The Official Anti-"Cash-Scam" Thread.

B

BillyFurnett

New member
Since Cash-Scam has shown no indication of restoring it's bbs (thus allowing years of useful information posted by faithful patrons to go right down the drain), then the lucrative word of mouth integrity they once had should be held in the same regard.



*MANY say it's well known (in certain circles) that their soon to be released gear is 3rd rate and SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED by first time buyers or anyone in the digital market.

*MANY feel the piss poor customer service and lack of commitment to their own product lines past or present should be the first of many factors that drive anyone away from buying their products.

*MANY know it's a fact that certain documents pertaining to their past products are withheld from online downloads, which leads one to believe they choose to continue sticking it to the once loyal analog enthusiasts that helped make them the evil company they have apparently become... This should drive anyone away from supporting them any further.

*MANY choose to photocopy and share their outrageously overpriced manuals as a means of boycotting their products and services.

*MANY have decided to spread the word that new Cash-scam gear isn't worth buying.

*MANY posts of outrage and disgust at their actions are appearing EVERYWHERE online.

*MANY now choose to refer to them ONLY as "Cash-Scam".


*MANY choose to Email them on a daily basis asking why they now hate their customers.



So how many of you are there?
Why not let Cash-Scam know just exactally how many???
:)
 
Billy,

A truly thought provoking post! I thank you for having the passion to write it and I share in some of the sentiment that was expounded on by yourself.

I would offer my own explanation on the slow demise of Teac's professional division known as TASCAM or Cash Scam, as you have coined it.

I have worked in the consumer electronics retail market for the past 20 years and have been an authorized dealer of many quality brands over the years.

I have seen many of them go through an evolution of design principles and philosophies as to who each company feels their target market is and what products they will offer to suit their needs and the companies own bottom lines to keep afloat in a very caustic and changing world that at one point was a base of enthusiasts who understood the inner working of the product as much as the people who designed them did, to a current world, where the customer expects instant gratification and has no time to use the product, much less understand how to use it and even less time then that to understand the design principles that brought a given product to its current design state.

TASCAM is not evil. They are simply a victim of their own successes. What do I mean by this, you say? I'll explain.

TASCAM started off offering a whole new genre of product that they saw a niche market for, namely, home recording.

They offered a very decent quality level which met with their own designer's and engineer's likes and standards that they thought they could bring to market and not loose their shirts with.

They aimed very high and the world beat a path to their door and rightly so.

Then the competition came along who had a different business philosophy. Theirs was to design and market products that had a similar functionality of use but at a cheaper price. The competition knew that people are inherently cheap and always in search of a bargain and soon, the path to TASCAM's door was getting smaller and less traveled.

Next comes the sinking ship mentality and TASCAM too begins to feel the water level rising around them and panic sets in. They think; We better under-cut the under-cutters or we will soon be gone ourselves and so, a vicious cycle begins that I like to call, the race to the bottom. This is where they too, offer cheaper products to keep afloat and at that point they de-volve into a state where they now look like a company that has no vision other then that of a starving and drowning rat.

Some of you are sad to see their BBS go. I am included in that flock of mourners.

At the same time, I could see it coming.

The more you try to be like everyone else, the more you disappear and fade away as an individual worth looking at and knowing.

So long TASCAM bbs.

So long TASCAM.

It's been a great ride but, the buggy is old and broken and needs to retire.

Cheers! :)
 
They totally changed home recording and is sad to see them in this state. Maybe they just don't have the r&d resources and cash to compete with Roland and Yamaha and the like.

Lots of memories with their gear, first was Rodney Crowell's 3340 and how it totally dusted my Roberts 770X. A few years later the band I had recorded an album on one of the first 1/2 inch 8 tracks (can't remember the model # but it was serial #003) and how that machine changed the industry. Seemed like there was always a Tascam guy working on it cause the first ones were problematic but the difference in studio time costs was well worth it. I recall a few other projects on them as well.

Later, I got a cassette 4 track, a 122 I think and got some great years of service out of it. Factory repairs were quick and reasonable.

Then I jumped ship and went to Fostex and a number multi track computer programs, and back to Tascam with the 788 a few years ago. Turns out I just get more done with a stand alone unit.

Goodbye Tascam, it was a fun ride.
 
I never mentioned Tascam OR the fact that Tascam was evil, (I said "Cash-Scam"), but if anyone wants to think the post applies to them that's fine... It's their right.

