244 Legacy

[jiggz]

Finally getting a 244 for my first time ever!

I've always wanted to submerse myself in this beautifully simple piece of recording history, that is, the legendary Tascam 244.

I usually always recorded digitally but have always had a romantic attraction to the concept of such a simple and great sounding recording method.
I may be mistaken, but i believe the 244 is pretty much the benchmark as far as the 4trk Portastudio goes so i can't wait to have a play and get on with writing some no-nonsense home recordings with a great sound for my own listening pleasure!!

Anyone out there still using a 244?

 

[jiggz]

Found this on my travels, this guy obviously likes it! :

http://www.lordlitter.de/releases_raw.html

 

[DigitalSmigital]

Congrats!

No I don't have one, but have heard they really are the best. I do have a 464 which I regard very highly compared to my purchased-new 424 mkIII.

Give us a link to your projects...

 

[The Ghost of FM]

My first Portastudio back in 1983 was the 244 and I bought mine brand new for 1200 bucks!

I made a lot of really memorable recordings on it and it served as a great learning tool and also wetted my appetite for more tracks.

I still love analog and currently use a 1 inch, 16 track from TASCAM called the MS-16.

TASCAM really put out some great analog recording equipment over the years and the 244 was definitely one of their true high points in design and quality.

Have fun with it!

Cheers!

 

[Beltrom]

My first Portastudio back in 1983 was the 244 and I bought mine brand new for 1200 bucks!

Should have been right about when I bought mine. I used it as recording device until Cakewalk Pro Audio 4 came. And for a few years after that as a nice little mixer. Now it's in storage. Couldn't get rid of my buddy...

I'd say I got my moneys worth from it...

 

[A Reel Person]

Yes, Me!

I am the self proclaimed champion of 244-dom!

It's my "first" Tascam, my "first" multitracker ever, and you never forget your "first"!

Fact is, I've made many fine productions on the 244, through the "dark ages" of home recording in the early 80's, through the present. Many of these recordings hold up well today. I've also brought the 244 into service as a dedicated vocal/PA mixer, of which it did very well, indeed.

I still love the 244, for it's forward-looking, future-proofed design. It still blows away many comparable 4-track cassettes from following decades. The 244 is a "pro" machine, as compared to the likes of the Porta-02 and MF-P01. The 244 makes the Porta-02 and MF-P01 look like "doorstop" calibre machines. The 244 is still at least even-par with the 424mkIII, with feature sets being slightly uneven and not directly comparable in some cases.

I have,... 5,... yes, FIVE Tascam 244's. Don't ask me why, but I have an unbelievable fetish about the Tascam 244. Find one in near-mint condition, and 4-track recording hardly gets any better than that!!!

I still have my original '82 Tascam 244, as close as my right hand, in my studio. It has not seen any full-blown production work in several years, but that's a personal thing, and does not reflect directly on the 244, which I still think is tops! That does not preclude doing any more full 4-track production work on the 244, in fact, I'll probably be inspired to do so, some time soon. I still prefer the 244 to many of the other Tascam Portastudios available,...

and what of Fostex cassette 4-trackers? Forget it. No comparison in features or quality.

The 244 blows many of it's contemporaries, and following "legacy" Portastudios right out of the water.

Almost forgot,...
Pls find a few examples of 244-recorded works, at:
http://www.nowhereradio.com/davemania/singles

Yes, Davemania. Hack versions of classic songs. That's Davemania! Enjoy!

 

[jiggz]

Nice to see the 244 still held in high regard!

I recently did a search on Google and was amazed at the quality of the recordings i listened to that were entirely done on this piece, i really didn't think cassette could sound so good!!
Is this the case for even the most recent Porta's, ie the 414 mk2/424 mk3?

One more thing, does anyone have any experience with what could potentially go wrong with the 244?
The unit overall is in fine condition for it's age, but i am just a little worried that if something goes wrong, then i may not be able to get parts to get it repaired as it's such an old unit and it would be a shame if it were to die.

