Favorite 4-track!!!!!!!!

[little z]

What's your favorite cassette-based 4-track??? Which is the most popular and why??? You know what to do.......... Steve

 

[T.J.Hooker]

I chose the 424MKIII because I think it's the newest one on there.

 

[Hot Rocks]

Tascam 246 and 234. Built like Brick Sh** houses and sound great for what they are

 

[cjx]

The TASCAM 488 is an 8 track tape based portastudio.

 

[Brad]

Where is the TASCAM PortaOne???

 

[detuned6]

i had a yamaha 4trk like 7 yrs ago, it kinda sucked, it didnt have a seperate eq on every ch only a 5band graphic for l and r side.

 

[A Reel Person]

For what it's worth,...

I like the 246, and 234, for the reasons above, and the high-end features packed into these units.

I like the 424mkII and 424mkIII, cause they're also great units, with the mkIII still currently in production.

I also like the PortaOne, it's an awesome vintage unit, that blows away the current Porta02.

Do I sound like a suck-up, agreeing with everybody like that? Haha.

-I'm not sucking-up, I own at least one of each of those units, I kid you not.

-Fostex is not on my list of favorites.

-The 488 is not a 4-track,... trick question!!!

 

[atomictoyz]

I still have my Yamaha MT-120 4 track, with its 5 band graphic eq on the master fader. It was good for its day, more quiet than the Fostex and Tascam back then. But hey there are digital 4 tracks form nearly everyone now too. I didn't vote, I wasn't included in the poll!


Peace,
Dennis

 

[dr.colossus]

where's porta3 mk II? thats the best of the two input four tracks, better than the 2 as with this you can record two mics to one track without an external mixer, plus the tape speed runs the same as a normal tape deck (thats not a good thing for quality, i know), and it is actually what i use for tapes on my home hi-fi, mega practical and it nearly fits in my pocket! i will go hug it now..

 

[A Reel Person]

That's right, there are lots of digital 4-trackers coming out lately, but I can't say I like any of them in particular.

There were probably many 4-tracks, not listed on the poll, that people like a lot.

I like the Tascam 564, Digital MD Portastudio, but I don't have one.

 

[Axe4Yahweh]

I just bought the 414 MKII about a month ago and only started using it the Sunday before last. It's a neat lil machine and does a pretty good job but had I known the 424 MKIII had dropped so much in price I would have bought it.

I like the 414 MKII, though.

BHS;

CR
Bethel

 

[A Reel Person]

Yeah, the price on the 424mkIII dropped recently, to $329, @ G/C.

It's a big price cut on the new 424mkIII, which definitely is unprecedented price/performance, and a great value indeed. I'd guess it was as a marketing reaction by Teac, to all those all-digital 4-track newcomers, which just hit the market, that are all priced at about $399,... the former price-point of the 424mkIII.

To each their own, but IMO, besides price, the 424mkIII still beats the current crop of all-digital 4-trackers, in overall value & features, for the following reasons:

1) The 424mkIII is an 8 input/6 channel full function mixer, and the mixing features on the BR-532, Korg PXR4, and the yet to be released Tascam Pocketstudio 5, are minimal. Hands down, the full function analog mixer of the 424mkIII gives you much more flexibility in mixing, than those other units, [BR-532, PXR4, Pocketstudio 5].

2) Modern cassette tapes, like the TDK CD-Power cassette, hold slightly more magnetism & a slightly hotter signal than previous cassette tape formulations. This gives a slight boost in "hifi" for the lowly cassette 4-tracker, when using the most modern hi-energy tape formulations, enough for cassette to remain a viable and competitive medium.

3) The 424mkIII's dbx NR almost eliminates the remaining inherent tape hiss, with little or no side effects, bringing S/N ratio up to a point that rivals the all-digital 4-trackers, [BR-532, PXR4].

4) The all-digital 4-track units, [BR-532, PXR4], recording time/capacity is short; roughly ~4 minutes, for a 4-track production, on a 32MB Smartmedia memory card, which is standard. For another ~$100, you may upgrade to a 128MB Smartmedia card, which boosts your total onboard recording time to about ~16 minutes, in 4-track. When the memory card is full, you need to dump the song-data into your 'puter, before you can [erase &] move on.

