FREE TASCAM 24 track recorder..Free...but...

  • Thread starter Thread starter j.harv
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I think any one of us seriously considering making the trek for that machine needs to take another gander at Cory's thread:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=312301

Seriously, though ... can any of y'all actually afford to record on that thing? I mean, the cost of tape alone is outrageous, much less the maintenance. I myself sold my Tascam 38 because I couldn't justify paying $2 a minute for tape. I'm in the process now of trying to obtain a Tascam 388 or maybe a Fostex 80 (I already have a mixer and would sell it if I got the 388) or something else that uses 1/4" tape to cut the cost in half (or, in the case of the 388 at 7ips, a fourth of the cost).

I guess maybe if you're running a pro studio and not paying for the tape, it's a possibility ... I never think that way. I guess when I think of "home recording," I think of doing it yourself for either fun or self-financed stuff. I don't really think of running a studio for profit, although I guess a lot of folks on here actually do that, huh?
 
It appears to me that free is to "free" the owner of its possession.

Yes that's a pricey one to tape, but to me to worry about tape cost for 1/2" and 1/4" machines for general use is analogous to not driving a vehicle because the fuel cost is to high!

I think that if one is into the sport one has to play the game.
 
The ad stated that the deck also comes with an unknown quantity of blank tapes.

For most home recordists, that might mean years of tape!

I suspect someone contacted this person and offered cash to hold it for them until they could get there with an appropriate truck and crew of helpers. I would, if I really wanted it. Fuck driving 200+ miles only to find out that its gone. A holding bribe would fix that. ;)

Cheers! :)
 
Beagle...wow...yeah...that brings it right back to home, for me anyway. That ATR80 is a beautiful machine...the pinnacle of transport logic and head design from Teac. Good stuff.

I see that and I go wwwwwoowwwwww...then I remember that I don't even want a 2" 24-track...I like the 16-track format for 2", and I don't need 24 tracks anyway...and I HAVE (almost) a 2" 24-track.

Wouldn't she look pretty sitting in the corner though?

NO!!

It would take up space in your house and in your mind and in your heart. Something else would get bumped down on the list...something more important. Maybe a relationship, maybe properly loving what you have, maybe simply your focus on your own craft. Something would get bumped "just because".

I'd say if you have been looking high and low for a good 24-track 2" machine, and you have the mixer to support it, and you can make the trip, and you can afford to run it, then there is no denying that that is the deal of the year.

If you answer "no" to any of those then it should remain eye-candy. Just my humble opinion.

cjacek helped me see the difference between an emotionally driven decision vs. a decision based on logic and reason. The decisions I've made that have been based at least in part on logic and reason are the decisions that seem to stick. ALL of the gear I have purchased has at least *some* emotional basis...I mean...c'mon...I like this stuff, but some things were totally emotional, like the M-__...now there's no place for it because it doasn't fit with the equipment that was acquired through some reason and logic. So then the gear that was just emotional ends up being a burden.

My 234 sounds great...1/6 the track count of the ATR80-24 but weighs a whole lot less, takes up a whole lot less space and you know what? I bet its just as much fun if not more fun to operate than the ATR80-24 because there are so many headaches that are just not present. Apples and oranges I know, but who said you need to eat apples anyway?
 
Something to consider about this unit is that it may record with a funny accent, eh!!!
 
GCalo said:
Something to consider about this unit is that it may record with a funny accent, eh!!!
Click to expand...

Chatham, Ontario is very close to the Detroit border, so odds are it will sound like a native 8 mile crew member! :drunk:

Cheers! :)
 
sweetbeats said:
It would take up space in your house and in your mind and in your heart. Something else would get bumped down on the list...something more important. Maybe a relationship, maybe properly loving what you have, maybe simply your focus on your own craft. Something would get bumped "just because".
Click to expand...

Now THAT'S what I call reality check. Well said Cory. :)

I will admit that a get a high whenever something similar pops up locally (even that free ATR on the other side of the country made my heart race a bit) BUT.. BUT I know the feeling and where it can lead...unless, that is, you have proper reasons to pursue. I doubt many of us need to even look in that direction. Cory pretty much summed it up.
 
This brings up the topic of how Canada got its name!

Founding fathers were locked in a debate for months.

At a final council meeting after exhaustive tries one member yelled out in desparation for someone to throw out a letter.

and so it went :

C,eh

then N, eh

then D, eh

And it's been that way ever since.
 
cjacek said:
Now THAT'S what I call reality check. Well said Cory. :)

I will admit that a get a high whenever something similar pops up locally (even that free ATR on the other side of the country made my heart race a bit) BUT.. BUT I know the feeling and where it can lead...unless, that is, you have proper reasons to pursue. I doubt many of us need to even look in that direction. Cory pretty much summed it up.
Click to expand...

My heart was racing too and have zero reasons on earth to own it. :o

G.A.S. is a serious mental disorder! :drunk:

Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
G.A.S. is a serious mental disorder! :drunk:
Click to expand...

Yup, under-appreciated as a real disorder indeed. :eek: .......... :drunk:

I think that when you go through the high, the heart racing, all the symptoms but then you have the tools to actually stop yourself and redirect, is the time, IMO, when you have control of this malady. You have a handle on it when it's almost as if you're looking at it from a 3rd person perspective (rather than through a magnifier), have distance and still can appreciate the *insert gear here* without pursuing it or thinking about it obsessively. You can actually do your window shopping and move on.
 
If this was local to me... I would definitely get it, assuming everything works.

I highly doubt any solo artist needs a 24 track tape machine. I know I don't, but my band would use it so I can split up the cost of tape and maintenance with my band and there I go... back to paying 50 bucks per tape.

Buying this machine for yourself isn't G.A.S... it's just plain old greedy :D hehehe
 
Chilljam said:
If this was local to me... I would definitely get it, assuming everything works. ---
Click to expand...

He's giving it away free and everything has to work!

Holy smokes. It's of little value to do favors any more.

And everyone needs 24 tracks!!!
 
That's basically a 100,000 dollar machine that he's giving away, warts and all so I agree about not whining about condition but still.... owning one of those monsters, especially when it needs work, head-life unknown, would potentially turn a freebie into thousands of dollars worth of investment, time and headaches. If I was still in the game but several years back, I probably would have just got one of those machines + proper mixer and be done with it. The cost, if I would have paid fair market price, would have been probably the price of all my many machines combined. I'd say it would have been a bit freeing to solely have a simple but arguably the best setup around. The prices are crazy, especially for those washing machine recorders. You could get the best Studer 24 track now, the latest 827, for the cost of a Tascam 8 track when new. Crazy stuff.
 
cjacek said:
That's basically a 100,000 dollar machine that he's giving away, warts and all so I agree about not whining about condition but still.... owning one of those monsters, especially when it needs work, head-life unknown, would potentially turn a freebie into thousands of dollars worth of investment, time and headaches.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm talking about... I said I would get it assuming everything works... I didn't say that I expect a 'free' 24 track machine to be in perfect working condition. I didn't 'whine' about the condition either, just saying that even if it is free it's no good to me if the heads are worn out and it's got parts missing, then all i can use it for is a bookshelf.
 
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