Yeah, they started to sink and it's great for US to say it was
"A great ride..", but where's a simple sincere statement from them like "Yeah it's been great, thanks"??? Since it appears they can't be bothered to afford anyone that, it's more like "Fuck off we don't need you for anything except the word of mouth you've always given (for free)!"

They won't go under for the lack of us, but gee being shoved into their past with no regard is a bunch of fucking bullshit!

I'm talking about a multi million dollar corporation putting a bbs back online. NOT a God dammned orphanage selling children's blood pint by pint to fund a fireworks display in our honor!

I love vintage Tascam and encourage anyone to get ahold of some, but the new company called Cash-Scam can go piss up the worlds ass if the world decides to let it.


No hard feelings
:)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
The more you try to be like everyone else, the more you disappear and fade away as an individual worth looking at and knowing.
Click to expand...

Well said!

I'm also pretty disgusted with "Cash-Scam." I think the whole bbs situation is terribly unprofessional and unacceptable. Tascam definitely takes the prize for contempt and disregard for their users.

However, I know the market is consumer driven. So if the average consumer doesn't know his ass from his elbow when it comes to judging and demanding quality, then the thing is bound to deteriorate, just as we have witnessed.

It appears to me we are seeing what amounts to rats jumping off a sinking ship at Tascam. I would characterize the behavior as desperate, to say the least. It doesn’t inspire confidence if one is considering a purchase and expecting future support.

There are certainly two Tascams in my book -- the old and the new; just as there are two Kurzweils and two Lexicons, etc. Some of us here can just be thankful we're old enough to know the difference, which gives us an advantage… and some responsibility to see that the music doesn’t die..

:cool:
 
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Good thread!

I guess it all comes down to who TASCAM caters to. TASCAM chose to support the majority which, from a business perspective, might have been a good idea, however, this "majority" is very "pliable" and will inherently go elsewhere where it's cheaper or where the wind blows, if you get my drift (no pun intended). So all that TASCAM will be left with is us die-hard fans, albeit a smaller portion of TASCAM's market, but still a substantial (and smarter) bunch that helped them climb to the top. We were the guys who stuck with TASCAM through thick and thin and when TASCAM calls us, in pleas of desperation, we might not be there anymore.

Daniel
 
You're right Dan...

IMO It's pretty obvious that most older analog guys just aren't gonna go digital at this point and I'm fairly certain the company knows it.
They enjoyed being the first name in home recording which multipled exponentially via word of mouth (They hardly ever had to advertise!), but in the digital world those days are OVER and any fool can see what a piss fucking poor time it is to blow off the people that helped make them by paying (In some cases) THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS for their gear.

It's put up or shut up in the commitment dept. and I hope this thread and others like it on other sites sit and fester.., if not detering sales, at least building doubt in the potential consumers subconscious.

Who the fuck do they think they are to sit back and expect recording sites to take it upon themselves to start forums discussing, gloryfying and troubleshooting for them (Not to mention directing further sales) if they can't even get their OWN bbs up and running for loyal customers?


Who the fuck indeed?
:)
 
this is a tasty thread. i (personally) would love to buy a 16-track Tascam digital workstation if Tascam REALLY put their heart (and past pedigree) into it's design. i think the 788 is a fine little recorder. some features inherent to the older analog portastudios are there,...i just find it a bit "incomplete". regarding that SX1 or LX1 (or whatever it is) behemoth,...just what the @%#$$! is that all about?? no thanks.

it is damn shame that Cash-Scam (there,..i said it) is ignoring it's stellar past and all those who have supported them over the years. i'd like to know what brains are behind their product development. the company that gave us the 246 and some of the best affordable reel-to-reels in the biz are now advertising guitar and bass TRAINING recorders. what the ??????? i guess we can expect a line of $70 "condenser" microphones next or perhaps a plastic distortion stomp-box or maybe a $150 pair of monitor speakers or HOPEFULLY a $125 Tascam karaoke machine!!!!

yikes.
 
Well, now. I had a Tascam US-428 that operated flawlessly for a year before I upgraded. Its still working just fine for the buddy of mine who bought it.

Before that, I had a Tascam Porta 2 High Speed for 15 years and its still kicking in the hands of our local Waldo.

So what's the news? I haven't heard anything bad about Tascam until I ran across this thread- care to update me on the details?

Surely its not just that they canned their BBS or charge money for their manuals. Lots of companies charge out the wazoo for thier manuals- pretty standard practice, actually.

There's a BIG difference between producing a quality product and having stellar customer service.

So what's up?

