Service Manual which is also available online.

Thank you!

I honestly don’t know. I don’t know what device you are talking about, and I don’t know what symptoms the device is presenting, so I don’t know if I can help.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Welcome. I am talking about a Tascam recorder, model 238. I had a problem with it: play does not work. The rest of the verbs are good, but only play does not work........ I need how to fix the mechanical fault. If you have a video about that, thank you very much.

When you press play do the heads engage the tape, but the tape does not move and then after a couple seconds the heads drop back down? Or is the problem the heads don’t even move up to engage the tape?

@@SweetbeatsTechStop If you have a website on WhatsApp or Messenger, I can send you a recorded video of the situation and you can decide what the solution is

@@SweetbeatsTechStop If possible please

Greetings! You cannot directly interface the AW4416 with your iPhone except for using the analog output of the iPhone and connecting that to a pair of analog inputs on the AW4416. If your goal is to digitally transfer tracks between the AW and your iPhone you should get a software application called AWMiner. It is available for Mac and Windows based PCs. If you can get your tracks from GarageBand onto a PC you can connect the HDD from the AW to the PC and import/export tracks, song data, execute full drive backup and restore functions, etc. As far as “varispeed” functionality, the AW is limited. You can globally speed up or slow down an entire song much like a pitch control on a tape machine, but the changes cannot be tied to a tempo map or otherwise automated…go to SETUP and select the D. IN tab…in the lower left pane is the VARI function where you can adjust the sampling frequency within a range of -5.97% to +6.00% from the selected sampling frequency. I’m not sure if you can increase the sampling frequency if you already have it set to 48kHz. But, again, this is global and cannot be automated and will affect pitch. There is pitch correction functionality within the track editor, but it is intended for tweaking the pitch of a note here and there without changing the speed. The processing is slow and there are artifacts (it’s not a sophisticated pitch correction utility), so it’s not really suitable for pitch-shifting an entire song. As far as the RTC chip and low or depleted battery, if you can tear down your AW and remove the main system board assembly (I have detailed video on how to do this on my channel), you can ship it to me for much cheaper and less risk than the entire AW, and I can replace the RTC with a socket and a new genuine late manufacture part for a relatively reasonable cost ($75 parts and labor). You can email me at sweetbeatstechstop@gmail.com for details.

@@SweetbeatsTechStopthanks for the good advice. I will look into it. As regards “varispeed” I really meant that the song tempo speeds up or slows down WITHOUT affecting the pitch. Know what I mean?

I did know what you meant. My point in sharing what tools are onboard the AW4416 was, I suppose, a long way of saying it doesn’t do what you want. You’re looking for a time-stretch/compression utility and that’s not part of the AW4416’s tools and utilities.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop are you sure? The Akai simply allowed me to speed up the song during the choruses from let’s say 60bpm (verses) to 63bpm during the choruses. By the end of the song it was 68bpm. But not only did the tempo increase for drum tracks but also for the other instruments without them changing pitch at all. It was more like tempo mapping than anything else. We may be talking past each other because I’m trying to articulate, but poorly. This is a quote from the AKAI DPS24 quick guide that explains it better: “Changing Tempo mid song / Metronome Question: I've got a song where I need to change tempo and back a couple of times. In other words, the verses are at 98 BPM and the refrain at 104 BPM. The question is: Can I have a recording where the metronome changes on sections while I record? Answer: You can change Tempo / Time Sig at the beginning of each bar: While in the TEMPO MAP page, locate to the bar where you want to make a change and press F5 or F6 to insert a new Tempo or Time Sig change). You can assign the Metronome to an input channel and use the Mute automation to switch it on/off.” Would the AW4416 be able to do something similar to the AKAI?

The AW4416 has temp mapping and allows for programming of the tempo map; changes to tempo, time signature and all that. I don’t believe modifications to the tempo map will then change tracks already recorded to the HDD. You could look in the reference guide and operation guide in the sections related to the tempo map and likely get a better answer than what I can give you since I don’t use any of those features. Changes to the tempo map, if synchronizing with external MIDI devices, will affect changes there…change the tempo of your MIDI instruments or externally synced MIDI tracks.

Awesome. Thanks!

Hi. Yeah, so, I think it’s just an option for ensuring common ground reference for other devices in the studio, but I wouldn’t consider it best practice to use that. My Studer console has two connectors on the back and a scissor connector between them, one is to the frame chassis and the other to the ground conductor back to the power supplies and ultimately building ground. And the scissor connector allows one to decouple them, bond stuff to the frame isolated from building ground…sometimes in large broadcast facilities there are very complex ground schemes, so maybe there’s a circumstance where one would do use that…but in a smaller setting it’s best to have each device tie back to building ground ideally through a three-prong power cord. So, short answer I would never use it based on what I’ve learned from people much smarter than me.

You’re welcome!

Glad it was helpful…! What’s old is new again with some TLC. Beware if the capstan belt was melted the pinch roller may also be needing replacement. I highly recommend the rollers from Athan Corporation. Well worth the expense especially on the 8-track cassette multitrack machines. Again, glad the video was helpful and deepened the usability of the machine for you. That’s exactly why I created the video.

Hello and welcome! Thanks for the comments. Technically the AW4416 IS a DAW, just not personal computer-based. Which is why we both like it. What’s your price range?

Good question. You have a couple options: do the work at a location that has a safety ground conductor integrated into the mains power circuit (because that exists in Japan, correct? It’s just the minority of electrical service is hot and neutral only, correct? Or find a cold water pipe you can verify has a low-impedance path to physical earth or see if the service panel is bonded to a ground stake at your location. If you want to follow ESD safety measures and minimize risk of damage those are your options.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop In Japanese houses you can only find wall sockets with ground only in places designated for washing machines, fridges and air conditioners. I don't understand how ground system works here. All the wall sockets in the entire house have no ground.