Cheers
Jiggz

 

[jiggz]

Hey Reelperson

You posted just before me!

You pretty much answered my question about the newer Portastudios, cheers!

Jiggz

 

[A Reel Person]

Jiggz,...

The Tascam 244 is a very robust machine. The usual things that may go wrong are regarding the belts and rubber parts, of which there are only a few.

1) The main capstan-drive belt may become flabby, and it will drive the tape unevenly, producing tremendous WOW into the recording, or speed problems in general. Worst case, is that the capstan drive belt will give up the ghost and simply fall off, at which time REC/PLAY forward-motion function will cease, and FF/RW will remain funtional.

2) There's a smaller, square shaped belt that drives the head stack up/down. If/when this belt becomes worn or stretched, it might have trouble moving the headstack & pinchwheel assembly fully upward, to contact the capstan. This would also result in a loss of forward-motion of tape in Play/Rec modes.

3) There's the pinchwheel itself, which is also a rubber part, which in some cases will become deteriorated and sticky,... or outright gooey in extreme cases. In this case, it might eat your tapes. Replacing the pinchwheel assembly is the only remedy to this. It requires a moderately complex disassembly of the 244 to accomplish this.

4) Worst case, is that the two little rubber tires that actuate FF/RW will become sticky, or detented, enough that FF/RW will become difficult, or intermittent,... which again,... may include the eating of tapes when it malfunctions. Reason I said "worst case", is that the disassembly and removal of the cassette mechanism for replacement of these two little tires is somewhat complex.

The good news is, that if your 244 is in near-mint or VG condition, you may not need to worry about these issues, until the time of detectable symptoms. Better yet, that the parts themselves, rubber belts, pinchwheel assy, and little rubber tires, are readily available from Tascam Parts, and for generic type items like belts and tires, may be had from non-tascam generic sources.

I've done a full rubber refurbishment of a 244, and I know what I speak of.
It's a DIY'ers dream, and not nearly like rocket science.

There are other connector-related malfunctions that may or may not afflict your 244, but in most cases a removal/replacement and connector cleaning routine can bring these back to life. Still, it's nothing to worry about, unless/until you experience noticeable symptoms.

A well kept 244 might not need any maintenance of any sort, even this many years later, 20+ years.

 

[jiggz]

A Reel Person:
Thanks a lot for the info!
Man, you been using the 244 for 20+ years and still using it today!
What more can be said???

BTW DigitalSmigital: I don't have anything online, it's pretty much only a hobby to me.

Great to know that the 244 can remain in action for years to come, not to mention the repairs can be done by oneself!......try that with digital!

 

[A Reel Person]

There's the other issue of calibration, which many machines of this era may (usually) need, but hopefully it's not such a huge issue to affect performance to a noticeable degree. If you record with one VU strength, but get a lesser reading on playback, there may be calibrations issues at play. It's an issue that a proper cailbration can adjust out.

Calibration is an issue with all analog recorders and systems, not limited to the 244.

The 244 is surely a little gem of recording technology!

That's pretty much the long and short of it.

 

[cjacek]

I have TWO 244's ........... going on 6!!

The 244 is truly a magnificent machine and MUCH better than any cassette porta out-there, with the exception of the 246 which is basically the same but with more features. Still, I like the 244 a lot! You can't beat it for its looks and simple operation. The BIGGEST drawback is tape. Cassettes are of lower grade now than at any other time, even the same ones under the same brand name etc .... For example, TDK, MAXELL etc ... , currently, and I presume for at least the past few years, have had terrible quality control problems and as a result their formulations are not of the same consistency and overall "quality" as 10, 15 or 20 years ago. A batch of new maxell or tdk tapes, for example, can give low recording levels and dropouts like a bastard and it can take substantial bucks to find a "good" tape in a batch that actually does work. Current tape formulations, I think, are the 244's greatest problem. If you think your 244 is crapping out on you then think again ... it may just be that damn cassette! Now, where is my damn hammer ?!?!?

