788 Roadmap?

[sloom]

Hey, fellow Tascam Troopers (reference to the latent general attitude at Tascam which many hapless home-recordists have been exposed to).

I have purchased a used Tascam 788, and am learning to get around within the secret pathways of "All-in-One" DAW signal flow- otherwise known as the "Menu".
According to the Tutorial handbook, there is a special 'Roadmap' that usually accompanies the 788 kit. If anyone has it, and wouldn't mind sending me a copy, I'll send you a nominal fee for your trouble!

Thanks!!

Act now and get a free* used drill press!

*(Offer dependent upon location of recipient and other local considerations)

[A Reel Person]

or the full-version 788 manual? Which ones do you have?

The 788 manuals are still available for download from the Tascam website,... if you can navigate the "hidden" menus of the website!!

http://www.tascam.com/Products/788.html

[sloom]

I have both manuals, but the fold-out "Roadmap" was not in the literature I recieved with my used device. But I've gotten pm from a guy who's got the roadmap, so I think I'm all set with it.

Yeah, and the hidden ways of Tascam are definitely beyond me...

Thanks for responding.

[A Reel Person]

but maybe you could post a copy online, or just send one to me!

[A Reel Person]

and it came with the manuals, but I still don't recall seeing any "roadmap".

Just to say, although it's an outstanding device, I was somewhat disappointed in the 788, as discussed earlier, and so I've not used it much past the initial inspection right out of the box.

Okay, question: Should the internal HD on the 788 make a noticeable whining/spinning sound? Gee, duh, I know it's a spinning device, but I expected the sound of it to be more subdued or transparent. My 788 winds up and you can hear it spinning, right on the table. I'd venture to say this would probably pick up on a quiet recorded passage with mics set on high gain.

Any comment on that? Did I get a second hand "lemon" that was described as "new-in-box"? I hate Ebay sometimes, and I've seen the rampant abuse of the word "NEW" in auctions. "Like-New" would be more appropriate in most cases.

Your comments?

Thanx.

[sloom]

Mine does make a subdued spinning ('whirring') sound. I keep it on a piece of rubberized mesh, folded in half. I've gotten some great guitar sounds (acoustic) into it via an AT4033a mic, and clear vocals from the same. No noticeable issues. Once I get the stuff into Cool Edit Pro I'll know more...

There is always noise in the air, you don't 'hear' it, but it's there! Absolute silence would probably be a noticeable experience- maybe discomfiting. That's all I can say as far as consolation on this issue- I don't hear your 788, so I can't comment with much assurance on it- but yep, mine spins too.

I'll send you a copy of the .pdf- I have to try and set up an old printer for my kid's school project, but I'll e-mail it to you tonight.

EDIT: Mine has had a 20 GB hard-drive installed in it- before I got it- and that might make for a difference? Different HD manufacturer... different some...thing? Dunno. Let's investigate that! I'll check around, you too.

[A Reel Person]

I'm sure the type of drive makes a difference in the sound. Maybe I need a 20G drive, like you! What you say makes sense, of course, but it's way louder than any Portastudio or tape drive I've ever had, not to mention the HD based FD4 and FD8, which are nearly silent. I think I have a noisy disc .

Thanx for your help!

[IMO] The 788 is adequate, but it didn't knock my socks off,... and I basically hate mixing in the menus. Plus, the HD seems noisy and it requires an auxiliary CDr burner. Records up to 6 tracks simultaneously, but if you enable the 7th & 8th track, the monitor does some funny (crappy) things. Aaaggghhh!!

[sloom]

I've been mixing with the "Cue" button (upper right) off. Just the tracks in the Main Mixer, on the control surface. The FX (menu!) are still available, etc. But I know what you mean about mixing inside a little window. Maybe it's limited, but I plan mostly to use it for recording from locations other than my basement! Then burn 'Track-At-Once' CD, and import the files into Cool Edit, n-Track, or whatever.

If you're not completely disgusted with it, I'll ask the guy who sold it to me where he got the 20 GB drive installed?

[A Reel Person]

but you could say it's not one of my most favorite recorders!

I can see how it's small size and 6-simul capability makes it groovy for remotes! I know, in my own case, that since all the mixer settings are in menus, I'll try to find a few "stock" settings that work for plug-n-play convenience. Better yet, as we discussed, maybe front end the 788 with the M30 mixer, and call it a day!

I also put most of my recording equipment on thick foam padding, and it helps minimize transport noise. I think if I could find a larger drive that was also quieter, that would be good all around.

Forward any info you may get, and that's fine with me.

Thanx.

[rcane]

You can easily replace the hard drive yourself. I did that on mine. It didn't seem to make it noticeably quieter, though. But I do have space for hours of recording time now. I got a Maxtor with fluid bearings because it was the least expensive, but on the old Tascam forum they recommended the Seagate Barracuda drives also with the fluid bearings. I also use foam under the feet to isolate it from the shelf. I just push record and then throw a pillow or a big towel over it. That gets rid of most of the noise. I really like how portable it is as well, and it sounds great.