That’s a pretty keen observation. Yeah I’m not positive if the PCB material for those PCBs in the Tascam 2488 series units are glass fiber or not…but all the boards in the Yamaha AW4416 (and AW2816) are glass fiber and fairly thick. Out of all the devices I’ve worked on across many eras, types and market brackets, I’ve seen thicker PCBs, but not much, and the boards in general are of very high quality in the Yamaha…consistent with my experience with any Yamaha device or instrument I’ve worked on and/or used. When I opened up an AW4416 for the first time, and I’m always looking for things like the quality of the build and the engineering of the design and I was, like, “Yup…nice job, Yamaha.” The engineering reflects intended professional use and built to last. The thing with the switches in the AW4416…they are not tactile type. The end user presses on a plastic button cover that actuates a heavy-duty silicon rubber actuator with metalized rubber contacts on the other side, and those mate with the contacts on the PCB. So there is no real direct pressure on the board itself. I know that type of switch contact can require cleaning after many years, the metalized rubber, but the design is really excellent…designed to shield dirt/debris/infiltrates, and all very high-class/professional. And here’s where the rubber meets the road so-to-speak: I’ve worked on and or tested a lot of AW4416s (typically for fader servicing and replacement of the RTC chip). Not one of them has had a failed or malfunctioning switch…not one. And some of them show signs of heavy use. But everything works on them. The AW2816 is, unfortunately, different. It does use tactile switches. But the PCB is still of very good quality and I’ve not experienced a failed switch on an AW2816 either, and I’ve worked on (for the same reasons as the AW4416) or tested a number of those as well.

Hi. So let’s iron out a little terminology…tracks are tape tracks. Sources are connected to mixer input channels. So you’re first sentence where you say you assigned all your tracks to tape…am I correct you assigned all your input channels to tape tracks? If that’s correct, step 1, tell me how you assigned all your input channels to tape tracks, and how many tracks have material recorded on them. Are you confident your input channels made it to tape tracks? How did you have the GRP 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 & 7-8 faders set during tracking? How did you have the PAN controls of your input channels set and then in scene display panel how did you have each input channel assigned? If the answer to any of these is “I don’t know” then we need to go back to basics.

A big part of what can be a challenge to folks that aren’t familiar with the 688 or 644 is, first and foremost, the mixer architecture itself if you aren’t familiar operating a console that is more than relatively basic. And then the second challenge is how to access all those source and assign features. So, it’s more complex than basic, and many of those complexities are hidden in the Scene Display Panel. And this can be confusing because the tactile controls kind of make it look like a 10 x 4 console with 3 aux busses, but it’s actually a 20 x 8 console with 10 main channels, two configurable aux busses and a configurable stereo monitor buss. The other thing that’s confusing is there’s no main or dedicated “stereo L-R buss” per se…you have 8 mix busses, ganged in four pairs on the four two-channel group faders. Those groups feed the 8 tape tracks. You don’t use GRP 1-2 during tracking or overdubbing. If you’re used to a smaller format typical console, you’re looking for that master buss that you monitor. It the 688 and 644 are setup like a recording console, at least like Tascam’s iteration of a recording console, where you have input channels, groups for record bussing, and some form of monitor buss, which is like the clearing house of audio access during all stages of recording, and then you use two of the record buss groups for mixdown. This is the same as the M-50 or M-500 series consoles with their monitor mixer and 8 mix groups. So when you’re tracking you set the source of the DUAL buss for each channel to either input or tape so you can monitor inputs or tape tracks (when overdubbing) and source the monitor buss to DUAL, and then when it’s time to mixdown you set the input source for channels 1~8 to TAPE and assign to GRP 1-2 using the Scene Display Panel, and then set the monitor section to monitor GRP 1-2. So it’s DUAL buss for monitoring during tracking and GRP 1-2 during mixdown.

I agree…it has a nice aesthetic. Glad the video was helpful!

Hi. I do. You can email me at sweetbeatstechstop@gmail.com for details. I don’t know comprehensively if other brands have this issue…I assume you are asking about this era of standalone DAWs, yes? Or are you asking generally across a variety of device types and eras? Roland used the 12885 chip which does not have the internal battery and used a separate battery and holder on the main board. This would be better. Yamaha engineers, or the bean-counters, figured nobody would still be using an AW4416 after 15-20 years because of ever-progressing technology. Lots and lots of different devices use real time clock circuits and the 12887 part, so it’s not a problem unique to Yamaha or the AW4416. The Dallas 12887 chip is an off-the-shelf part, not something proprietary or otherwise developed for the AW4416.

Trying to email you/but it keeps coming back Address not found!!

Yes and no. First of all understand the battery is not a separate component. It is a lithium ion battery cell embedded within and integral to the Dallas 12887 series real time clock integrated circuit, a DIP-24 packaged chip soldered to the main system PCB in the AW4416. To replace the battery one must replace the Dallas 12887 chip, which is readily available in recent manufacture stock at multiple reputable electronics parts vendors worldwide. When the battery life reaches a certain point of depletion the “LOW BATTERY” warning begins to flash, which is an annoyance because it obscures the titles of the tabs within the different screens of the AW’s function set (the ones selected by the F1~F5 function switches)…if you can navigate around the AW4416 with your eyes closed this doesn’t matter. For the rest of us this is a pain. Eventually the clock time needs set each time you power up. Audio files when recorded are time-stamped and the clock needs set to appropriately time-stamp files. The last issues are less consistent; more obscure and there is controversy around their relation to the battery depletion, but some claimthe AW will no longer save/recall mixer scenes and there are other claims of complete record action failures. It’s not certain the latter two are related to the battery failure. So the overwhelming consensus is the battery depletion causes operational annoyances vs failures. The caveat is I’m not sure enough time has passed to have a significant number of machines where the battery is fully depleted vs just low. So maybe there are unknowns in the future. The short answer is, yes you can use the AW while the battery is low, and possibly even fully depleted.

