Tascam 388 - two technical questions

[themaddog]

Hi, just a couple questions about the 388. I know in theory that two 388's should be able to be hooked together through SMPTE (master + slave). Has anyone here done this, or knows of a cheap and easy way to do it?

Also, awhile ago I thought I read someone was trying to modify their 388 to run at 15 IPS. Do you know if he or she was able to accomplish this, and if it brought a better sound to the unit? I've used the pitch control to record the tape at a slightly faster speed and found the sound to be a bit brighter, but wasn't sure if I liked it any better.

Thanks,
-MD

 

[lofipower]

SMPTE sync

i havent heard of anyone succesfully smpte synching the 388, although several ppl are working on it here at homerecording.com (herm,a reel person,etc.). as far as the 15ips, i never read that, so therefore i cant answer. but i do have good news about the 388, that is, that mine will be here on the 13th...yay!

 

[A Reel Person]

True.

Herm, lofi & I were discussing SMPTE sync of the 388, recently, but neither of us have successfully done this yet, TBD.

15ips mod to the 388, (from 7.5 to 15ips), was another idea, and/or pet project of mine, but I've not endeavored to do this, as yet TBD. The deal with 15ips vs. 7.5ips is that the "treble", or high frequencies, will become brighter, and that's it, in a nutshell. It's a judgment call, as to whether it's "better", of course, and YMMV. Fortunately enough, the 388 doesn't suffer from any deficit in sound quality at 7.5ips, and most people agree, it sounds good, as is. Keep in mind, that a bump in speed from 7.5 to 15ips would require another calibration, with an MRL calibration tape at the proper EQ specification, (can't remember specifically what EQ spec, as I'm not in the studio presently). My strategy was simple, though, to just crank the internal speed pot WAY up, but I don't know for sure if this is feasible. 15ips may be above the adjustment limit of the pot, but that idea has yet to be tried and verified. If/when I ever do the 15ips mod to the 388, I'll surely let you know.

Both ideas are interesting and worthy projects, that no one I know has followed through on yet, all TBA.