Compatibility between Yamaha MT8X & TASCAM 488 mkII

O

overseas

New member
Here's the deal: A few years ago I had a Yamaha MT8X, original version. I did a lot of recording on that machine, and for what it was, it served me very well. These days I live in Korea, where for the time being I have a TASCAM 488 mkII. Right now as I'm typing this, I'm back in Ohio for Christmas, and I've discovered a big bundle of master tapes that I'd made on the MT8X and forgotten about, so I'm wondering if tapes made on the Yamaha are cross-compatible with the 488 mkII. I'm thinking they're not since they're different companies, but in the past I've had positive results playing back 4-track tapes recorded on different brand machines, so... (Yeah, the tracks actually lined up!)

Both Yamaha and TASCAM incorporated a staggered head design for their respective 8-track machines that seems similar, but I don't have the ability to directly compare the two since I don't have both machines here in front of me. Can someone confirm / deny / set me straight on this? If they ARE compatible, I'll endure the hassle and take all my MT8X master tapes with me back to Korea.

Thanks in advance for your input...


Overseas Bruce... currently NOT overseas :D

P.S. Happy Holidays to All!
 
Yo Bruce of Korea:

Try playing one and see if it works? If not, they're not compatible.

I do know the 488MK whatever; I've had two of them.

Why are you still messing around with just tape? Get into the digital world with a HD recorder or something in that arena. You will never want to wait for the tape to rewind when you first experience not waiting for the tape to rewind.

Green Hornet
 
Well...

Been there, done that. Had to sell my VS880EX because I went overseas - didn't want to risk damage in transit, that sort of thing. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean about rewinding. Thing is, I got the 488 because it was available in Pusan when I walked into this one particular store. I just didn't have the $$ to spend on a digital unit, but the 488 was dirt cheap. I WILL eventually go digital, but in the meantime I want to make do with what I have. I'm very, very limited in what I can take back to Korea with me, so if I know for certain that those tapes are not compatible, then they won't be making the trip. There's some great stuff on them that I just don't want to throw away, but I had no other format to copy them to (i.e. an ADAT) before I sold the MT8X, and.... well, it's a long, boring, and complex story.

Bruce
 
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