Hi. Can you clarify what you mean? There are many processing units in the AW2816, and none of them feature any direct connections. Do you mean you conducted the onboard diagnostics testing and there was a failure of some sort? Or is there a problem with one of the internal interconnecting cables? A little more detail will maybe help me understand what the problem is you are experiencing.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop I am not a tech guy at all. When I turn it on it poers up and reads CPU not connected.

Okay. Well…that can mean one of three things, either 1. There is a damaged, disconnected or displaced interconnections internally, or 2. failure of one or more components associated with processing on one or more printed circuit boards internally, or 3. one or more failed integrated circuits including processing units on one or more printed circuit boards internally. Sometimes people ask me questions like this this but withhold sharing something they did or something that happened out of their control to their device. Is there any additional information you can share about something that happened to your AW2816? Sharing this information can significantly help when it comes to offering advice. Did you have it powered up or plugged in to power during an electrical storm? And fluid infiltration or water damage or other trauma like impact from another object or was it dropped? And am I correct in assuming you haven’t disassembled it in any way for any reason, correct?

Hi! I don’t personally have experience with using the AW4416 for computer-based DAW control, but I think some have had success doing this. If you have a FaceBook account I HIGHLY recommend you join the AW4416 group…great user community, well administered, over 1,400 members…it is THE place to get help, support, and AW camaraderie. Here is some info I found regarding your question from past posts on the fb group: “…here is how to link with Studio One. Ableton should be similar provided it supports Mackie midi protocols and/or has midi learn function. m.facebook.com/groups/80055653632/permalink/10159669006203633/?mibextid=Nif5oz” “…I think I found a solution that works in Ableton for win. browse to appdata-Ableton to User remote Script. Create a folder: Yamaha AW4416... then copy the cubase midi file and the aw4416 xml file in the folder as shown in the picture. Then get the Yamaha AW4416 with the possibility of midi mapping. Have had the faders and pans mapped, but are not finished yet.” “Ableton supports MCU try the Cubase MIDI template.” “I second the cubase comment or it’s possible does the AW have Mackie emulation? I use it on the BCF2000 with FLstudio and I can control most of the standard FL Interface with it. I think cubase is similar I'm sure someone might know more, It's what I want to do with my AW I just haven't got round to trying it” “…think you can use it with FL Studio. the AW4416 xml file can be used in most music software, xml code is the dominant code for all programming languages. together with cubase midi file for aw4416 i think it will work.”

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Man this is so kind of you. Really helpful stuff man, thank you so much. I will now have a good look of all that information and try to apply it. I got the unit today. The only flaw it has (for now) is that the black coating is likely rubbery and it go very sticky over the years. I will be looking if I can treat that in any way. Also, I notice that the faders sometimes get stuck and won't move unless I give them a slight push. I have never had a unit with motorized faders, and I am not sure if they have to be cleaned differently than the standard contact cleaner.

The tacky fader panel is a super annoying reality of an AW4416. It’s the same “soft-touch” coating one can find in countless products. Unfortunately the coating de-synthesizes with age and becomes sticky/tacky. The only solution is to cover it, or remove it. There’s no treatment to re-synthesize the coating. If it is very sticky and fragile on yours it can be removed with isopropyl alcohol and some elbow grease…the worse off the condition the easier it comes off. If it is still early in the stages of breakdown it’s best to leave it alone vs trying to remove it because it takes much more effort to remove it and the screening/labeling on the panel can be comprised in the process. There’s a fella in Belgium (?) that developed a digital file that can be printed on self-adhesive printable vinyl that is a replacement for the screening. The idea is you remove the fader panel (an involved process), strip it to bare metal, carefully apply the label, and trim out all the holes; very labor-intensive but looks fantastic. The tacky fader panel, “low battery” issue with the RTC chip, and fader issues are the only areas of concern with the AW4416 at this point. I predict eventually we will see issues begin to crop up from failed surface-mount electrolytic capacitors. These last two items are not unique to the AW4416 or Yamaha products in general, but will be issues with any older device with flying faders and a majority of electronic device made from the 1990s onward. The RTC chip is readily available and costs around $25 shipped from Mouser with a socket. It takes somebody with advanced soldering skills to do the replacement, but I have a video in my channel showing in detail how to tear down the AW4416 in order to access the main system PCB where the RTC chip is mounted, which saves you a lot of money in shipping if you can’t do the solder job yourself and need to send it to somebody. The faders can still be found new, but the fader board has to be extracted, the old faders desoldered and new faders soldered in. Again, some advanced soldering skills are helpful here but my point is the parts are available and they are replaceable. In YOUR case though I suspect your faders need cleaning and exercising. You can start by pushing them all the way up, get a vacuum cleaner with hose attachment as well as some compressed air…start by sucking as much debris out as you can with faders up, then move them all down and do the same thing…then repeat the procedure but for each fader jet compressed air down into the fader slot while placing the vacuum hose to help pull out anything stirred up by the compressed air jet. Do it faders up and faders down each one. Now spray an appropriate cleaner/lube in there. I use DeoxIT F5 FaderLube. Don’t be shy. Get a bunch in there with the faders up, slide each fader down enough so you can finish each one with an additional jet of it at the top of each fader. Now go into the diagnostics program to to run a “fader aging” test which basically cycles all faders from end to end repeatedly until cancelled. This is to exercise the faders and let the FaderLube work. To get to the test, with the AW4416 powered down hold the HOME and UTILITY buttons down while powering the device on. Once you get the screen with the build date and OS version number and all that release the HOME and UTILITY buttons. You’re now at the diagnostics menu and you’ll see on the bottom right FADER AGING. Cursor down until you get to that menu item and hit ENTER. After a moment the faders will start cycling up and down. Let this run for a bit. Maybe 5-10 minutes. It should improve things. If a fader just won’t move for many cycles, give it a nudge. If it’s bad, faders will work for awhile then hang and need a nudge. After you’ve run it for a bit, hit CANCEL and turn the AW off. Tip the AW so it is up and resting on the front edge…like tip it up and lean it against a wall or something. Move all the faders a bit down from the top, jet compressed air at the top…we’re trying to move debris down to the bottom of the fader. Next move all faders all the way to the top and jet compressed are into each in a way to move debris to the bottom. Now wash more FaderLube in each spraying from top to bottom. Let it sit like that for a half hour or so. Best to have it sitting on a rag or something. It also helps to remove the fader knobs for all of this. After you let it sit power it back up into the diagnostics mode and do the fader aging again for 30-60 minutes. Shut it off. Let it sit over night. Run the fader aging again in the morning to see how things are. In most cases the above procedure should have things working well, though the caveat here is the true way to really clean the fader elements and wipers and lube the wiper carriage and belt pulleys is to remove the fader board, disassemble and clean and lube each fader. But the above procedure will usually greatly improve things.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Man, you truly deserve a heartfelt thank you so much for your detailed, in depth and caring replies! I have not opened the flight case with my AW4416 inside for a decade or more, i sure will though after sleeping for a few hours. Had an amazing time with this machine from 2000 - 2010 or so. Before it i had a Fostex 4 track which i loved so much too, had that from 1994 - 2000. Electric guitars, Moog, Piano and Fender Rhodes were my instruments....goood times, good times, so glad your video popped up in my recommendations, thanks again from Vienna!

