My new Tascam M3700...

[VESSEL2020]

Just thought I'd share some pics of my latest studio purchase...
Got rid of my M2600 16 channel board, and upgraded to 32 channels on the M3700.
I'm very happy with this console. This is the one I've wanted for quite some time now,...and finally the right one came along.
The whole board was just recapped,...and the first 4 channels have bur-brown op amps installed on 'em. I wanted this console mainly for the 32 channels,...and the fact that I really like Tascam's gear. I've also heard from a few people that this console is known for it's purity in the preamps (no color)...but is a bit noisy. From what I was told,...I just need to mute all channels not being used, to eliminate the noise. Though,...I do make concrete musique, and soundscapes, and sometimes the noise is wanted.
I have several hardware synthesizers,...so, the upgrade was very justifiable.
I pretty much "set n forget".... all my gear.
There were 2 owners before me. The first one was a church in which they never figured out how to operate the M3700 where it remained untouched and covered,...and the 2nd owner was a studio technician, who actually has worked on many M3700's in the past.
I've got a little story to tell about the "local pickup" of this mixer...but that'll be another thread. This M3700 actually saved my life! No B.S.
I got lucky with this one having the full meter bridge option on it. To my knowledge,...only the consoles shipped to Europe had the full meter bridge,...and the M3700's shipped out in the U.S. only had smaller meter bridge. Other than a couple "colored caps" missing from a couple knobs, and a small tear in the armrest,..this M3700 is in excellent condition inside and out.
My camera is crap, and I'm not too good at taking pictures, trying to get rid of the glare and all...
Didn't get a chance to clean her up yet,....
Here she is:

 

[miroslav]

Did you just grab this off of eBay about a month ago....?
I remember seeing one with full meter bridge...I think somewhere around the Nashville area...?

 

[briank]

Wow, I had to look at the pics and make sure this isn't the M3700 I just sold last month. It looks JUST like it. Mine was 32ch with full meter bridge, they're not as uncommon as you think. They shipped stock with the short bridge, but the full bridge was an option in the US that seems to have been exercised more on the full 32ch frames than the smaller ones. Much more of a rarity were the tape and maybe group i/o +4 balancing kits, they were pretty expensive, used Dsubs and I don't think Tascam moved too many of 'em. To my knowledge, the main differences between US and European versions were the RCA jacks on the US versions where the Euros had 1/4."

 

[miroslav]

...the full bridge was an option in the US that seems to have been exercised more on the full 32ch frames than the smaller ones. Much more of a rarity were the tape and maybe group i/o +4 balancing kits...

I purchased my 24-channel 3500 w/full meter bridge (1990...21 years and still going strong without a hitch *knock on wood*)...and I also have the balancing kit (though not hooked up, just got it to have).

 

[VESSEL2020]

Did you just grab this off of eBay about a month ago....?
I remember seeing one with full meter bridge...I think somewhere around the Nashville area...?

Yes, the seller had it up on C.list & ebay.
Philadelphia....and boy what trip that was!
I'll be starting a thread on the story soon. Though it's not a long story,...but a crazy one.

 

[VESSEL2020]

Much more of a rarity were the tape and maybe group i/o +4 balancing kits, they were pretty expensive, used Dsubs and I don't think Tascam moved too many of 'em. To my knowledge, the main differences between US and European versions were the RCA jacks on the US versions where the Euros had 1/4."

Boy do I wish it had the 1/4 jacks! But I do have several rca to 1/4 snakes.
Would also like to pick up one of those balancing kits as well!

 

[VESSEL2020]

I purchased my 24-channel 3500 w/full meter bridge (1990...21 years and still going strong without a hitch *knock on wood*)...and I also have the balancing kit (though not hooked up, just got it to have).

miroslav,...I take it the M3500 is exactly the same as the M3700 without the midi automation?

 

[VESSEL2020]

Wow, I had to look at the pics and make sure this isn't the M3700 I just sold last month. It looks JUST like it. Mine was 32ch with full meter bridge.

briank,..I remember when you posted your M3700 for sale.
I was the one who asked if you'd trade a Presonus StudioLive for it.
Well,..I still have the StudioLive,..the M320B and now the M3700.
The StudioLive stays in my home studio, the M320B is in my practice spot, and the M3700 is going in my future studio, a.k.a. The Sausage House.

 

[miroslav]

Boy do I wish it had the 1/4 jacks! But I do have several rca to 1/4 snakes.
Would also like to pick up one of those balancing kits as well!

I rarely use my RCA Tape returns. I always run my tape deck or DAW outputs into the 1/4" Line in jacks. I got all the I/O connections of the 3500 on my patchbays...so I just patch it any way I need it.

miroslav,...I take it the M3500 is exactly the same as the M3700 without the midi automation?

Yup.

 

[VESSEL2020]

I purchased my 24-channel 3500 w/full meter bridge (1990...21 years and still going strong without a hitch *knock on wood*).

miroslav,
Does the M3500 have VCA's on it's channels like the M3700?

 

[miroslav]

No...manual faders, which I prefer, as they are easier to maintain.

Most of my levels are adjusted in the DAW, so during mixdown, I rarely have to move the faders on the console once I find the right balance.
I don't miss the automation. I use to have 32 channels of MIDI automation for the console (Niche) but hardly ever used it after I got done playing around with it, and a couple of years ago I sold all four 8-channel Niche boxes plus the hard to find 16-channel tabletop MIDI controller.

 

[briank]

Ah VESSEL, I remember. Glad you got one!

The 3500 is the non-auto version of the 3700. Personally I do kinda miss the auto, pretty simple to use, onboard computer, synced to machines ok and the VCAs could be bypassed otherwise. The auto in my MCI is comparatively primitive (and doesn't work anyway).

 

[VESSEL2020]

No...manual faders, which I prefer, as they are easier to maintain.

Most of my levels are adjusted in the DAW, so during mixdown, I rarely have to move the faders on the console once I find the right balance.
I don't miss the automation. I use to have 32 channels of MIDI automation for the console (Niche) but hardly ever used it after I got done playing around with it, and a couple of years ago I sold all four 8-channel Niche boxes plus the hard to find 16-channel tabletop MIDI controller.

I meant,.. do the channel strips on the 3500 have VCA's...(voltage controlled amps) built in as well like the 3700 even though it does not have the midi auto???
I wouldn't think it to have them, due to the fact that they're mainly there for the midi auto,...but ya never know.

 

[miroslav]

That's what I meant...manual faders, no VCAs.

 

[sweetbeats]

Ron,

Congrats. Looks really nice. I think you'll be happy with it.

 

[VESSEL2020]

Ron,

Congrats. Looks really nice. I think you'll be happy with it.

Thanks Cory.
It is in really great condition,...and I know for a fact that I'm definitely done searching for the mixer I was looking for. This one will be the heart of the "Sausage House" (still in progress-just painted the outside, and fixed the roof)...and although I am highly attached to my M320B, and the results I've been getting from it,...I cannot wait to put the M3700 into use.

 

[witzendoz]

Welcome to the M3700 owners club, great console.

Just a small point about tape returns, for some reason only the US sold M3700 had RCA connections, most other countries had jack tape returns and jack direct outs. Also the full meter bridge was standard outside the US.

Cheers
Alan.

 

[VESSEL2020]

Welcome to the M3700 owners club, great console.

Just a small point about tape returns, for some reason only the US sold M3700 had RCA connections, most other countries had jack tape returns and jack direct outs. Also the full meter bridge was standard outside the US.

Cheers
Alan.

Thanks Alan.
Also, thank you fr supplying me with the manual.
That was nice of you to take time out of your day to send me the pdf.
Much appreciated.
I don't believe I'd figure out the automation without it.

Does anyone know the reason why Tascam did that with the 1/4 tape returns, and tape out jacks for the other countries and not the U.S.? I'm just curious why?
I'm sure there has to be some rhyme or reason for it.
RCA jacks for the U.S., and 1/4 jacks for the other countries?

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Ron,

Congrats. Looks really nice. I think you'll be happy with it.

+1 to all of that!

Cheers!

 

[VESSEL2020]

+1 to all of that!

Cheers!

Thanks Ghost!!!
I'm lovin' my M3700!!!
Though, ...my M320B keeps callin' me back to it!!!
I think I like the preamps & EQ section on my M320B just a tad bit more....but I'm very happy with the M3700 as well. Just tried it out for the first time this past week, and got 2 stellar mixes from this monster already.
Hooked my Tascam 38 up to the M3700 and it was a match made in heaven!