388 or a 488 mkII

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AaronRead

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hello,

I am currently in the midst of deciding weather to buy a tascam 388 1/4" 8 track casette recorder or a 488 MkII

I can get the 388 for 300-350
i can get the 488 MkII for probably 250-300

both are pretty mint (according to the sellers) with not much use on them at all and both in fully functioning condition.

I'm a sound art student(not a lot of money) but am really interested in analog recording and really want to record to reels before it's gone.I would go with the 388 but tape seems expensive. I've been recording at home for about 4 years using portastudios and 4 tracks of all kinds as well as many failed attempts at digital and computers.

So I guess my question is would it be worth it to buy a tascam 388 and pay for tape(how many minutes can i get out of a 1/4" x 1800' LPR35 on 7" Plastic Reel?) or should i opt for the 488 mkII and go with the inexpensive media(type II casettes)

just wondering if anyone has an opinion abotu quality and peformance vs affordability and the expense of media

Im using it for everything rock,pop, glitch, noise, drone, free stuff, ambient etc

thanks for your time!
 
For the money I'd say get the 388...

& you really can't go wrong.

The 388 will give you a much better mixer, high fidelity and overall production capability over the 488mkII,... mind you not that the 488's a bad machine, but the 388's way better,.. especially for almost even money. Tape cost will be negligible once you're really in the groove. An 1800' reel of tape gets appx 33 minutes of recording, IIRC.:eek:;)
 
mhm

"Glitch".

I actually have been honing a new genre of music for years that beats out glitch completely. Its called "A Bunch of Broken Shit I Own". I doubt itll catch on. But, it completely lacks beat, rhyme, melody, or talent so it just might get big after all.



But, definitely go with the 388! Actually, go with whatever one works best. (condition-wise)
 
I'd say the 388

First let me say my qualifications are that I own and have completely torn apart my 388 as part of refurbishing it, and I own and have had my 424mkII opened up before...point is I have experience using both and have seen the belly of the beasts...plus I have pariticpated in a full length album production tracked and mixed on a 488mkII.

I've had a number of other TAscam products opened up too. Kind of a sickness with me...point is I have a perspective on different Tascam produxt ranges that extends beyond the two units in question.

Okay. They are both awesome.

The 488 is infinitely more portable.

The 388 is in a COMPLETELY different class though. It is actually unfair IMO to even compare them outside of the fact that they are both integrated mixer/recorder 8-track systems.

Your sonic potential is much greater from an electronics standpoint as well as the obvious differences in the tape format...388 track width is considerably larger than the 488 and the 388 runs at twice the speed.

The mixer on the 388 is also usable as an independent 8 x 8 mixer...quite handy.

Everything is a step up on the 388.

AGAIN, I'm not disrespecting the 488 as it is an incredible unit...we are just looking at the two of them side-by-side.

And media cost? A Reel Person is right. You get over 40 minutes of 8-track time on an 1800' reel of 1mil tape on the 388 vs 15 minutes using the recommended C60 cassettes on the 488. So nearly three times the record time. Cassettes are getting harder and harder t come by in Type II. To save costs you can buy a 3600' pancake and spool it off onto two 7 inch reels. Yes its more expensive ultimately, but the higher fidelity potential has t have a price SOMEWHERE.
 
Tape for the 388 isn't that expensive, jut make sure you're buying newer tape. Quantegy 457 and 407 will work, but make sure it's not too old due to sticky shed syndrome. You can also use Maxell UD 35-90 and TDK AUDUA. Beck put together a great list a few years ago of tapes to buy and to watch out for, you can check it out here, I've just listed the ones that would work nicely with a 388. You can get additional details from this post:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=237300

-MD
 
I had a 488 MkII years ago. When I moved to a larger format it was a BIG difference in fidelity.

Spring for the 388, you won't be sorry.
 
thanks for all the great information!

388 all the way!
 
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