Hey that’s great. Thanks and you’re welcome!

I’m not sure how…

I’ve studied the physical build and signal path/circuits of the AW4416 compared to the D3200, DPS24 and many others. There are always pros and cons, but every time I circle back and analyze the AW4416 wins. ADAT yes with a MY8-AT option card, which are readily available and relatively affordable. That’s one of the benefits of the AW4416; two option slots with many options for expanded I/O. What really turned me toward the AW 4416 compared to the DPS24 is the digital channel strip. The DPS24 EQ, for instance is 3-band and relatively limited, while the 02R-based AW4416 is 4-band and configurable. It’s just a much more powerful digital mixing engine. And having the same dynamics, EQ and delay processing on the 28 inputs (no dynamics on the two stereo rerun channels… it full processing in 24 input channels) AND 16 multitrack return channels….really powerful. I love the build of the DPS24…I like the analog signal path a bit better on the AKAI, as well as studio faculties, but from a real-world functionality standpoint, the AW is significantly more capable, scalable and capable. I have an AW4416 for sale right now, deep-cleaned, tested and with a new RTC chip and a full set of OEM manuals for $200

@@SweetbeatsTechStop I'm interested in your unit! The AW4416 sounds really unique.

It is unique for several reasons. The one I was selling is already sold. But they are not hard to find on the used market.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Easy to find, yes, but hard to find ones that are well taken care of & maintained. If you ever see any available or restore any, please let me know. I'd rather buy from a trusted source. For now, I'll keep learning my dps24. Thanks again!

I have four currently; two designated for active operations, a third as a complete good condition backup, and the fourth is a parts donor/test mule. These things are amazing. Unit #4 is the nastiest-looking AW4416 I’ve ever seen…the fader panel is severely dented/deformed at the leading edge, like the entire unit was dropped from a significant height and landed on the edge of something. There are other bits broken on the case. It’s filthy, scraped, scratched and scuffed, and dented in other areas. But…everything works. I do keep my feelers out for good deals on AW4416s, especially ones needing some TLC and maybe a RTC chip replacement…I keep a stock of new, late manufacture DS12887+ parts with sockets to repair other’s units as well as rehab the occasional acquisition and turn back out into the world…usually do some deep cleaning, fader servicing and full diagnostics in the process. I can tear down an AW4416, replace the RTC chip and have it back together in a little over an hour. You’re welcome to contact me offline at the shop email address: sweetbeatstechstop@gmail.com.

