Tascam TSR-8 Vs Tascam 48-ob

Rikard

Rikard

......
Hey all,
I have an opportunity to purchase a Tascam tsr-8 for $450, in good condition (needs a new pinch roller, due to rubber going bad), or a Tascam 48-ob, also in good condition $900. Tape heads on both machines are said to be in great condition. I know all the differences in features, and all that good stuff, I've been researching 1/2" Tascam 8 tracks for a while. I parted ways with my beloved 388, to gain some fidelity. Was dead set on a Tsr-8, but had in the back of my head that if a 48, or 58 came available, I would consider it, as I know they are higher end decks. What would you? Fidelity differences? Sounds like everyone who owns a Tsr-8 around here love them, but I always hear, "but the 48 and 58 are really great decks". Tough call.
Thanks everyone!
 
Quick add to the above, I have a M-308b board to pair it with(a bunch of high quality pre-amps as well, and some good outboard gear). I'm getting this specifically to produce a record for a very good band, that want's to go all analog, and I don't have space for a washing machine sized deck, like the MS-16. Yay me. Gonna be a challenge. They are very good though, and their sound will work well for it, but I need to be able to do allot of bouncing.
 
Do you need DBX? If so, the TSR-8 is probably the way to go, since it's built-in and works very well. Otherwise, the 48 might be the better choice. (I don't know, I only have the TSR-8)
 
jpmorris said:
Do you need DBX? If so, the TSR-8 is probably the way to go, since it's built-in and works very well. Otherwise, the 48 might be the better choice. (I don't know, I only have the TSR-8)
Click to expand...
Not a big dbx user, I embrace the hiss, and compared to the 388 I imagine both have considerably less hiss, and I rarely used the dbx on the 388. But I didn't do a ton of bouncing.
 
Tough call indeed. They are all great machines. Technically speaking the TSR-8 is most advanced with tape handling and like JP said the dbx NR is the well integrated with the system and IMO better than any outboard NR I've known. Practically speaking it may not mean much because the other machines are good. When faced with the same need for a solid 1/2" 8-track I chose the TSR-8 over the other Tascams. The Otari MX5050/8 was also among the candidates I was deciding between.

That was when they were all much newer. Now long term maintenance of aging machines is an issue but still the TSR-8 is less costly to maintain as of this writing. I just recently bought a brand new record/repro head for mine from Tascam and I'm glad I only needed one.

Trumping that however is always what particular decks you're considering buying is in the best condition. I would take a lightly to moderately used 48 over a heavily used TSR-8 and I would also purchase four of the dbx 150X NR units to go with it. Though you can almost get away with no noise reduction on 1/2" 8-track, depending on type of music, I still prefer the pin-drop silent background signal to noise ratio of dbx.
 
Bouncing without dbx will probably sound a bit smoother in terms of no possible breathing artifacts but you will have to keep a sharp eye on your levels to make sure the tape hiss doesn't become too dominant. And there's also the nice bonus of a direct drive capstan on the 48, so no worries about replacing belts. 3 Heads is also a bonus for doing calibrations.

If you can afford it, and if its in full working condition, I'd tend to suggest the 48. You can always add the dbx down the road if you need/want it.

Cheers! :)
 
I'd rather have a 48 over a TSR-8 myself, but I don't think I'd want to pay double for it. See if you can talk the guy down a bit, maybe tell him you're considering a TSR-8 for $450, then ask if he'd be willing to drop the price on the 48 down to $600-700. ...um, they're not being sold by the same person, I assume...?
 
Thanks for the feedback!
Dude is firm on the price, which is high(seen em sold for higher on ebay). The guy selling the tsr-8 is pretty laid back, and his price is really good(he has 2 others that he uses, and this one is just sitting), however he is a 2 hour drive from me, and I need $65 part. But still, I trust the tsr-8 a bit more, but man, the 48 really intrigues me. I think my biggest question is sound quality, and from what I've read, and opinions, doesn't seem like there is much of one. Freakin torn on this one. Again, thanks for the input all, I really love this forum!
 
I would go with the TSR-8, great machine, newer model, and cheaper. I used to love the dbx on mine as the dbx on the TSR series is very good, I don't know why you would turn it off.

Alan.
 
as said above the TSR8 has better electronics and built in DBX. The 48 has a better more rugged transport, including a brushless direct drive porcelain capstan. The TSR8 capstan is a cheap motor with a pulley, that is the main weak spot of the TSR8. I have 2 TSR8s and i love them, but also have a 42 which is the 2 track brother of the 48 and the build and quality are superior. I would get the 48 if it is in good shape and you can afford it.
 
Its a ceramic capstan isn't it?

I had a 48.

Never had a TSR-8.

Really kind of apples and oranges in a lot of ways...nothing that hasn't been mentioned already though.

The way the guts are laid out in the 48 is dreamy...even the control and power supply PCBs slide out on little rails for servicing and maintenance. Once I got it setup my 48 handled tape very nicely, but not as nice as my BR-20T halftrack which is in the same development era as the transport servo logic on the TSR-8, and it is really nice.

