Microphone suggestions for an old tascam 244

gentlejohn

New member
Just got hold of a TASCAM 244 4 track portastudio from the early '80s ("Go Grandad GO!!!") Whilst I'm waiting for replacement belts to arrive could anyone on here kindly recommend compatible microphones to use with it?

I've read in the manual that the four 1/4" inputs on this model are all Hi-Z IMPEDANCE. As such I'm now looking for compatible mic(s!) for this deck. Anyone know of and would care to suggest some makes & models I should be looking out for?

FURTHER INFO: As for the music I'll be looking to record with this unit think: singer/songwriter acoustic-based stuff. Ideally I want to keep it as simple & as 'in the box' as possible (ie: no external mixers; preamps; phantom powered stuff). As such I'd also like to find a mic (or three!) that would have been available & compatible at the time this Tascam portastudio was in production (eg: microphones that Tascam may have endorsed for the product at the time so there'd be no issue of mismatching impedance and whatnot).

Any advice/recommendations/insights on this subject much appreciated. THANKS!
 
On the top of the input channel you got the input slector for "mic/line" or "tape". therefor the inputs can handle both signals. As for HI Z , that's usually found in electric guitars. all professional mics that i know are LOW Z (100-200ohms or so).

i couldn't find in the manual anything about the fact that the inputs are hi-z.

Anyway, if i'm wrong and the inputs are HI Z, you can get a lo-hi z adapter, that would be an easier task then to find a professional HI Z mic.

edit: the manual advices that you can use a wide range of sources, low z/hi z mics, pickups, and line level .
 
I agree with IronWine, it's not old enough (and was not cheap enough) to have hi z mic inputs. They are probably 600 ohm suitable for SM57/8 mics.
 
yup . hi z mics are usually either 50 years old or the ones your get for 5.99 at the gas station.
the 244 can handle the sm57 or any other mic.

i would suggest a good all rounder condenser mic for more lively results. for 200 300 bucks you can get a decent one. Aston origin and ADK vienna mk8 are both under the radar fantastic mics for around 300 bucks.

good luck mate
 
Still have an old 246 that I haven't used for years and the 244 is likely similar. The 1/4" input jacks are 'unbalanced' and an input impedance of 100kohm (not Hi-z like an electric guitar might want, unless you like a dull guitar sound). You can use SM57/58's, but would need and impedance matching transformer like https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LittleIMP to match impedance and convert balanced to unbalanced. Way back when I was using the 246 I wasn't educated about condenser mics and phantom power, but used condenser mics that had a battery such as an AKG C1000s and an AT ATM-31 with the impedance matching transformer. Probably would use a cheap preamp with phantom power today if I was going to haul it out of the closet and use a real condenser mic. Cheap preamp would work for an SM57/58 or similar dynamic as well.
 
I wonder if the 244 is a little different to the 246? The 244 service manual lists mic input impedance of 10k or less, and with my own 244s I find an ancient Shure Unidyne III (similar to the SM57 I think) and a modern Chord IM07 (cheap Shure copy) work really well. No need for a matching transformer Gain is fine, Noise is very low and the tonality is great. In fact I think the 244 preamp is about the least noisy preamp I've used. I've mainly used an old (early 80s) Superscope/Marantz EC-12B electret direct with the 244> I find this gives slightly more "sparkle" with acoustic guitar. I've never had an issue with noise with the unbalanced input. I just wire the mics with the "hot" signal going to the 1/4 inch jack plug tip and the cold joined up with the earth.
 
I wonder if the 244 is a little different to the 246? The 244 service manual lists mic input impedance of 10k or less,
Could be different, although it does state 10kohms on the 'source impedance' which I don't know if I've seen in any other preamp specs. Never have tried without the transformer and it may very well work OK. Specs from the 246 owners manual....
 

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In my 246 days I used 57/58s with the balancing transformer and an AKG 414 with a dedicated AKG phantom power box. But anytime a mic went into the unit went through the adapter.

I can't imagine the 244 being much different. But, I could be wrong.
 
Maybe the 246 marked a turning point in tascam's pre-amp design? I mentioned on thread in the digital recording forum how disappointed I am with the inputs of the Tascam digital recorders with regard to connecting dynamic microphones. It came as quite a shock after the great results plugging the Shure and other mics directly into the 244.
 
Original poster here. Thanks so much for all the replies folks! Much clearer about things now in light of your insights. CHEERS!
 
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