“I saw online somewhere that someone appeared to melt the DS12887 with a soldering iron to expose the leads to the battery and attach a new one nearby.” There are several different approaches to address a failing or failed RTC IC battery. The one you mention is to either, as you noted, melt the plastic casing to expose the battery terminals, or use a rotary tool to grind away the plastic casing to do the same, and in either case then weld flying leads to the terminals and mount some sort of external battery holder and battery. There is zero reason for anybody employ this approach anymore. As manufacturing demand for the 12887 family of parts diminished years ago, production did as well to the point the 12887 was no longer available as new stock. There was a period of time a replacement could not be purchased. This was prior to a ramp-up in demand as the battery in original parts across the globe began to deplete. Maxim restarted production several years ago and new 12887 ICs can be readily obtained for a reasonable price from multiple reputable vendors. But during the “RTC dark ages” people came up with some creative solutions. “I do plan to use an IC holder and I wonder why they didn't.” I’ll take it a step further…*I* think they should have spec’ed a 12885 with a board mounted coin battery holder. But they did neither because, even in the late 1990s, we were already a relatively “throw-away” society and the rate of computer-based obsolescence was already high as well. I think Yamaha assumed it was extremely reasonable that advances in technology within 10-15 of the AW4416’s introduction would have the AW4416 relegated to the land of the forgotten by then. They were wrong. There are still thousands of active AW4416 owner/operators/enthusiasts around the world. There is a very active and well-administered FaceBook group for the AW devices; 1,400+ members and climbing regularly. Yamaha couldn’t foresee the future. Still, it’s hard to fathom it would have cost that much more to manufacture the AW4416 (and AW2816) with a battery holder and a 12885 like many other devices. I think they made a mistake. I always install a socket when replacing the RTC. There are also aftermarket parts available, a 12887 compatible IC with an exposed battery and holder…a small PCB with integrated DIP headers, the RTC circuit on the underside and the battery holder on the top. So…options. “Also, I used some thin rubber sheet with adhesive on one side to cover up the sticky rubber mess that degrades with the elements over time at the front of the unit, where the one you worked on has painter's tape. It looks and works great.” I really despise the “soft-touch” coating on anything because it always goes tacky. I wish Yamaha didn’t do that to the AW4416. They didn’t to the AW2816 at least not the fader panel…the jog wheel still has it. If you wait long enough for the coating to get really sticky it then comes off pretty easy with isopropyl alcohol without ruining the screening. There’s also a guy in Europe who desktop published a replacement label for the entire panel…have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl sheet and, after stripping coating and paint off the fader panel, apply the label to the panel. Looks like new…labor intensive though. “Did you do a video of the chip replacement? I tend to cut the IC leads and use some pliers and extract them by heating the solder to save the traces then clean up with a desoldering wick braid.” I didn’t do a video of the actual replacement of the part because, at least how I do it, there’s nothing remarkable to it. I see on the internet there are a number of different ways to approach it, even cutting all the terminals with a mini death wheel, but there’s nothing particularly unique about the part or the PCB assembly on the AW4416…yes I’d rate the desoldering and soldering process as requiring advanced soldering skills and appropriate equipment because the board is dual-sided and glass fiber, the solder pads are relatively small, it’s a DIP24 packaged part with 18 pins, and access is limited even once you have the board assembly out of the unit…care has to be taken not to damage traces or surrounding components. But it can be done…I’ve done the procedure a number of times and at the end of the day it’s just a through-hole IC component, so I remove it like any other through-hole conponent. I use a good quality manual spring-loaded vacuum solder sucker, the kind with a hi-temp silicon rubber tip, and a 12W Antex pencil iron…3/32” chisel tip is about the right size for the job…comes out very clean, I can work fast and avoid any unwanted damage…the tools work well enough that literally I just slide the part out after removing the solder. Yes sometimes I have to clip maybe one leg or something but usually not. It takes about 30 minutes total for me to disassemble the AW and have the RTC out. Regarding solder wick braid, I don’t like it and have never used it. I know lots of people do, but with the potential mess, risk of unwanted heat transfer especially on more dense SMT assemblies, I don’t know why I would pick that over the quick and accurate process using a vacuum solder sucking tool, but 100% each time their own and what works for them.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Thank you for the wealth of knowledge you kindly shared. I like Yamaha did not think this type of format would endure, but the control surface has not been matched with computer based recording and they live on. I made the hard switch to Pro Tools and sold mine long ago, but just picked up another one that needs the new RTC. They sound better to my ear too. Yes working quickly saves the traces from damage. The solder wick too, I use it for clean up mainly if required not to draw solder away from a joint. I use a solder sucker of good quality for most of the task and take care on each pin. The double sided nature of the PCB can make it tricky to get both sides void of solder cleanly I find, but a steady hand, the right solder tip and temp coupled with a clean close up view of each joint usually works, I just have to prepare myself mentally for it lol. Be well I look forward to your future videos.

Thanks. I wasn’t intending to be judgmental or anything of the like. I was thinking later one of the main reasons I’ve not used solder wick, possibly, is because much of my work is on through-hole phenolic resin-based PCBs as opposed to SMT glass fiber boards. Then solder wick seems handy to clean SMT pads. Anyway, thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. I think the AW4416 is a unique device.

