are there any cassette recorders that run on battery power?

[treymonfauntre]

hey guys, i need a battery powered tape recorder to record little shows. i'm planning on grabbing a sony ECMMS957, which ends up at a mini stereo plug, so all i need is a basic cassette recorder. i don't really want to get something extremely cheap because i plan on starting up a cassette tape label to distribute the tapes (with permission, and at no profit).
any suggestions? i imagine there aren't too many made these days, so if you can rack your brains and remember relics of times past that i can find on ebay that'd be great!

 

[Clive Hugh]

Try ebay, I have a Tascam PortaStudio 1 and it will run on batterys, plus it has 4 tracks etc.

 

[james123]

Try ebay, I have a Tascam PortaStudio 1 and it will run on batterys, plus it has 4 tracks etc.

dont casstte multitrackers use a different type of cassette to standard casstte you would use on hi-fi or casstte player? (my yamaha does) therefore you would have to mix down to a casstte deck wich records on to standard cassettes but then again you might already have another casstte recorder which is not portable if so ignore this post

 

[boingoman]

dont casstte multitrackers use a different type of cassette to standard casstte you would use on hi-fi or casstte player? (my yamaha does) therefore you would have to mix down to a casstte deck wich records on to standard cassettes but then again you might already have another casstte recorder which is not portable if so ignore this post

They use the same tapes, just in a different way. A cassette multitrack records across the whole tape in one direction. So a cassette four track records four tracks across the whole tape, one direction only. A stereo cassette deck records 4 tracks across the tape, but in different directions. Two tracks going one way for L and R, and two going the other way when you flip it over. Each set of two tracks take up half the tape.

Sony used to make a cassette Walkman that recorded. Might find one on ebay.

If you want to make cassettes, I'd still probably record the material with a better machine, like a DAT or PCM minidisc, and dub cassettes later.

 

[treymonfauntre]

do you know which portastudios will run on batteries, it doesn't look like any new ones do

 

[A Reel Person]

...

Just the vintage Tascam Porta One, Porta Two and Porta Two HS.

Of those 3 units, the Porta Two HS is the most "high tech". It will record 4-tracks simultaneously at high speed & of course runs on batteries. It's a mini production machine that's capable of true field recording. The Porta Two is one notch down, with "standard" speed recording. (The High Speed version gives better overall hifi sound).

The Porta One is a similar 4-track that records up to 2-tracks simultaneously at "normal speed".

All of these units use an effective dbx noise reduction system, which virtually wipes out tape hiss.

Any source tape made on these units would have to be mixed down and dubbed to another cassette deck, for common every day use by the general public.

Other people burn cdrs of their mixes, just as they did previously to cassette, but that's probably another post.



SEE: Tascam Porta Two

 

[A Reel Person]

See:...

Tascam Porta One

 

[A Reel Person]

I was also thinking,...

that a modern 414mkII, Porta 02mkII or MF-P01 could be powered by a car cigarrette lighter adapter as a power source.

 

[treymonfauntre]

thanks a lot man, those look a bit hefty for my goal but it definitely gives me a starting point and some more random stuff to research for no reason!

 

[dgatwood]

that a modern 414mkII, Porta 02mkII or MF-P01 could be powered by a car cigarrette lighter adapter as a power source.

Carry one of those emergency battery things that you buy at Wal-Mart or whatever. A lot of those have a lighter jack on the front, which should provide power for something like that for days.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Why not solve the problem globally? Go to an auto supply store and get a 12 volt power supply. It plugs into the wall to recharge, has a handle, a cigarette lighter jack, and hell, you can use it to jump your car in a pinch. Then buy a cheap power invertor. You don't need a lot of watts, a Tascam isn't a chainsaw. The $40 cheapies are actually better for recording than the big ones, because the big ones have fans, and are a little noisy. I can run my Korg Pandora and a DMP-3 on one of those for at least 12 hours. Cassette draws a little more, because the capstain drives have motors, but for gigs, it'll work fine. Here are some cheaper and even more portable solutions. It'll also give you an option to run a small lamp, phantom power supply, or whatever.-Richie

http://www.cetsolar.com/rpsl600.htm

http://www.compactappliance.com/xq/...ters.htm?mtcpromotion=overture>misc>inverters

 

[treymonfauntre]

hey guys, this is an old thread but i'm bumping it
if i got one of those power supplies and got a tascam that can run off 12v dc power do i still need an invertor?