5) On the other hand, the removable medium of cassette, holds 15 minutes for a C60, and 22.5 minutes of 4 track recording time per C90 cassette, [double speed] and cost about $2/ea, sometimes less. When the tape's full, you switch to a new tape and move on, which is a lot easier than having to dump data to the 'puter, relatively speaking.

6) The BR-532 and PXR4, to the best of my knowledge, will only record on one track at a time. The 424mkIII can record up to 4 tracks simultaneously.

The all-digital units have 'virtual tracks' and lots of fancy editing, and even onboard drum patterns, so those are the features that can't be matched by any cassette/analog Portastudio or system.

The nearly released Pocketstudio 5 appears to be an audio-to-mp3 device only, and doesn't record standard format WAV files at all, [the best I can determine at this time].

===============

- On the BR-532 & PXR4, the main drawbacks are memory size, or lack thereof, which limits recording time, and the very limited onboard input mixing capabilities, which begs the issue of needing an outboard mixer to use with these units. Also, the limit of recording only 1 track at a time, max, is a major drawback, as compared to the 424mkIII, or any other cassette-based Tascam Portastudio.

I've demo'd the BR-532 and the PXR4, and even though they are impressive little gadgets, if I were buying a new 4-track recorder today, I'd still buy the 424mkIII.

==============

That's my 2c worth of opinion, for now.

 

[chessparov]

My favorite is the Tascam 244-because I just got it back from Tascam service repair!
(It needed both belts and the pinch roller replaced, approx. $170)
The good news is that the senior service "tech" there said otherwise it was in unusually
good shape for its age (20+years), and that the recording heads have (typically)
over 5000(!) hours left of service left if properly maintained as it appears to have been
used very little. He also said the EFFECTIVE frequency response of the the 244 and
246 goes all the way up to 18kHZ in a practical sense, although the specs read
up to 20kHZ +/- 3db. (thanks reel person (Dave) for your help elsewhere BTW!)
It was interesting how much respect for the 244 the technician had, in its own way
he felt it was fairly comparable to the Tascam 564 MD, as the "double tape speed"
models like the 244 and 424/414 have such a nice warm analog sound, while the
signal to noise ratio is pretty low.


P.S. I also have a Tascam 564 MD and like it a lot especially for practicing songs
because it doesn't "burn" up cassettes. Once a song is pretty nailed though,
it's fun to record on it and the 244 to hear how digital and analog differ.

 

[chessparov]

A question for the "group" here-have you noticed (like me) how much easier it is to
add compression (especially a Joe Meek unit!) into a cassette portastudio over a
digital one when you're tracking as hot as possible? With a digital recorder I'm
using a second compressor (Blue Max or RNC) as a limiter to get more "bits".

 

[A Reel Person]

Wow, chess, I'm glad you got your 244 fixed, and I'm glad you like it so much.

chess, I didn't know you had the 564 too, 'cause you never mentioned that, but I think that's way cool!

I always wanted to add the 564 to my 'collection' of gear,... [and maybe will, someday]. The 564 is a really sleek digital MD/analog hybrid, being basically a 424mkII design with a digital MD under the hood, and that's cool, because the 424mkII is one of my favorite Portastudio designs. I prefer the digital/analog hybrid over the all-digital designs.

I'm glad the 244-thing has panned out so well, and satisfactorily for you. I've always said I recommend refurbishing older units, if necessary, and that it's worth fixing and hanging on to, despite the disposable culture we live in, and that Tascam Service is the best. I've also said a few times, that there may be some relatively clean used/vintage gear floating out there on Ebay, and I'm glad you got in on it too, like I did.

Regarding why analog and digital behave differently and sound different, well, it's the classic apples/oranges comparison, isn't it?

Gee chess, with you being the 244 and 564 owner, I guess you're the source on the 'analog v digital', when it comes to Tascam Portastudios.

But, when it comes to having hands on experience on a wide base of vintage Tascam analog formats, I don't think there's anyone on this board who can touch me. My 'collection' of vintage Tascam gear probably borders on the insane, haha, if you only knew. [You may remember the pic I sent you].

Fortunately, most of the recording concepts you'd learn on smaller formats, like Portastudios, will apply to the larger mixer/reel rigs, too.

I'm glad my posts and advice have been helpful to you. If you may have followed my advice, I hope it all worked out well for you. I'm really glad you're happy with the 244, it is a great unit, and thanx again for participating in my cd swap project, which was a lot of fun for everyone.