I’m glad the AW2400 works well for you. I think it’s a good product for sure, but there are plenty, however, myself included, that would disagree with you. There are a number of significant differences between the AW4416 and AW2400 that, for many, and again myself included, maintain the AW4416 as Yamaha’s best standalone DAW ever. None of the following points may apply to you, your workflow or setup, but they do mine. It’s important to keep in mind though the AW2400 was never meant to be a successor per se to the AW4416, but rather sort of a hybrid replacement for both the AW2816 and AW4416, generally sitting in between the two feature-wise, with a couple important features not found on either predecessor such as the long-throw faders and USB connectivity. That being said, here’s why I prefer the AW4416 over the AW2400: I love the 100mm faders on AW2400, but the lower number of faders (13 vs 17), significantly lower simultaneous record and playback track count at 24-bit (8 simultaneous record and 12 simultaneous playback on the AW2400 vs. 16 and 16 on the AW4416) are big detriments. The AW2400 has only one option card slot vs. 2 on the AW4416. I do understand the single AW2400 option card slot is 16-channel capable vs. the maximum 8-channels per option card slot on the AW4416, but two slots affords greater flexibility with those 16 channels on the AW4416; mix and match additional inputs and/or outputs, protocols, etc…is there a 16 channel mini YGDAI card that has both inputs and outputs? I might be wrong but I don’t think so. You’re stuck with maximum 16 inputs only, or 16 outputs on the AW2400. And what if you want to use a Waves card…that has only 8 Lightpipe channel I/O, so you put that in your one slot on the AW2400 and you’re done outside of the onboard analog I/O. It simply limits options and flexibility. And speaking of input channels the AW4416 offers significantly greater flexibility with 28 patchable source channels from the outside world vs. 16 on the AW2400. HDD access…I don’t like that the HDD access is via a panel on underside on the AW2400 vs. plugin caddy on the backplane of the AW4416. I realize easy drive access is less necessary on the AW2400 because of the USB connectivity (more on that below), but I like the access arrangement better on the AW4416 regardless. I’m sure I’m in an extreme minority here on this next related point, but because the storage media is on a plugin caddy on the AW4416, and because all of the audio data and scene and automix data is stored on that drive, if there are AW4416s needed in two locations you don’t have to disconnect and lug the whole AW4416 back and forth. They’re so affordable anymore…get two and just take the drive caddy back and forth. It may sound silly but my setup will ultimately have a separate drum booth at the opposite end of the building from the control room. I can have one AW4416 in the control room and another in the drum booth all hooked up semi-permanently with patch scenes for each and just take the drive caddy back and forth and be able to self-engineer in each spot. Obscure I know, but the AW4416 makes it way easier to do this vs. the AW2400. And you can get 3-4 AW4416s for the price of one AW2400. AUX buss fader control…the AW2400 has a fader layer for the AUX masters which is a plus, but I love how the AW4416 has sub-layers to the fader pages for each AUX send on each mixer channel allowing each send for each mixer channel to be controlled by the faders. This seems to be pretty unique and a real plus for the AW4416. Sure you still have screen access to those controls on the AW2400, but for those who prefer mixing on the fly and doing creative things with per-channel AUX sends (like in dub style music for instance) vs. using automix, the AW4416 allows one to do things you just can’t do on an AW2400. Dedicated hardware metering…the AW2400 has a pair of LED bar graph meters, but that’s no comparison to the FL meter panel on the AW4416 displaying a multitude of information such as time code, sync status, scene number, and multitrack and master track status and individual meters for each. Footprint…I was surprised by this…I expected with the more limited features and control surface topology the AW2400 would have a smaller footprint…it’s actually a little bigger than the AW4416. Certainly the long-throw faders on the AW2400 contribute to that, but, again, there are only 13 of them vs. 17 on the AW4416, and the longer throw doesn’t give you any greater control resolution. So in my mind, in the end, what the AW2400 has going for it is the USB connectivity, but I can tell you with the relative ease of accessing the HDD on the AW4416 (via the plugin drive caddy), a USB drive adapter and Ben Badman’s free-to-extremely-affordable (even for the top-of-the-line version) AW Miner software available for multiple operating system platforms, this difference is almost a moot point. The other thing I like about the AW2400 is the SELECTED CHANNEL encoder section with the sort of matrix approach to what the encoders do depending on the active screen. It appears to be pretty intuitive and is definitely a step up compared to the AW4416s pan and EQ only encoder section. And yes the AW2400 can do 16 track simultaneous record and 24 track simultaneous playback, but at 16-bit. That is just simply not practical, at least not for me. I would never track at 16 bits unless it was for a demo project, and if so I doubt I’d be setting up 24 tracks or need to do that simultaneously. I suppose it’s nice to have the option, but I imagine I would use it begrudgingly. So for me there is really only one distinct feature of the AW2400 that stands out compared to the AW4416 for which there are no mitigating factors and that’s the SELECTED CHANNEL encoder array. All the rest either wash out or for most of them the AW4416 has the distinct advantage…so many things about the AW2400 present as a downgrade compared to the AW4416 as far as I’m concerned. Again, I realize the AW2400 is not a direct successor to the AW4416, but I’d never switch to an AW2400 or consider it Yamaha’s ultimate standalone DAW. Lastly I see the current market price as a clincher…yes the AW2400 is a later generation device and therefore newer, but considering the downgrades in the feature set I don’t see how that justifies the AW2400’s current market value at, again, about 3-4x the AW4416. This just seems like a no-brainer to me. AW4416 wins.

Hi. What inputs or outputs have the issue? The group outs? Where are the cracks? If they are on the PCB new jacks won’t help. Also you can just solder in a wire bridge to repair the crack if we’re talking about damaged traces and repair without needing new jacks. Or I might have a replacement assembly on-hand.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop its the group outs 3 out of the 4 aren’t working and Ive isolated it down to the back of the XLR group out jacks. The PCB seems fine . On the back side of the group outs the wire makes a 90 turn down towards the board and its cracked. Are you thinking I can try a repair right where the crack is ?

So you’re saying the actual terminals that are part of the jack are broken? That would require a traumatic event. My concern about taking time to try and find a new replacement is something that would break the jack terminals to the PCB would require some blunt force trauma…and I’m concerned even though you say the PCBs look okay, they may not be. I have three OEM complete assemblies onsite here. Let’s continue to discuss this over email if you want: sweetbeatstechstop@gmail.com.

Hi. Thanks for the question. I don’t consider a socket an option. I always install a socket for the new RTC chip. I can be reached at sweetbeatstechstop@gmail.com.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop You are the freaking best and I will be emailing you tonight!!!

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Just wanted to follow up with you to see if you ever got my email!

Each to their own. Some people enjoy the Philips cassette format. The machine can perform well if properly maintained/refurbished. I drug my feet on selling it…because it actually worked within spec across all tracks. But I have other formats to work with. That doesn’t mean it isn’t “it” for somebody else, and I think the individual who bought it was that person. And I’m glad to provide for them a 238 that actually works like it’s supposed to across all tracks since that’s what they wanted.

Are you on FaceBook? If so are you a member of the “Yamaha AW4416” group? If so, you can reach me that way. I’m active in the group. If not I highly recommend joining…about 1,500 members, very active, great community and great support and resource for the AW user community.

The “Model 5” has all plain colored knobs. The opamp used is the 4558. The 5B has multi-colored knobs and uses the 4559.

Awesome. Glad to know. Thanks!

Yes, it sold. Thanks!

