Diving into analogue!!

[Withneilandi]

Hi chaps,

looking for some advice. I have for years been in DAW land, in fact I pretty much learnt recording from the computer based perspective (I'm 26). I have had some experience with cassette 4 and 8 tracks and briefly a 1/4" r2r and found that in about every way I prefer it. Sound, workflow, vibe, whatever it is, I really like tape, be it cassette or whatever.

So, I'm interested in getting away from DAWs for now and getting into as robust a tape setup as I can without spending tons of money. I would really like a Tascam 388 at some point, but they're a little expensive for me at the moment so I'm thinking of a 234 or 238. What I'd like to know is:

1. Given how rare and overpriced these things can be in the UK (where I live), how straight-forward would it be to convert one of these two devices to work on UK voltage if I could convince a US seller to send me one? Would it involve actually replacing significant parts like transformers or whatever, or would it be a wiring change? I know a good tech but I don't want to get into making huge mods lest it starts getting as expensive as just buying one in the UK.

2. What sort of a mixer would be good for one of these - it would be nice to get something a step up from the average portastudio but how far to go before it starts being lost on the cassette machine? By that I mean is there a point at which I'll see diminishing returns with what gets fed into the cassette recorder?

Many thanks all!

 

[Chilljam]

1. First thing is if you want to get it shipped, you run a very high risk of getting a damaged product arriving at your doorstep... which is frustrating and sad so keep that in mind. Good news is that a fair few r2r recorders have switchable input voltages on them, simply rotate little knobs on the back and pick your voltage. However, i don't know how much more expensive r2r recorders can be in UK than in US... im from australia and yes it his a bit harder to find r2r recorders here than in the US but after about 2 years of research i found that the prices are fairly similar here and in the US... at first i thought US was much cheaper but it always turned out that the cheap stuff you see on eBay from the US is usually damaged, heavily worn, untested etc. - ie a pain the neck and not worth very much money at all.
Also shipping a usually 20+ kg recorder internationally can cost a ridiculous amount, i remember a while ago i was looking at getting recorder from the US and most of the time the shipping would cost more than the buy it now price of the recorder! Another problem with buying from US is that you dont get to test the machine so your basically putting your money in the hands of some strangers promise... "the machine is in mint condition, no problems" That's not good enough for me.
So what im saying is look for something local that you can have a look at and test, try it out, talk to the owner about it for a bit, get some history on it etc. and you will have a better chance of getting a better machine...

2.
In terms of mixers... there are alot out there but i always try to get a sort of 'matching' mixer to the recorder i buy... if i buy a tascam 8 track recorder... i will pretty much always try to find a tascam 8 channel mixer for it because i know i won't have any problems and will get very good sound from that combination. Also if your thinking about getting a cassette recorder... most of them have inbuilt mixers anyway and although some people do... i personally wouldn't invest in outboard mixers for a cassette unit but rather use the one onboard.

 

[sweetbeats]

The 234 has a very basic onboard 4 x 2 mixer. The mic inputs are hi-z tho' so you have to get matching transformer adapters to plug lo-z mics into it, but if you just want basics it'll get you your cue mix while tracking and overdubbing and also work to mix to stereo when mastering...very basic, no eq or effects sends but nifty and simple and because of that less potential for noise and distortion from the mixing section. Think of it as an ultimate cassette scratch pad (tho' a bit heftier )...it has the simplicity of the likes of the little MP-01 (I think that's the model number) but MUCH better electronics, dbx, hi-speed, servo transport, full set-o-analog VU's...a professional cassette multi-tracker and of course it'll interface with an external mixer just great...has just about the same track width of a 388 (although half the tape speed). 238 requires an external mixer. 234 is the tops in 4-track cassette recorders (except for the 134 which is a later version of the 234) IMO because of the option t interface with external gear. Mixers that would work well with the 234 or 238? I'm a Teac/Tascam fan for many reasons so that's where I'm going to point, but the M-30, M-35, M-1508, M-106 and M-308 are great options...the M-106 is the most basic of the bunch.

Don't discount the 244 and 246...these were built-in mixer models but had the 234 transport and good vintage mixer sections especially on the 246...all-in-one baby! I have heard simply wonderful results from many folks here that have tracked projects on those...A Reel Person and cjacek to name a couple.

I will check and post back regarding voltage conversion on the above stuff...

Looks like the 244/246 had a switcheable PSU but the manual indicates that that was on the 'General Export Model'...not sure if that includes US models... :???: Anybody with one of those that can check? The reference is on page 52 of the manual...says there is a switch under the bottom cover to switch voltage to 110/120/220/240...

 

[Withneilandi]

Thanks for the replies!

I think I'm leaning towards an 8 track recorder, since I want to record a band on it, probably 2 drum mics, one bass, one guitar, then room for a couple overdubs and a couple of vox. The 238 is especially attractive since I'd like to have something I could take along to a rehearsal room and make super low budget recording sessions happen with!!

From reading about this I understand that a 488 would be a simple way for me to do that, but also that the 238 is appreciably better sound quality wise. Any thoughts?

I could probably afford a 488 in the UK, but I recently saw a pair of 238s go on an auction on ebay UK for something like £450 for the pair (about $750 I think) which is certainly too much for me.