 

[Tim Brown]

You mean they still make cassettes?!?!?!

Sorry - once the digital bug hit - I had no idea that people would even consider a cassette, especially when you can now buy a digital 8 track for what I paid for my initial 4-track cassette setup.



Tim

 

[Tim Brown]

Just the vintage Tascam Porta One, Porta Two and Porta Two HS.

Of those 3 units, the Porta Two HS is the most "high tech". It will record 4-tracks simultaneously at high speed & of course runs on batteries. It's a mini production machine that's capable of true field recording. The Porta Two is one notch down, with "standard" speed recording. (The High Speed version gives better overall hifi sound).

The Porta One is a similar 4-track that records up to 2-tracks simultaneously at "normal speed".

All of these units use an effective dbx noise reduction system, which virtually wipes out tape hiss.

Any source tape made on these units would have to be mixed down and dubbed to another cassette deck, for common every day use by the general public.

Other people burn cdrs of their mixes, just as they did previously to cassette, but that's probably another post.



SEE: Tascam Porta Two

I recorded 8 punk rock songs for my brother that were released as two 7" singles and one 7" 4-song EP. We did them on that very machine - and one of them sold 5,000 copies in 30 days! It was Johnny Hash - I think "Blues is Depressing" which contained "(Let me get my hand in your) Pink Lunchbox" & "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" was the one that sold out the entire stock immediately.

This magazine said that the first single was the "#28th best punk rock single released during the 90's". Not bad considering I did it on a 4-track with six microphones, a dbx 166a, and a Midiverb II....oh, and two of the Microphones were from Radio Shack! LOL


http://www.batarang.be/punkrawk.htm


Tim

 

[A Reel Person]

I think,...

if you get one of those handy automotive-jumpstart 12V power supplies (that Richard Monroe mentioned), you may then use a cigarrette lighter adapter to plug the 12V operable Portastudios directly into it. (Mf-P01, Porta02mkII, 414mkII, Porta One, Porta Two, Porta 03, Porta 05, Porta 07). Just make sure the cig-lighter adapter is the correct size and polarity on the plug.

I think the inverter comes in if/when you're considering using a recorder in the field that has a standard 110V/AC line cord. The inverter converts DC power to AC power.

There's a great online source for cassettes in bulk (10-packs or more) at really comptetitive prices. http://www.tape.com

C'ya!

 

[Tim Brown]

hey guys, i need a battery powered tape recorder to record little shows. i'm planning on grabbing a sony ECMMS957, which ends up at a mini stereo plug, so all i need is a basic cassette recorder. i don't really want to get something extremely cheap because i plan on starting up a cassette tape label to distribute the tapes (with permission, and at no profit).
any suggestions? i imagine there aren't too many made these days, so if you can rack your brains and remember relics of times past that i can find on ebay that'd be great!

Can I ask why a cassette label?

Cd's are chaper than cassettes these days.

You can get 1,000 CD's pressed for under $700. Do the covers yourself, and go to a local "insty-prints" kind of place and have them printed up. The printing is where all of the CD pressing places rip you off.

Just as an example I just now got the following quote from CDman.com. http://www.cdman.com/store/wizards/bulk.html

1000 CD's, includes glass mastering
2 Silk Screen Colours on disc
1 Customer to supply final disc art, PDF proofs (option)
Subtotal $ 610.00

Plus shipping - which will depend upon where you live.

That's $0.61 each for the actual disc manufacture. You would still have to get CD cases and load them. But, if you're in my situation - I hav more time than money, so I would have no problem having a "CD loading party".


Tim