Hi. So I’m probably not any more interested in sharing my personal email address with the world than you are. I frequent the forums at homerecording.com. You can, if not already registered there, register and send me a private message; handle is “sweetbeats”…-OR-…just post your question here. It may help others. I have yet to come across a tech support question that is personal and requires 1:1 correspondence.

Hi. I’d love to help but I sold the 5B about six years ago.

Is the guy’s name Ben? If that’s the one then the problem was it wasn’t recording to track 2. Playback was fine, but it wouldn’t record. I have some next steps advice but invited him to register at homerecording.com and chime in on my thread there so we could continue…that’s the last I heard from him. Sounds like it’s gone from bad to worse. My spare/parts AT-RMX64 is the same…plays back all four tracks but records to none and I’ve not had time to investigate why.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop​​⁠ his name is Lance, he mentioned over the phone that he had corresponded with you in some YT comments. I believe when he received it, no incoming audio passed through CH2, but playback and everything else was fine throughout. But when he opened it up and tried to investigate, something went awry and now the subs meter with playback and incoming audio, but nothing passes through to the tape. To be honest, I’m a bit confused about the exact state of affairs, but I’m willing to give it my best shot given that it’s probably just some bad connections (ch2 being a possibly more challenging problem). Anyways, I’m planning to pick it up next Wednesday and bring it back to NY. Curious if you think it’s a bad idea or not… it’s hard to see through the fog of gear lust sometimes… :) thanks for the quick reply!

Well, I’ll just say this…and 200% I could be wrong, and this likely isn’t what you’re going to want to hear, but if it is playing back fine but not recording to all tracks, it’s not a mechanical issue, it’s an electronic issue. This is the same problem I have with my spare/parts AT-RMX64…dabbled with it a bit at one point but didn’t resolve the issue, and because I have a minty condition fully-functional AT-RMX64 and a pile of other projects and priorities it’s not going to be anytime soon I figure it out. I don’t know if the root cause of the problem with mine is the same as the one you’re looking at, but the symptom is the same…anything is fixable. It just requires time, money and expertise. The AT-RMX64, being a device with unobtanium schematics and other tech docs, presents as a greater challenge to repair. But anything can be fixed with time, money and expertise. I have to wonder if the issue on mine and the one you’re looking at is an emerging common issue.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop yeah... I'm almost certainly getting in over my head. That said, the fact that it *was* recording fine (according to the seller, who I trust at this point after many extended conversations), and only stopped when it was dismantled and then put back together leads me to believe that it's likely something within the realm of fixability and the result of a slight nudge or misalignment... I could turn back at this stage and not even bother, but I also kind of love the idea of giving it my best shot heh.

Well I wish you the best and admire your enthusiasm. In my experience generally and with the AT-RMX64 specifically, I’m disinclined to think the problem is related to a “nudge” or a “misalignment”. The plugin boards are either plugged in, or they are not. Something as far as a connection or mechanical failure that suddenly effects only the record function of all 4 tracks would effect other things as well based on what I know of the circuitry. And, yes, before treatment and exercising the edge connectors can be finicky, but the symptoms are usually intermittent or unreliable connections of a more random nature, not a focused block of one facet of the signal path. The record amp feed comes off of each SUB channel. That’s four different boards. And then goes to two different transport section amp cards. And playback and record share traces to/from the transport. It’s not a failure there. It’s playing back. You might be right and I hope so. You want to start by removing boards, treating the pins and sockets with DeoxIT D5 or similar, and exercising the connections…jetting, exercising, blowing out with compressed air, jetting, exercising…and doing all this very carefully because of the fragile nature of the phenolic material used for the motherboards. And if that doesn’t solve it pull the bottom cover and start closely inspecting solder joint…good light…magnifying glass. If you find the fix please post here or in my thread on home recording.com so the community knows what fixed it. I did all these things to my spare/parts unit that has the exact same symptom you describe and it didn’t resolve the issue. Another thing to check is put in a cassette with signal on all 4 tracks and try to record something. Note if it erases but doesn’t record, or doesn’t erase or record. These are helpful clues. My suspicion is it won’t erase or record and there is some failure in the switching circuitry that triggers the bias amps.

