Cassete or Digital

The Ghost of FM said:
ARP,

All this talk of the soon to disappear 424 Mk III has peaked my curiosity in the unit and I noticed it appears to be missing tradition insert points on the mixer channels! :mad:

Why would they leave out such a necessary and basic feature like this! :confused: :(

Or is it there and I am just going blind!

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Nope .. not blind Jeff ... I've always asked why oh why did "they" leave out the all important insert points on the MKIII. It's basically a cheap design that's all. I feel TASCAM/TEAC made the 424 models as an "after-thought", just enough to satisfy the cassette crowd and "cheap" enough for the people to afford. They didn't put in the heart and resources like they did on the 244, 234, 246, 238, 688 etc .... Most everything after that is an insult.

Just my 2 cents ....

~Daniel
 
Eh,...

The 424mkIII doesn't have channel inserts or Access Snd/Rcv patchpoints, or a lot of other desirable functions.

It would be nice to see Tascam succeed the 424mkIII with a new analog model, that addressed all of the shortcomings of the 424mkIII. In the meantime, the 424mkIII's the best thing in the new analog Portastudio market.

I wonder if a write-in campaign to Tascam on the subject of analog Portastudios would do any good? Unless Tascam has another card up it's sleeve, it doesn't seem like there's anything new coming out of Tascam on cassette Porta's.

(IMO) They should do another 388-type thing, or a 246-type thing for cassette, with newly updated designs. Even if they kept most of the 424mkIII's design and improved upon it, would be nice.

That's just wishful thinking, & daydreaming, I'm afraid. I don't have much hope on the Tascam/Analog front, as far as long term continuation of the cassette format Portastudio, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. I'd love to be proven wrong, 6 or 9 months from now, with the news of another cassette based high end Portastudio. Until then, I'm not holding my breath, but if the 424mkIII's truly the end of the line, it makes it a bit more of an important machine, especially while they can still be had new. (MO).

That's not speaking directly about the low-end MF-P01 &Porta02mkII, or of the medium-tech 414mkII, which still can be had as new stock items.

Anyway, there's no inserts on the 424mkIII, & lots of other things. :eek:
 
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A Reel Person said:
The 424mkIII doesn't have channel inserts or Access Snd/Rcv patchpoints, or a lot of other desirable functions.

It would be nice to see Tascam succeed the 424mkIII with a new analog model, that addressed all of the shortcomings of the 424mkIII. In the meantime, the 424mkIII'a the best thing in the new analog Portastudio market.

I wonder if a write-in campaign to Tascam on the subject of analog Portastudios would do any good? Unless Tascam has another card up it's sleeve, it doesn't seem like there's anything new coming out of Tascam on cassette Porta's.

(IMO) They should do another 388-type thing, or a 246-type thing for cassette, with newly updated designs. Even if they kept most of the 424mkIII's design and improved upon it, would be nice.

That's just wishful thinking, & daydreaming, I'm afraid. I don't have much hope on the Tascam/Analog front, as far as long term continuation of the cassette format Portastudio, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. I'd love to be proven wrong, 6 or 9 months from now, with the news of another cassette based high end Portastudio. Until then, I'm not holding my breath, but if the 424mkIII's truly the end of the line, it makes it a bit more of an important machine, especially while they can still be had new. (MO).

That's not speaking directly about the low-end MF-P01 &Porta02mkII, or of the medium-tech 414mkII, which still can be had as new stock items.

Anyway, there's no inserts on the 424mkIII, & lots of other things. :eek:
Click to expand...