Have fun recording & t/y later. /DA

=============

BTW, there's just a few more copies of the [Davemania Collection] free 4-cd set available, and anyone who picks up on this post, pls check my previous posts on 'Davemania', & any interested parties pls email me.

 

[A Reel Person]

Oh yeah, chess,...

I think you mean the "signal-to-noise ratio" is "high", with overall "noise" being "low".

I understand what you meant.

 

[chessparov]

Yes Dave I meant high signal to noise (or was I just testing?-not!)

BTW, a nice Teac 40-4 4 track 1/4" reel to reel was a recent acquisition too.
The "workhorse" will probably be used about 25 to 50 hours a year for
more serious demo projects once the garage gets a minor conversion as
my wife won't let it inside the house! I'll be sure to send you a demo tape
or CD once one is done though.....

 

[Axe4Yahweh]

Re: Yeah, the price on the 424mkIII dropped recently, to $329, @ G/C.

It's a big price cut on the new 424mkIII, which definitely is unprecedented price/performance, and a great value indeed. I'd guess it was as a marketing reaction by Teac, to all those all-digital 4-track newcomers, which just hit the market, that are all priced at about $399,... the former price-point of the 424mkIII.

To each their own, but IMO, besides price, the 424mkIII still beats the current crop of all-digital 4-trackers, in overall value & features, for the following reasons:

1) The 424mkIII is an 8 input/6 channel full function mixer, and the mixing features on the BR-532, Korg PXR4, and the yet to be released Tascam Pocketstudio 5, are minimal. Hands down, the full function analog mixer of the 424mkIII gives you much more flexibility in mixing, than those other units, [BR-532, PXR4, Pocketstudio 5].

2) Modern cassette tapes, like the TDK CD-Power cassette, hold slightly more magnetism & a slightly hotter signal than previous cassette tape formulations. This gives a slight boost in "hifi" for the lowly cassette 4-tracker, when using the most modern hi-energy tape formulations, enough for cassette to remain a viable and competitive medium.

3) The 424mkIII's dbx NR almost eliminates the remaining inherent tape hiss, with little or no side effects, bringing S/N ratio up to a point that rivals the all-digital 4-trackers, [BR-532, PXR4].

4) The all-digital 4-track units, [BR-532, PXR4], recording time/capacity is short; roughly ~4 minutes, for a 4-track production, on a 32MB Smartmedia memory card, which is standard. For another ~$100, you may upgrade to a 128MB Smartmedia card, which boosts your total onboard recording time to about ~16 minutes, in 4-track. When the memory card is full, you need to dump the song-data into your 'puter, before you can [erase &] move on.

5) On the other hand, the removable medium of cassette, holds 15 minutes for a C60, and 22.5 minutes of 4 track recording time per C90 cassette, [double speed] and cost about $2/ea, sometimes less. When the tape's full, you switch to a new tape and move on, which is a lot easier than having to dump data to the 'puter, relatively speaking.

6) The BR-532 and PXR4, to the best of my knowledge, will only record on one track at a time. The 424mkIII can record up to 4 tracks simultaneously.

The all-digital units have 'virtual tracks' and lots of fancy editing, and even onboard drum patterns, so those are the features that can't be matched by any cassette/analog Portastudio or system.

The nearly released Pocketstudio 5 appears to be an audio-to-mp3 device only, and doesn't record standard format WAV files at all, [the best I can determine at this time].

===============

- On the BR-532 & PXR4, the main drawbacks are memory size, or lack thereof, which limits recording time, and the very limited onboard input mixing capabilities, which begs the issue of needing an outboard mixer to use with these units. Also, the limit of recording only 1 track at a time, max, is a major drawback, as compared to the 424mkIII, or any other cassette-based Tascam Portastudio.

I've demo'd the BR-532 and the PXR4, and even though they are impressive little gadgets, if I were buying a new 4-track recorder today, I'd still buy the 424mkIII.

==============

That's my 2c worth of opinion, for now.

Thanks posting the very reasons I went cassette in the first place. I also deffinately like the simplicity of having all the controls right at my fingertips too.

Take care!

BHS;

CR
Bethel

 

[dtb]

axe4,
where in Va. are you? I'm in South Boston, near Danville.
good to see another Virginia recorder here. Welcome.
dtb

 

[dtb]

Oh yeah, forgot.
You listen to Reel. He knowes his analog.
dtb