Hi. To be more precise the M-512 is actually the 12-channel counterpart to the M-520, not the M-50…the M-50 preceded them both…very similar yes, but there are some key differences between the M-50 and the M-512/520: the M-50 faders are 60mm throw, the M-512/520 are 100mm; the M-50 AUX buss control topography is 4-channel but in two stereo pairs (you know this already because this is part of what you are wrestling with…more below…), while the M-512/520 is still 4-channel but setup as 4 mono channels; the M-50 has a significantly different master section jack panel…only two “BALANCE AMP” channels, but those two outputs are completely unique to the M-50 as far as Teac/Tascam production models in that they have a semi-discrete ultra-high headroom complimentary transistor output stage powered by +/-35V power rails. The M-512/520 has a very useful 8-channel BALANCE AMP section but it is a watered-down version of the M-50 output line driver and powered by +/-18V. The M-50, in lieu of 8 channels of balance amp conversion has a number of outputs switchable -10dBv or 0dBv, whereas the M-512/520 are all -10dBv. Those are the highlights. The M-50 is a unique monster. I own a prototype of the M-50 with 14 channels of that ultra-high headroom output line driver and a truckload of other features that never made it to a production model. Now, as to your question…with an effect like reverb you typically want to incorporate that as a send type effect vs an “insert” effect…and as a result you would typically use AUX bussing to feed that effect. Don’t think of your M-50 as having two “stereo” AUX busses. That’s how they are setup control-wise, but the controls allow you to use each pair as “stereo” or dual-mono if you know how to use them. It’s 4 channels of AUX bussing. Think of it as 4 channels of AUX busses organized into two pairs. Each pair has a PAN and LEVEL control. So you can use it like a “stereo” AUX buss, or dual mono buss…in dual-mono mode use the PAN control to adjust the balance of the signal fed to output 1 or output 2 (in the case of AUX 1-2), and the LEVEL control to simultaneously adjust the level to both outputs. Think of it that way when you are using AUX 1-2 (for instance) as dual mono…it’s not AUX 1 is left and AUX 2 is right of a stereo buss, it’s just AUX 1 and AUX 2 with a balance control (PAN) and a LEVEL control that controls both instead of a dedicated LEVEL control for each. So let’s say you only want the signal fed to AUX 1, then sweep the PAN control hard L, and use the LEVEL control to adjust the output level. If you have two mono effects hooked up, one to AUX 1 and the other to AUX 2, start by setting the PAN control to center, and adjust the LEVEL control for the hottest feed without overloading the input of the two mono effects. If it’s good for the effect connected to AUX 1, but, for instance, too hot for the effect connected to AUX 2, adjust the PAN control counter-clockwise toward AUX 1 until the level is okay for the effect connected to AUX 2 and then trim the overall level up or down using the LEVEL control…rinse and repeat until there’s a good level going to both mono effects connected to the AUX 1 and AUX 2 outputs. And keep in mind you have overall AUX buss master fader controls in the master section for all signals fed to the AUX 1-2 busses and AUX 3-4 busses. This is how you use a 2-channel AUX buss configured as a “stereo” buss as a dual-mono AUX buss. So you can feed your pedals with the AUX outputs, and you can return them to the console using any open input channels, or the SPARE inputs, or BUSS IN jacks…whatever works for your setup. If you want more specific guidance I need to know what all you have hooked up to the 12 input channels and how you are using the PGM groups. I hope this is helpful.

No way you can get it out the bottom without totally disassembling the chassis. It’s designed to come out the top. 1. Remove the transport section dress panel (screws on the face of the panel). 2. On the underside of the transport section dress panel remove the two screws that fasten the record arm LED PCB strip to the dress panel. This is just for convenience…allows you to completely set the dress panel aside. 3. You’ll see two screws on each side of the transport assembly that fasten it to the main chassis, two on each side…remove those and the transport assembly is free except for… 4. Wire harness connections…I don’t have either of mine in front of me at the moment, but there are multiple connections IIRC below the transport (toward the front of the machine) that connect to the logic PCB assembly that’s underneath the transport assembly…they are not hard to get to…in fact I think they are all different sizes, but take pics and label with blue painters tape or similar to make reassembly easier…and then the head connectors go to one of the amplifier PCB assemblies above the transport assembly (to the rear of the machine) and you have to remove that one amp card assembly to unplug the head wiring connectors from the PCB. The amp cards are held in by two obvious screws each, and they are plugin cards. Be gentle with removal, they may be stubborn after all these years and the motherboard is phenolic resin type, so not as sturdy as a glass fiber board…gentle rocking side to side and it’ll pop free. Post any questions. I’ll help.

Hi. Thanks! So I’m not sure I follow how you’re monitoring your tape machine…it’s not clear if you’re monitoring via the monitor mixer or what…but you can hear your tape tracks, yes? The thing to understand about the EFF RTN inputs is they are assigned to the L-R main buss. That’s fixed. So if you want to hear a mix of your dry sources and the wet effect return, your dry sources have to be assigned to the L-R main buss also, and then you’ll hear a summed mix of both those things. So your tape machine outputs should be connected to the M-312B TAPE IN jacks, and then when input channels 1-8 are switched to source the LINE inputs, as long as nothing is plugged into the LINE IN jacks on those channels then LINE = TAPE…then those channels should be assigned or routed to the L-R main buss, and the EFF RTN is automatically assigned to the L-R main buss, so when you monitor the L-R main buss you should hear both; your tape tracks and the effect box output.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Thank you for the quick reply! Sorry if I made that overly complicated. I'm in the mix-down process, so I'm mixing each track through the channel/track strip, tape is sourced through LINE input, playback through L-R main buss, everything assigned and playing back through L-R main buss, but there's no wet signal playback through the main buss at all. I wasn't sure if I'm doing something wrong with assigning the effects or if something is up with the EFF SEND/RTN

You keep referencing “EFFECT SEND/RTN.” Let’s back up. I assumed you already verified you had signal present at the reverb box input and output. No? If not, start by setting your monitor source in the monitor select switchrack to EFF, make sure you have signal there. It might help if you told me what outboard gear you are using. And if you have signal getting to the reverb box and signal getting out of the reverb box, what happens when you PFL the EFF RTN? What do you hear?

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Okay yeah there is no signal when I set my monitor source to EFF. I'm using an Electro Harmonix oceans 11 reverb pedal. Thank you for the help I really appreciate it!

So how do you have the EFF knobs set on the various input channels of your M-312B as well as the master EFF LEVEL knob?

What this means is the mechanism that raises and lowers the headblock assembly, and engages the headblock with the cassette and the tape, is jamming. The headblock assembly is moved by a DC motor through a plastic gear-reduction assembly. After many years the lubricant in the gear-reduction assembly dries and gums up and the gears cannot turn. In extreme cases one or more of the gears will actually break. Do not continue to attempt to operate the machine until you resolve the problem. The problem is resolved by removing the transport assembly, completely disassembling the gear reduction assembly, thoroughly cleaning all surfaces of the old lubricant, applying new lubricant of an appropriate type (I use Lubriplate 105), reassembling and reinstalling the transport assembly. If one or more of the gears are broken they must be sourced and replaced. The most common gear that breaks is the “Gear C”. You can do a web search about this. It is not an uncommon problem.

@@SweetbeatsTechStop Thank so much fo your help, all is very clearly described. Kind regards.