I'd agree about the write-in campaign being a good idea, Dave. I think those things usually have an impact, provided they're being executed the correct way. Personally I'd like to see a 388/246 hybrid type model where the best of both are implemented. For example, I'd like to see the 388 mixing section, inputs/outputs be implemented in the "new portastudio" BUT made specifically for a 4 track. So it'd just be a 388 mixer section cut in half. The kicker here would be that the recorder section would rely on 1/4" Quantegy 407 tape running at 3 1/2, 7 1/2 and 15 ips! 3 heads. DBX would be switchable. The beauty of this is that now, with the wider tracks, DBX would be un-neccessary especially when running at higher speeds and would satisfy the "purists" out-there while DBX would offer others complete hiss-free performance on the lowest speeds. Another benefit would be that the machine would cost about half of what the 388 retailed for! ;)

Damn, on the other hand, lots of folks would hate not having 8 tracks ... :(

I now feel that perhaps it'd be smart for TEAC to just re-release their 246 and 388 models. That'd be as simple as can be, don't you think ? :) I feel a write-in campaign coming on .. :eek: :D

~Daniel
 
Yeah, say the word "go", & I'm with you on that.

I know you called Teac yourself, personally, and you were scoffed at on the phone, and were told "cassette is dead". That was the worst, most disheartening quote I've ever heard on these boards. Anyway, if there was a rise of the user base for a write in campaign, it might have some impact. It's hard to say what Tascam may or may not do, and only time will tell.

If they made brand new units like the DP01 more capable, it might bridge the gap that the high end Portastudios leave,... but it doesn't. The DP01 is a stripped down box. To do what you can do with the 388 would take no less than the 2488, and still that's an uneven comparison, because the 388 has patching capabilities that goes beyond that of the 2488.

Unless there is a new cassette or analog Portastudio on the horizon from Tascam, then there is no good solution, 'cept the legacy market (Ebay). The DP01 doesn't cut it, because I'm spoiled by the 424mkIII.

Why, on earth, does Tascam create an 8-tracker that only records 2-inputs simul/max, and with only 2 stripped inputs with no input side mixing? Who would want that sort of thing. Not me. I'll stick with any of a number of more highly capable Portastudios:
the 424mkIII
424mkII,
244,
246,
388,
488mkII,
688,...

and anything but the DP01.
 
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A Reel Person said:
I know you called Teac yourself, personally, and you were scoffed at on the phone, and were told "cassette is dead". That was the worst, most disheartening quote I've ever heard on these boards. Anyway, if there was a rise of the user base for a write in campaign, it might have some impact. It's hard to say what Tascam may or may not do, and only time will tell.

If they made brand new units like the DP01 more capable, it might bridge the gap that the high end Portastudios leave,... but it doesn't. The DP01 is a stripped down box. To do what you can do with the 388 would take no less than the 2488, and still that's an uneven comparison, because the 388 has patching capabilities that goes beyond that of the 2488.

Unless there is a new cassette or analog Portastudio on the horizon from Tascam, then there is no good solution,, 'cept the legacy market (Ebay). The DP01 doesn't cut it, because I'm spoiled by the 424mkIII.

Why, on earth, does Tascam create an 8-tracker that only records 2-inputs simul/max, and with only 2 stripped inputs with no input side mixing? Who would want that sort of thing. Not me. I'll stick with any of a number of more highly capable Portastudios:
the 424mkIII
424mkII,
244,
246,
388,
488mkII,
688,...

and anything but the DP01.
Click to expand...

I agree on all your points, and you're right, it was quite a blow when that TASCAM (USA) guy told me point blank that cassette is dead and that they're not planning anything beyond the 424 mkIII. Damn shame but all can change at any time. Nothing is set in stone. (Remember the 34B being re-introduced ?). I TRULY feel that if enough people wrote it, to TEAC JAPAN, and made their case, that TEAC /TASCAM would have to take a second look at their Analog gear. Now, the question is HOW should we focus on the write-in campaign ? People would have to be more or less in "sync" (no pun ;) ) with each other. First we'd have to write to the JAPAN head office, no less. Second, we'd have to figure out a way to "execute" properly. How would a letter campaign look like and what would it contain ? Can we use the Analog Only forum in some way to get this off the ground ? How can we do it so that TEAC JAPAN takes these "letters" as legitimate. Obviously only snail mail can bring it legitimacy. Right ?

About the 2488 ... it's a nice toy but it's not only about features but the sheer joy (and ease) of operating the 388 or whatever Analog recording device. Plus, all of the signal is actually physically stored on tape. It's OLD SCHOOL recording. Ya can't beat that! But then again you already know that. ;)

~Daniel
 
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