Tascam 688 question

[Gareth Brown]

Hi guys, thinking of buying a Tascam 688. This will be my third, had to sell both previous ones to make money, but I need to ask a question before I go and spend all that money on another one. A dumb question given I've owned two before but this issue never came up and it's been ages since I used one.

As a mixer the 688 has 10 tracks which will be fine when using it for gigs/rehearsals...but if we wanted to record anything is it possible to record channels 9+10 to any of tracks 1-8 or is that impossible? All I ever did was record a basic band set-up with channels 1-8 once

 

[fgonza2]

i am not familiar with it. But i have a side question for you. Why is the 688 atractive to you ? is it the cost of the cassettes ?

 

[Gareth Brown]

hardly an issue they're dirt cheap and i've just always enjoyed using the machine and the sound you get out of it

 

[wkrbee]

You can assign multiple mixer channels to the same group,(track).The 688 also has a inline 10 channel mixer with just volume and pan that can also be assigned to groups if you need to use a line output from a drum sub-mixer or MIDI modules.It's just the relatively steep learning curve for the 688 that slows you down.

 

[Sexy Heather]

I've had a 688 for over 20 years. Still my all-time fave recorder!

 

[Gareth Brown]

You can assign multiple mixer channels to the same group,(track).The 688 also has a inline 10 channel mixer with just volume and pan that can also be assigned to groups if you need to use a line output from a drum sub-mixer or MIDI modules.It's just the relatively steep learning curve for the 688 that slows you down.

does that mean, for example, if I had 4 mics on a drumkit going into channels 7, 8, 9 + 10 they could all be assigned to tracks 7+8 as a stereo thing or something? or are 9+10 out of bounds when you're assigning them to the groups/tracks?

you'll have to forgive how slow I might seem, it's been ages since I used one properly, got to grips with my first 688 quite quickly but that was like 3 years ago and I barely touched the second as it barely functioned and was missold to me

 

[heatmiser]

does that mean, for example, if I had 4 mics on a drumkit going into channels 7, 8, 9 + 10 they could all be assigned to tracks 7+8 as a stereo thing or something? or are 9+10 out of bounds when you're assigning them to the groups/tracks?

you'll have to forgive how slow I might seem, it's been ages since I used one properly, got to grips with my first 688 quite quickly but that was like 3 years ago and I barely touched the second as it barely functioned and was missold to me

That is sort of my understanding of how they work, yes.

I've owned a 688 for many years and love it, but it hasn't seen much use lately and I never really made use of inputs 9 & 10, but I did fiddle around with them and read all about them in the manual.

My understanding is that they offer you 2 additional inputs that can be assigned anywhere at any time, but since the tape itself only allows for 8 tracks, you need to route those 2 inputs somewhere to 1-8 in order get them to tape. The examples they give in the manual are of someone with a drum machine and/or synth. They have them synched up and running through those 2 inputs during the project, but they don't actually record those sounds until final mixdown when they get added to the stereo mix.

You could also use them to add 2 inputs live while performing a bounce. I think you could definitely use them as part of a multi-mic drum take, but you'd need to route them somewhere to 1-8 to get it captured. Given that you can assign any input to any track though, unless you're recording with more than 8 inputs at once, I never understood how it helped (unless you synched drum machines or synths which I never did).

Hope this helps.

 

[headwerkn]

As a mixer the 688 has 10 tracks which will be fine when using it for gigs/rehearsals...but if we wanted to record anything is it possible to record channels 9+10 to any of tracks 1-8 or is that impossible? All I ever did was record a basic band set-up with channels 1-8 once

Any of the 10 main mix inputs and 10 dual inputs can be routed to any of the 8 groups that correspondingly feed the 8 tape tracks.

There is no 1:1 relationship between channel inputs and tracks as seen on cheaper/more basic multitrackers. Channel 1 doesn't necessarily need to feed Track 1. You can easily record tracks 1 through 8 individually (or simultaneously) with your guitar or mic plugged into track 1, if you wanted, for the entire process.

Conversely, you could combine signals on channels 1 through 10 onto any single tape track. Or across multiple tracks (with panning) if you wanted.

The thing to understand is -nothing is hardwired in the 688.... the routing system is essentially like having a separate 8-buss mixer and tape deck connected via a patchbay. The advantage being you don't need an armload of cables and can save routings for later use.... the disadvantage being it is not immediately obvious where things are routed!

Another thing to consider is that there are 3 different ways to monitor individual channels and tracks, each useful/required for different tracking scenarios.

The 688 is a hugely flexible beast that quite frankly makes almost every other cassette multitracker - and indeed many digital units -look like toys. The cost of that flexibility is complexity - it is not really a box you can just dive in and use. It took me a good few months of use and re-reading the manual over and over to get my head around the routing system to the point where I actually felt like I knew what was going on. I'm still learning new ways how to use it.

It is exciting to have a single SIAB that gives the immediacy of tape, but with the flexibility to route signals pretty any way you want.

Hope that helps. Really, what you want to do is give yourself plenty of time and a few mock projects, and really, really work your way through the various workflows. There's no substitute for practice and experience with this one.

Cheers, Ben.