Tascam 216 mixer?

[Bigsnake00]

Has anyone had any experience using a Tascam M 216 mixer, I will be using it with a tascam 38. I know guys on here reccomend tascams 300 series, just wondered if these are that bad

[Bigsnake00]

Im kinda answering my own question here, but I have seen where ghost and some others have praised the mixer. I know I wont have phantom power, but what would I lose as far as routing capabilites?

[A Reel Person]

It's a bit more streamlined and lite on features, as compared to the 300 Series, but it is functional enough for the 38.

Sound quality should be roughly comparable. The 216's EQ section is different from the 300's.

The 300 Series mixers will have fuller features, where the 200 Series mixers will have less overall features, plus some features of the 200 Series mixer will be dual function, where the 300 might have a discrete function.

The Tascam 200 Series [M-216] is not a bad mixer compared to the 300 Series, but it's different and a bit lighter & more compacted set of features.

You'll do fine with an M-216 and 38! That's a nice setup!

[Bigsnake00]

Id like to find a 316 or somthing like that, but they are very hard to come by, and I'm dying to lay some tracks down. As long as this mixer will allow me to send the signal back to my computer, I guess it will be a good starting point.

[A Reel Person]

the Tascam M-312 or the Tascam M-320. There's no 316.

The M-216 should be fully adequate for the Tascam 38, a decent system, and you shouldn't feel like you got less than the best. It will allow you full access for multitracking to/from the 38, and for sending signal to/from computer. There could be 101 different patches to adequately do what you want to do with this equipment, scenarios too numerous to mention individually, and which would be best taken on a case-by-case basis.

The 300's (M308/312/320/B) are a bit more complex and feature heavy, and the 200's (M208/216/224) were intended to be lightened up, sized down, and streamlined version mixers. They both fit simultaneously on a heirarchical family of products, each having a niche intended market.

[The Ghost of FM]

- 60 mm faders instead of smooth, slick 100mm

- No dedicated direct stereo buss; you must use buss 1 & 2 to feed to the stereo outs.

- One aux send pre-fader versus up to 4 switchable pre/post on the 300 series

- No insert points on busses; only on main mixer channel strips

- Tone controls not by passable

- 4 vu meters vs 6 to 10 on 300 series

- no dedicated tape return 8x2 sub-mix system

- No talk-back facility

- Slightly noisier mic pre-amps that sound a little colder then the 300 series

I've owned both an M208 and an M216 and both worked well, sounded decent and were made very solidly. They did not feel like a cheap mixer even though they weren't super expensive new in their day.

If your mixing needs are simple enough, they will do an impressive job for you. But, if you can snag a 300 series for a decent price, you'll be glad you did, guaranteed.

Cheers!

[Neil Schubert]

Hello,

I've owned a Tascam M-216 mixer for almost 14 years. So far, other than cleaning the controls and maybe a few op-amp upgrades (to the output channels), it performs well. This series of mixer was introduced in 1984 and was made up until 1986. Don't be fooled by it's age, it has all of the quality of many modern mixers. One of the board's excellent features are mic pre-amps that have a really decent dynamic range. They are a little noisy, but in comparison to my larger studio console, the board is really quiet.

At the time the M216 was marketed, it was directed towards home recording. Nowdays, it is comparable to the boards in most studios. The large "console" boards are for the most part, a thing of the past.

If you need more channels, they also made an M224. I will agree, that the board's buit in EQ is a little lacking. 80Hz would be better than 100Hz for the low end. I like the sweepable mid, as this works great for vocals. The 10k high end is useable, but could be 12k. For the most part, if you've got decent microphones, you don't need to use the EQ much. Unlike lots of newer mixers, I have had very few problems with EQ overload!

Lacking is 48V phantom power. My board only has 24V phantom, on the first 8 channels. This may have been a "mod" so I am not sure if your board will have this. If you only have a few condenser mics, this is acceptable. A nice setup would include multiple M216 mixers - one for the drum kit, one for the guitars and vocals, and one for mixdown.

The board only has one mono effects bus, and one "foldback" buss, which can be used as a second effects bus. It has stereo effects returns, and direct feeds from both buses to the output channels. The "effects" bus concept is starting to become an appendage in studio recording, since most effects are now done in the audio editing software.

The first 8 channels have an additional RCA line-level connector, that you can use with a tape recorder, or use for other inputs. This makes the board very useful for radio production rooms, where you may want to plug some consumer-type equipment in. The best feature are the 4 analog meters - you can't find these on any smaller board. Bargraphs just don't cut it!

For the most part, if you are using a reel-to-reel, you may want to get the 300 series, or use this one as a "mixdown" board. But I'd buy it before I'd by a 16 channel "cheapie" board, like one of those newer ones with built in effects.

A nice setup on the M216 is to use the insert plugs to record and playback from. Simply use a y cable to to connect the board to a multi-track AD DA convertor, and you have a really nice multitrack setup. An inexpensive unit such as the alesis io26 will turn an m216 into pretty good studio.

So, I guess I would have to say that the M216 has been the most reliable board I have owned, and the most useful.

[Beck]

Easily the best budget console TASCAM ever made. I really hate to use the term budget, although it was low-cost at the time ($1,800.00 list). But it doesn’t sound cheap. I’ve had the M-216 for 17 years and counting… bought it new in 1990. It runs circles around anything like the newer Behringer, Alesis, Mackie and TASCAM outsourced stuff.

It’s also a hackers dream if you’re into modifying. It’s very well made with a separate card for each channel. Whatever features it doesn’t have you can add.

The M-300 series is more versatile that the M-200 and IMO is one of the best TASCAM boards ever made (including the M-500 series).

I also have the M-208 and have done a lot of modifying with newer/better op-amps, metal film resistors and switches for more routing options. It’s a work in progress… I’m upgrading some capacitors in the audio chain next, but I would be performing these upgrades with any vintage board, so there is nothing wrong with the M-200 in particular.

It sounds good right out of the box, and for those using it as a front-end for a DAW or something the warmth of the NJM4560DX op-amps is just what the doctor ordered to add some character.

It’s great for use with an 8-track tape deck (I use it with the TASCAM TSR-8). The tape inputs are clean with even less cluttered circuitry than those on the M-300 consoles.

It has two AUX busses… one pre-fader and one post. I use them both as effect sends. I use buss 1&2 as a stereo buss for mixdown to half-track and use the stereo buss to feed my monitor amp. This eliminates a stage, which makes for a cleaner, quieter mix to tape. Even with the stock unit the path from Tape-in to Program-out is as quiet as you will find on the best consoles.

A big plus is that it’s light and easy to fit into a small studio or take on location. It’s very reliable… I’ve had no issues with it in 17 years. (like most of my gear it’s been under a dust cover when not in use). It looks and functions as well as the day I bought it.

[xmortumx]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

The M-216 should be fully adequate for the Tascam 38, a decent system, and you shouldn't feel like you got less than the best. It will allow you full access for multitracking to/from the 38, and for sending signal to/from computer. There could be 101 different patches to adequately do what you want to do with this equipment, scenarios too numerous to mention individually, and which would be best taken on a case-by-case basis.

I brought this thread back up because im thinking of purchasing this mixer there selling it for 65$


How can i route the output of each channel so i can multi track using my daw nuendo. I currently have a firepod will i be able to use that or for example purchae an Echo Audiofire to route each signal to my daw.