Daniel

 

[jiggz]

Bad tapes..........thanks for pointing that out!

I've now made a point of only buying the best quality tapes i can find!

From what i know, i presume these tapes will still be of high quality:

http://www.quantegy.com/PDFs/specsheets/472.pdf

I think this company has a good history when it comes to magnetic tapes as i think they used to be called Ampex which is very well known.

Anyhow...........still waiting on the 244!!

 

[cjacek]

Bad tapes..........thanks for pointing that out!

I've now made a point of only buying the best quality tapes i can find!

From what i know, i presume these tapes will still be of high quality:

http://www.quantegy.com/PDFs/specsheets/472.pdf

I think this company has a good history when it comes to magnetic tapes as i think they used to be called Ampex which is very well known.

Anyhow...........still waiting on the 244!!

Yes, Quantegy/Ampex open reel tapes are of the highest quality but unfortunately the 472's don't hold as good of a reputation and are not neccessarily better than any others. Truthfully, I can't recommend any current tape formulation 'cause there was always at least one in a batch which crapped out on me. This is the case with TDK SA/SAX, MAXELL XL II, FUJI ZII/DRII, MAXELL (studio). For example, I bought several of each and at least one always gave problems. I had to take the time to make test recordings on all to find "the one". It can be done but always be prepared for a crappy one in a batch. One thing to keep in mind is that hiss/distortion is not the issue when you record with the 244 so don't purchase the most expensive tape. Get yourself a 10 pack of the MAXELL XLII cassettes (60 mins) as these are easy to get and are very inexpensive. (Of course you may wish to get other brands). Pick out 3 at random on which you make test recordings (with a mic) on all channels at the beginning, middle and end of tape. See which one gives you minimal or no dropouts and proper recording levels, and stick to that tape.

Good luck,

Daniel

 

[jiggz]

Thanks, i will do that, although it's a real shame it has come to this, not to mention a pain in the butt!

Kinda put a slight downer on things........

Thanks for the advice.

 

[cjacek]

Thanks, i will do that, although it's a real shame it has come to this, not to mention a pain in the butt!

Kinda put a slight downer on things........

Thanks for the advice.

Let me give you an example of what a pain in the butt is ... I spent months thinking why my mint 244 was getting dropouts and other audio problems on almost every tape bought. Every person and technician (and even TASCAM) gave conflicting advice and in at least one respect some jerkoff told me I had bad heads, and that was over the phone! Now, I didn't want to take the 244 for repair 'cause there's always some idiot who would like to take advantage of you and charge you god knows how much .... At the same time I couldn't sell it 'cause who wants a junker ? It was only when I played and recorded on that same tape on different recorders that I knew it must be the tape! The audio problems were similar on identical tape! I think that the sooner you realize it is the tape, the better you are off ... really .....

~Daniel

 

[Rhys9]

Tascam 244 sqeeky noise on playback

My Tascam 244 is making loud mechanical squeeking noises on playback
It does redcord & playback & it Rewind + Fastforward (With No Noise in reverse + fast forward).

Is this a cassette problem or the tascam I'm using TDK SA60
Type II Tape (NEW)

Should I get a new belt?

I've got some 80's TDK SA-X60's I'll try them.

Rhys

 

[Bobby Darko]

I used the 244 for years with TDK tapes (60/90's) and I never had a problem. I now run a little studio on cassettes (yep) and I only had one bad tape so far. However I bought my 600 TDK tapes from this guy who recorded on them only once in the eighties and stuck em in a box after. Guess I got lucky...only paid about 12 dollars. I got tapes for life!

The 244 sounds, I have to be honest, better then my 8-track 688 I work with now. It's the most natural (sounding) recording system there is and for the price/quality it's unbeaten. It's also a lot heavier then all the later models!! The heavier the better!

ps. so, what i was trying to say: get some older cassettes which are not used very often. There still must be boxes full of good tapes lyin around on attics and backrooms. You could even hang a wanted note at your local supermarket. That's what I did...