Traveling with Tascam 388

MagnumPI

New member
Hi Guys,
I posted this in packing 101 but thought I might get a few more replies out here.
I'm moving and bringing my Tascam 388 with me.
We're going about 900 miles across the country with the 388 in the back of the moving van. I'll pack and handle it myself and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to pack, or what to place under it to minimize shaking from the road.
I have a mattress that I could use, also thought about buying a Bean Bag because they seem to move slower, like the ocean, instead of just bouncing around (or at least that's what I imagine).
I'll also bubble wrap it for basic protection.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
 
I'd wrap it up and put it in the back seat of your car. If I can put a tascam m520 mixer in a Honda civic, the 388 should fit in whatever you have.

In the moving van you'll run more risk of the payload shifting and possibly causing damage.

The machine isolated from things banging into it is much safer, hence the backseat recomendation.

Even if you're towing your car, it would still be better in the back seat.

:D
 
I transport my 388 in a van and am always wondering how I could do it better. I just put it on top of a small thin'ish ikea mattress and make sure nothing is going to move around and damage it.

Would be interesting to hear from people who know what could potentially move around inside the 388 from bumps etc. Ideas on how to minimize this would be great. I think bean bags might be better than a my thin ikea mattress... not too sure.
 
Then there's also the seemingly obvious, yet expensive solution.
Have a flight case built.

Seems quite a few are in the habit of moving the 388 around. It is after all a "porta-studio". Quite big and quite heavy, but a porta-studio nonetheless.

:D
 
Ha. Yea, I almost rip my arms off every time I try to move that "porta-studio"
I actually used to have a flight case for a 388 but I sold it a while back. rats.
I guess for this trip I'm most concerned with the hours of shakes and bumps of a big road trip. Hope I wont end up at the new place with a machine that is all shook up. :listeningmusic:
 
3:words.
Blanket, back seat.
:D

Edit:
Sorry if I am asserting such certainty, but it's based off of my real life experience.

Transported one board (m520) that way from Arizona to LA, and continued almost to Oregon. Thats a thousand miles.

Transported another one from LA to the same destination. 500 miles.
No mishaps whatsoever, both consoles came home in perfect shape.
 
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I second the backseat, but if you can't do that then I would wrap that thing in some blankets, and then lots of bubble wrap and make sure it's in a snug place where it won't slide around or have anything fall on it. I wouldn't worry too much about the bumps in the road but it's good to be as careful as you can. I had to transport a mixer, three reel to reels, and 6 cassette 4, and 8-tracks in a U-Haul mini and it went fine. I used the blanket/towel wrap with a ton of bubble wrap over it and it went great.
 
Just an update. I rolled some bubble wrap around the 388 and taped it tight. Then just put in on the floor of the moving van and packed some boxes around it so it wouldn't slide. I drove that thing 1500 miles in the back of the van, got to the new place, unpacked it, and it works like a charm. Strong machine this old Tascam. Love it.
 
Good deal.

The bigger issue beyond the shakes and jolts is chassis flexing. So having it on a flat solid surface with stuff packed around it to keep it from sliding, with some bubble wrap to absorb the little stuff is often all that is needed if you are hauling it yourself. I've moved a decent amount of mixers and tape machines as well as three 388s in the back of my old Subaru that way either just sitting right on the carpet in the cargo area or maybe on a closed cell foam camping pad.

Thank for the update and glad you got it from point A to point B in working order. Always a knuckle-biter!
 
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