-C
 
I have been looking into getting an old open reel machine so this dosn't sound like it concerns me too much.....but does anyone want to explain the jist of this in a couple sentences?
 
A general reminder:


This thread is to A: Prompt individuals to (in essences) ask "Hey what gives?" thus furthering the "cause" and perhaps shaking the consumer confidence foundation ever so slightly.

B: To demonstrate the power of (and give voice to) negitive consumer feedback on a somewhat word of mouth level.

C: Encourage others to organize and pool their disatisfactions in a condensed consumer visible medium.
(IMO- The grace period smattered with untrue blow off email responses has ended.)

Naturally to suggest that gear (By ANY company) which hasn't even been released yet is no good is a silly notion, so please don't take the specifics very seriously.. It's clear that (for the most part) they are nothing more than opinions slanted for the purpose of "entertainment" and should be viewed as such.

The title of this tread and the subject matter within it (As I stated in my 2nd post) concern "Cash-Scam" (a purely FICTIONAL corporation). If others choose to read another company into it (that they think currently blows!), then that's their right and a shame a company out there is exhibiting a surprisingly less than favorably business ethic.)

IF by chance doubt or rumours about a company should be instilled into the consumer subconscious, then well, that's a shame and evidence that it's clearly NOT a perefct world... things, like communication (for example) DO break down. (Once useful bbs apparently ALSO break down.)

I have no doubt (And I hope) that everyones gear works just as well as they expect it to and I mean no insult to ANYONE on this bbs for what gear they choose to buy or that which they own... I also have no contempt towards anyone based on that which
they may choose (For whatever reason) NOT to buy.

For the benifit of all I'd like to see everyone able to lay down their hard earned cash with the knowlege that a company will provide a commitment to quality and consumer resouces...
It's a sad state of affairs when the little guy (consumer) can no longer expect quality and commitment, but has instead to demand it!

This IS the nets largest home recording site where word of mouth carrries (what I believe to be) substantial weight (How many Sm57's and Delta soundcards have been bought because of suggestions here? How many Berhingers haven't been bought?)
and since we're heading into the biggest consumer buying holiday here in the US (AND a new product unveiling year), then maybe the time is just right for the consumers word of mouth to spark a cattle prod under the ass of big business.
Of course that is MY personal opinion and others are welcome to express theirs on the subject.

(For the sake of the hard working consumer) I feel it's important companies realize word of mouth via free avenues of expression are in fact a TWO WAY street for advertising.... (Yes, even if the company IS fictional.)


Happy Recording
:)
 
I'm not sure what the ruckus is exactally, but I THINK (as far as I can tell) it's 'Down with the man!' Or 'Don't club baby seals!'

Either way... DON'T eat the yellow snow!


:)
 
BillyFurnett said:
Either way... DON'T eat the yellow snow!
Click to expand...


I won't. I like to let the catholic girls do that for me.



God. This is turning into something out of an R. Kelley video :rolleyes:
 
Quotes:

".. It appears to me we are seeing what amounts to rats jumping off a sinking ship.."

".. I would characterize the behavior as desperate, to say the least.. "

".. It doesn’t inspire confidence if one is considering a purchase and expecting future support.. "

-Beck-

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Poetry!


Bravo
:)
 
Cratinus said:
this is a tasty thread. i (personally) would love to buy a 16-track Tascam digital workstation if Tascam REALLY put their heart (and past pedigree) into it's design. i think the 788 is a fine little recorder. some features inherent to the older analog portastudios are there,...i just find it a bit "incomplete". regarding that SX1 or LX1 (or whatever it is) behemoth,...just what the @%#$$! is that all about?? no thanks.

it is damn shame that Cash-Scam (there,..i said it) is ignoring it's stellar past and all those who have supported them over the years. i'd like to know what brains are behind their product development. the company that gave us the 246 and some of the best affordable reel-to-reels in the biz are now advertising guitar and bass TRAINING recorders. what the ??????? i guess we can expect a line of $70 "condenser" microphones next or perhaps a plastic distortion stomp-box or maybe a $150 pair of monitor speakers or HOPEFULLY a $125 Tascam karaoke machine!!!!

yikes.
Click to expand...

Dudes, all of the great designers of the old reliables jumped ship a long time ago. Some of the greatest STARTED Fostex. I had a 80-8 and HAVE a Fostex E-16. The Fostex is still with me. The 80-8 died the death that the designers that were forced to use those stupid relays knew. TASCAM has been limp for two decades.
 
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