A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
So say goodbye to the last of the high end cassette 4-track Portastudios! 
A
analogbrad
New member
I saw these on sale at guitar center yesterday for $249 brand new. I was gonna get one but they were all sold out. The weird thing is the 414MKII was the same price brand new.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Gosh, that sucks!
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DigitalSmigital
A slice of analog pie?
The End of an Era...
time to get your reel to reel or DAW gear; they'll stop making type II cassettes, too, sometime in the not-so-near future!
Oh well, we knew it was coming.
time to get your reel to reel or DAW gear; they'll stop making type II cassettes, too, sometime in the not-so-near future!
Oh well, we knew it was coming.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Y'know,...
the GC's in my area have not had 424mkIII's in stock for about a year, already, but I figured you could get them online for some time to come.
Hey, I just found Zzounds has it for a slashed down $299 incl free shipping! Dude, jump on those deals, because they won't last long!
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/prodsearch?form=prodsearch&q=Tascam+424mkIII
I got a NIB 424mkIII from GC back about 2-3 years ago, and I'd consider getting another one (now), just due to issues of limited future availablility, and it's such a keen machine!
Smigital's right, analogers should start stockpiling Type II cassettes.
Aye!
the GC's in my area have not had 424mkIII's in stock for about a year, already, but I figured you could get them online for some time to come.
Hey, I just found Zzounds has it for a slashed down $299 incl free shipping! Dude, jump on those deals, because they won't last long!
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/prodsearch?form=prodsearch&q=Tascam+424mkIII
I got a NIB 424mkIII from GC back about 2-3 years ago, and I'd consider getting another one (now), just due to issues of limited future availablility, and it's such a keen machine!
Smigital's right, analogers should start stockpiling Type II cassettes.
Aye!
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A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
J
jiggz
New member
How does the 424mk3 hold up against the 244 in the "quality of the recording" department?
I was nearly going to go for one of these, but from previous experience of buying older gear, i figured everything would be of higher quality in the older 244, and hopefully produce better recordings.
Is this true?
I was nearly going to go for one of these, but from previous experience of buying older gear, i figured everything would be of higher quality in the older 244, and hopefully produce better recordings.
Is this true?
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
it's apples and oranges, at a certain point.
First, the 424mkIII is a full 6-channel mixer, plus more stripped inputs, and that's clearly more than the 244's 4-basic channels. This offers a slightly higher production value on the front-end-mix side of the equation than the 244, by advantage of having 6 fully equipped channels.
Second, the 424mkIII's record-assign switch matrix enables the 424mkIII to record either 2-simul in Bus mode, or 1-4 tracks in direct mode, which is a slight cut above the 2-bus or all-4-direct switching assign matrix of the 244.
The EQ itself is a bit better on the 244, which affects sound quality in a direct way. The 244 has 2 bands of sweepable eq, and the 424mkIII has a fixed hi/low EQ and a sweepable mid EQ. That's probably like splitting hairs after a while, but I believe the greater tonal flexibility is in the 244's 2-band sweepable EQ.
F/I, with the 244's 2-band sweepable EQ, you can pretty much dial in the eq bands that are best, or most desirable. In the case of the 424mkIII, if you add too much boost in the fixed hi/low EQ bands, you may be introducing EQ across all channels, that the fixed nature of the frequencies may tend to induce more indistinct muddiness, rather than clarity.
At a certain point, assessing the value of the relative styles of EQ on the 244 vs. the 424mkIII is like splitting hairs, but I think 244 gets the edge on EQ design and worthiness. Having said that, the EQ on the 424mkIII is still a very functional and nice EQ, but maybe just not as nice as the 244's.
The 424mkIII has 2 speeds and the 244 is strictly a 2x machine. The 424mkIII has dbx defeat and the 244 has none.
The 244 has Access Snd/Rcv patch points on all channels PLUS global 4x2 Aux-snd/rcv system, so it's slightly a cut above the 424mkIII's 4x2 Aux/Eff-Send/Rcv system. That one is a bit like splitting hairs, again, but I think the 244 has the slight edge on Eff/Aux send/rcv.
The 244 has a dedicated stereo cue system, that may also be "borrowed" for use as an extra Aux-send. Contrast that with the 424mkIII, which has two Eff-sends, but switches one 4x1 Eff-send circuit, to "borrow" it for purposes of a MONO cue monitor/headphone-mix section. This is a case where opposite designs prevail on each machine. A dedicated stereo cue sytem is definitely better, though. Stereo cue and more than adequate ACCESS SND/RCV patchpoints, PLUS dedicated STEREO Aux-Send/Rcv system gives the 244 the edge in effex-interconnectability.
EQ is something that affects the sound of a recording in an immediate sense, as does the complexity of the front end mix you're laying down to tape, so the 244 fares about even with the 424mkIII, overall.
Build quality is better on the 244, by far. Further, with the 424mkIII having a power "module" it's not a truly self contained solution,... a small consideration, but still a differing factor.
You did alright to score a low use 244 that you're happy with. The sound quality of that machine can't be compromised, no matter how much a fan of the later Portastudios you are.
