type II cassettes - how necessary?

H

homeforthedef

New member
I'm just about to buy a 488 mk II (upgrading from a Yamaha MT100 mk II 4 track), and have been reading through the manual and read that it is "internally adjusted for HIGH BIAS "Type II" tape." I know that it's a step up in quality to use type II tape, but at the moment it's a choice of buying the 488 or type II tapes (running at 9.5 speed - I'm unemployed and have a light wallet), how much difference is there between the type II and standard cassettes? Will standard cassettes work fine all the same in the 488?
Also the manual says that 4 track tapes (or any tapes not recorded in 8 track mode) won't work properly in the 488, but here on homerecording.com, I read that 4 track tapes work fine, giving you a whole new 4 tracks to play with... can anyone confirm this?
 
Go the extra money for the tape your machine was designed to use. You'll happy you did in the long run. We're only talking a difference of fifty cents to a dollar or two difference per tape. Don't scrimp here.

In a four track cassette machine the tape width is divided by four. One track for each division respectively. Think of the record/erase heads as having four pick-ups inside. One for each track.

Now apply the same theory to eight track cassette. Do you now see why a tape recorded on a four track machine will not play back properly on an eight track machine?

[This message has been edited by hixmix (edited 03-21-2000).]
 
Yo Home for the Def:

Man, for just a couple of hundred more you can buy the Yamaha MD-8 which, once you use it, you will never turn on a 488 tape recorder. I had a 488 and it was all right. But, waiting for the tape to rewind was break time. With the MD-8, as well as other digital boxes, just push the button and you're right back to "go."

Go to a dealer and get a demo on the Yam MD-8. Sell your dog or cat or something.

As to the tape, use what is needed according to the manual if you want the best results if you buy a 488. Use only a 60 minute tape for recording. I used to use Sony Pro tape and I still use it to mix down from my MD-8.

If you don't buy a digital box, you'll be sorry.

Enjoy,
Green Hornet
 
I would have assumed that with a 4 track cassette, being divided into 4, that dividing this further into 8 would be no problem? Wouldn't the original Track 1 become Track 1 & 2, and Track 2 become Track 3&4, etc.? So you'd have space for 4 extra tracks in there if you wanted?

and as far as the digital goes, the 488 I'm getting is secondhand and pretty cheap, so the difference in price between this and a digital recorder is still pretty steep for me. Maybe digital is the next step, I spent the first few years recording on a kitchen radio, then the last few years on 4 track cassette, now onto 8 track cassette for awhile...

I think I'm gonna have to start selling drugs to clear buying all the type II's i'll need ;)
 
You can use the same kind of cassette tape. But once you record the 4 tracks on a 4 track machine it's final. You won't be able to pop it in an 8 track machine and record extra tracks. You would have to erase the tape first and start from scratch.
 
The 488 IS compatible with other TASCAM four tracks, however it might not be compatible from a Yahmaha 4 track.

As far as Type II cassetes- half of the tapes that you find in music stores are Type II. Any thing that has "High Bias" or "Best for CD" or something like that on it, it will be type II. A five pack of TDK SA 60's or Maxelle XLII 60's (both do well) costs about $7 - $9. To go higher would be TDK SM 60's which cost about $2.50 a tape. The cost of tape shouldn't be too much of an issue, so don't skimp! (I'ts a lot cheaper than those Data CD''s that the Mini disk recorders use anyway!!)
 
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