2 heads vs 3 heads

dbx onboard vs not.

LED bar meters vs. analog VUs

Just unbalanced I/O vs. balanced and unbalanced

Don't knock the belt drive vs. direct drive capstan. There are flutter elements that can come from direct drive configurations, and cogging between the elements of the servo array. I don't believe this was an issue for the likes of the 48, I'm just saying don't jump to one is "better" vs the other. A belt drive system creates a natural damper. My 3M M-64 halftrack, which boasts some of the very best mechanical distortion specs uses belt drive. Granted the capstan pulley is the size of a personal pan pizza and weighs as much as a decent sized sack of potatoes, just saying there's nothing wrong with belt drive.

Is a 48 worth double the TSR-8? Nah. The 48 is older and may require more work to get it going right. The TSR-8 will handle tape better and have more built-in features like auto-locate functions and the aforementioned dbx if you decide that's important to you. BUT if you are drawn to the allure of those glowing VUs and a heavier engineering class, then you'll spend whatever you want to spend. And the 48 really does handle tape very nicely once setup.

If you get the 48 and want a spare power supply PM me. Got one for cheep.

If you get the 48 and decide you want dbx PM me. I have a minty-minty-minty set of four dbx 150x units doing *nothing*...and they are even paired up with the rare racking kits AND I had metal parts machined up to replace the plastic part in those rack kits that always breaks. Rare and improved.

Enough of my peddling...but gotta pay rent though y'know.
 
...

2-head w/LED bar meters decks are a PITA to set up compared to a 3-head w/VU needle meters, relatively speaking.
:spank::eek:;)
 
Yep.

'Bout clawed my eyes out trying to setup my 388, and that's got analog VUs...I *was* doing some experimentation on proper bias level though so that lengthened the process quite a bit...it certainly did help me appreciate a 3-head machine.
 
sweetbeats said:
If you get the 48 and want a spare power supply PM me. Got one for cheep.

If you get the 48 and decide you want dbx PM me. I have a minty-minty-minty set of four dbx 150x units doing *nothing*...and they are even paired up with the rare racking kits AND I had metal parts machined up to replace the plastic part in those rack kits that always breaks. Rare and improved.

Enough of my peddling...but gotta pay rent though y'know.
Click to expand...

That's great to know. One of the first things I had to get work done on my 388 was the power supply, and it wasn't cheap. Unfortunately at the time, I didn't know so well how to diagnose issues, and find a fix, or even know that you can find parts for these boards so easy, and just pull one card out, and put the new one in.
 
Awesome info, and opinions, really helping me make a sound decision(or not). Still just a tough call. I think I'm leaning towards the 48 though. I was able to sell my 388 for more than I expected, and picked up my 308-b for way cheaper than I expected (although I really wanted a M-50, but that will be some other day). I'm totally a sucker for build quality, and hearing you guys verify that, I'm really drawn to that. Also, VU meters......just so great. Years of recording digital, and getting stressed seeing LED's, or Pro Tools channel meters go to red, and getting stressed. When I started working on the 388, it took me back to my childhood, playing with my dads, giant cassette tape recorder, with VU's, and plugging my guitar directly in, and discovering the distortion I got when I pushed the needles, just a much more pleasant and fun feeling. The lights....yeah. Sexy stuff.

The more I think about having a deck with 3 heads, the more I'm really into that as well. , I really like the idea of monitoring the playback head while tracking, or even dumping to pro-tools in real time, if I'm doing hybrid method. Anyway, I think I'm going to check out the 48, and if its in as excellent of condition as described, I'm just going to do it. I'm going to check everything thoroughly, and if anything doesn't look, or feel right I'll walk, and just go for the tsr-8. Keep yall updated on the final outcome. Again, as always, thanks for the great info, it's really truly helpful!
 
...

sweetbeats said:
Yep.

'Bout clawed my eyes out trying to setup my 388, and that's got analog VUs...I *was* doing some experimentation on proper bias level though so that lengthened the process quite a bit...it certainly did help me appreciate a 3-head machine.
Click to expand...
... and you're not getting the fine resolution movement on the display with the LEDs that the VU needle gives you.
:spank::eek:;)
 
I picked up the 48 a couple days ago. Only issue was the counter roller, rubber has gone sticky (which he told me ahead of time, luckily he owns/owned two 48's, and he put the good one from the machine he uses regularly, on to test everything. I put it through the ringer, and everything checked out, sounds great, looks good, runs good. Was able to talk him down to $700 because of the roller, so I feel pretty good about it. He's definitely the type who takes good care of his gear, and he had done a calibration for Quantegy 456 in the last couple weeks, so everything should be good there, however I need to learn how to do it myself, as I have a couple rolls of 406 I would like to use as well. Hopefully nothing goes funky in the near future. Sending the roller to Terry's rubber rollers for fix. I'm looking at stands for the 48, and the Tascam CS-607's are hard to come by, and pretty spendy on ebay when they have come up. Does anybody see any issues with picking up something like this? Ultimate Support: Home
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top