First, the 424mkIII is a full 6-channel mixer, plus more stripped inputs, and that's clearly more than the 244's 4-basic channels. This offers a slightly higher production value on the front-end-mix side of the equation than the 244, by advantage of having 6 fully equipped channels.
Second, the 424mkIII's record-assign switch matrix enables the 424mkIII to record either 2-simul in Bus mode, or 1-4 tracks in direct mode, which is a slight cut above the 2-bus or all-4-direct switching assign matrix of the 244.
The EQ itself is a bit better on the 244, which affects sound quality in a direct way. The 244 has 2 bands of sweepable eq, and the 424mkIII has a fixed hi/low EQ and a sweepable mid EQ. That's probably like splitting hairs after a while, but I believe the greater tonal flexibility is in the 244's 2-band sweepable EQ.
F/I, with the 244's 2-band sweepable EQ, you can pretty much dial in the eq bands that are best, or most desirable. In the case of the 424mkIII, if you add too much boost in the fixed hi/low EQ bands, you may be introducing EQ across all channels, that the fixed nature of the frequencies may tend to induce more indistinct muddiness, rather than clarity.
At a certain point, assessing the value of the relative styles of EQ on the 244 vs. the 424mkIII is like splitting hairs, but I think 244 gets the edge on EQ design and worthiness. Having said that, the EQ on the 424mkIII is still a very functional and nice EQ, but maybe just not as nice as the 244's.
The 424mkIII has 2 speeds and the 244 is strictly a 2x machine. The 424mkIII has dbx defeat and the 244 has none.
The 244 has Access Snd/Rcv patch points on all channels PLUS global 4x2 Aux-snd/rcv system, so it's slightly a cut above the 424mkIII's 4x2 Aux/Eff-Send/Rcv system. That one is a bit like splitting hairs, again, but I think the 244 has the slight edge on Eff/Aux send/rcv.
The 244 has a dedicated stereo cue system, that may also be "borrowed" for use as an extra Aux-send. Contrast that with the 424mkIII, which has two Eff-sends, but switches one 4x1 Eff-send circuit, to "borrow" it for purposes of a MONO cue monitor/headphone-mix section. This is a case where opposite designs prevail on each machine. A dedicated stereo cue sytem is definitely better, though. Stereo cue and more than adequate ACCESS SND/RCV patchpoints, PLUS dedicated STEREO Aux-Send/Rcv system gives the 244 the edge in effex-interconnectability.
EQ is something that affects the sound of a recording in an immediate sense, as does the complexity of the front end mix you're laying down to tape, so the 244 fares about even with the 424mkIII, overall.
Build quality is better on the 244, by far. Further, with the 424mkIII having a power "module" it's not a truly self contained solution,... a small consideration, but still a differing factor.
You did alright to score a low use 244 that you're happy with. The sound quality of that machine can't be compromised, no matter how much a fan of the later Portastudios you are.
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cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
jiggz said:
The prize goes to ............... TASCAM 244 - I've got TWO!
(My thoughts on the subject are pretty much summarized down below, in my signature).
~Daniel
B
BlueTurtle
New member
Another Question
How does the 414MKII match up against the 424MKIII sound-wise, since the 424 does have high speed, does the 414 lag very much behind in sound quality??? Just wondering......
How does the 414MKII match up against the 424MKIII sound-wise, since the 424 does have high speed, does the 414 lag very much behind in sound quality??? Just wondering......
cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
Speed is but one factor and not the only one for quality recordings ...
They're about the same. Similar crappy components. (Sorry but this is just my opinion).
Peace
~Daniel
BlueTurtle said:How does the 414MKII match up against the 424MKIII sound-wise, since the 424 does have high speed, does the 414 lag very much behind in sound quality??? Just wondering......
They're about the same. Similar crappy components. (Sorry but this is just my opinion).
Peace
~Daniel
monty
Banned
A Reel Person said:So say goodbye to the last of the high end cassette 4-track Portastudios!
Oh horrors!!!
DigitalSmigital
A slice of analog pie?
BlueTurtle said:How does the 414MKII match up against the 424MKIII sound-wise, since the 424 does have high speed, does the 414 lag very much behind in sound quality??? Just wondering......
You are not insinuating that the 414 has only one speed?
What are the differences between the 414 and 424?
monty
Banned
...........10.DigitalSmigital said:
DigitalSmigital
A slice of analog pie?
No, not the difference...
The differences
monty.
The differences
monty.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
The 414 only has one speed, HIGH.
The 414mkII and 424mkIII should make recordings that are fairly comparable, except the 424mkIII has 6 full channel strips and 3-band (mid-sweep) EQ, while the 414mkII only has 4 full channel strips and 2-band (fixed) EQ.
The 424mkIII should have a slight edge over the 414mkII, when considering the features of both units. Not that the 424mkIII inherently will make a better recording, but it gives you a higher level of features, that should enable you to make slightly better recordings, by virtue of the 424mkIII bringing slightly better features to bear in the creative process that is recording. Better features = