starting from scratch - need pointers

[sackbutcharlie]

I used to play and have recorded in the past. But I am not very familiar with the equipment on the market today. I want to record small primarily acoustic combos (folk, jazz, etc.). I am looking at the tascam 424. Cassette sound quality used to be pretty poor. How would today's cassette quality compare with a teac open reel of 20 years ago (the only home studio system I can compare to)?

Should I run with the 424 or should I consider an open reel with the wider tape? My guess is that I would have to go used if I went for a 4-track open reel. I don't know if they even sell new ones any more (I could not find anything but a 2-track master on the tascam web page). I really need to watch the $$, but I also would like to be able to produce some reasonably high quality demo tapes. I am a little nervous about buying used equipment I have not had a chance to sit down and work with.

I also looked at the digital stuff. The products in my price range sounded really bad.

Any general thoughts will be appreciated!

 

[The Ghost of FM]

sackbutcharlie,

Open reel multi-track will generally always offer superior sound fidelity compared to cassette based recorders but, as you noted, there are no longer any newly produced decks in 4, 8 or 16 track at this stage of the game.

You have mentioned an apprehension for buying used gear and while I sympathize with your fear of buying other peoples problems, you should also keep in mind that there are 1000's of perfectly good, well cared for used open reel recorders that are in need of loving homes if only we as prospective buyers know what to look for in terms of trouble when considering them for purchase.

I don't have the where-withal to write out a comprehensive check list of things to watch out for but the basics of it would be to shop locally, where you can see and hear the machine running to verify that all the channels work, that all the tape transport operations work positively and smoothly, that the levels are consistent from channel to channel on playback and recording of test tones and music content, that heads do not show obvious signs of wear with marks and scares and flattened surfaces on guides that should be round and clean and the obvious pedestrian things like scrapes, scratches and dents that are signs of heavy usage or poor care.

Finding a good 4 track or 8 track reel to reel that runs at 15 ips, has noise reduction and remote controls can offer you professional recording fidelity that is miles ahead of the working class cassette Portastudio which can also sound respectable if you are a good engineer and keep your levels in check while tracking and mixing.

Of coarse, if you choose the open reel path, you will also need to hunt down a suitable mixer to replace what the Portastudio's built in mixer would facilitate and there at least, there is still a market for new 4 and 8 buss mixers from manufacturers like Soundcraft, Mackie and Berringer. Hunting down an older used board like a TASCAM in the 200, 300 or 500 series can also work well and get you a board that was built to more expensive design standards for a fraction of the price of a new one if you follow the similar rules listed above for checking out used ones, namely, making sure all the channels pass sound, sum sound through the recording busses and auxiliary cue sub-mixing sections and that no odd noises are heard in the way of hums, excessive hissing or distortion.

Good luck assembling your demo studio and when you come across specific pieces, let us know what they are and we can guide you from there about the specifics of the units in question.

Cheers!

 

[sackbutcharlie]

Thanks

Thanks very much for the great input! I may spend some time searching around. I know a lot of people buy equipment (not just recording) with grand plans and never use it much. Maybe I will find a gem!

Thanks again!