[sloom]

That foam-under-the-feet thing seems to be standard practice. I do it, too. And I didn't realize it was that easy to replace the HD. There must be a quiet one?

You don't think a Seagate drive is overkill? I'd put one in my PC, but the 788? What is the advantage there as opposed to the "standard issue"? The obvious answer may be 'better performance', but...

Thanks for the info about the mod!

[A Reel Person]

I got the 788 Roadmap on PDF. I'm not sure if it's in my other 788 lit, and maybe I overlooked it, but it sure is swell!!

The funniest part is that to describe the 788 menu tree in pictures, they depict rows of knobs and switches identical to the 388! This, IMO, is highly ironic!

Question: How do you best depict the 788's internal menu trees?
Answer: Use diagrams of the 388 in a bunch of boxes with a bunch of arrows! Sweet!

Question: Why not then design the 788 more like the 388, or just get an actual 388 instead?
Answer: Yes. The 388 seems to be the quintessential model of an 8-track Portastudio that's held as the measuring stick of all other 8-track Porta's, [IMO].

[sloom]

Question: You got a picture of the 388?!

[rcane]

The advantage of replacing the hard drive is more recording time. I think my 788 came with a 20 gig drive, but the 788 will recognize up to 64 gigs as I remember. It has to be in partitions, but you can get a lot more recording time. I think the drive I got is quieter than what came with it, but it's hard to tell. I think the Seagate might be quieter than the Maxtor I got.
All you have to do is remove some screws on the bottom to get access to the drive. Even I could do the swap. There were directions at www.tascamforums.com but I don't know if that's still available.

[A Reel Person]

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[A Reel Person]

Originally Posted by rcane

The advantage of replacing the hard drive is more recording time. I think my 788 came with a 20 gig drive, but the 788 will recognize up to 64 gigs as I remember. It has to be in partitions, but you can get a lot more recording time. I think the drive I got is quieter than what came with it, but it's hard to tell. I think the Seagate might be quieter than the Maxtor I got.
All you have to do is remove some screws on the bottom to get access to the drive. Even I could do the swap. There were directions at www.tascamforums.com but I don't know if that's still available.

20 Gig is huge, but 64 Gig is gigantic! I don't even know if I could fill it up with music if I tried!

I kinda figured it is an easy drive-swap. I'm not sure at this point if I wanna get a bigger/quieter hard drive, if I want to focus on finding the CDR for the 788, or maybe just to bail on the 788 altogether. I've not decided. I got it in Like-New-In-Box condition for $250, and I thought that was a pretty good deal, eh? It came with everything, less the XLR-1/4" adapters, aagghh!! I've since bought two adapters on another Ebay deal.

I'll probably take the 788 out for a few more test drives in the meantime, before I decide anything, while I continue to watch Ebay for CDR's.

Thanx for the additional info!!

[rcane]

I don't use those adapters. I've got an outboard pre and use it with the input on the 788 turned all the way down. Makes a huge difference in the quality of recordings you get.

I got the same New Old Stock $250 deal on eBay. I bought it for the convenience of an all-in-one machine, but I'm really enjoying the quality of sound especially for $250.

Cool deck in your photos! Now that's a reel all-in-one machine!

[A Reel Person]

The M30 has 8 decent preamps, EQ, 8x4 Assign matrix, Monitor & Submix, which all-in-all is a pretty fancy front end to the 788, and certainly solves many of the gripes I have about the shortcomings of the 788, itself, which mainly has to do with the mixer section. Unfortunately, it's then no longer a 1-piece solution, but oh well.

[sloom]

Hey, great pix! Now that's a portastudio!

I forgot to get e-mailed when a response comes to the thread, I guess. Anyway, cool idea for using an outboard pre... as Dave said, we spoke about using the M-30 to front the 788. I'm gonna try that next time we do a session here at the house. Then I have to get buss #3 fixed... suddenly not happenning...

I've found that most people are having to do something to keep the 788 quiet for recording. A piece of foam underneath, a towel on top, whatever. Seems kinda 'trailer-park', but there's always something! Yep, maybe there's a quieter HD.
And I don't think I'll be able to fill up that 20GB HD either- especially with the CDR thingy to dump files/tracks to (thanks again for the linkage, Dave, now that you also need one!).

I've been using a Studio Projects B-3 (omni) for a 'room sound', and an AT4033a for close-miking with acoustic guitar, and vox, into the 788. Been getting pretty stellar sound, as far as my Skilsaw-damaged ears can make out! And the compression, 'verb, and EQ aren't bad, once you get used to doing the moves in the menu. I anticipate a good thing coming from the 788 with the M-30 in front. Will post result of some kind...

[A Reel Person]

I think it's a more extensive mixer that's represented,... more along the lines of the M520,... which is comical too.

[sloom]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

I think it's a more extensive mixer that's represented,... more along the lines of the M520,... which is comical too.

O.k., I bite... why is that comical (not knowing the M520 might be key)?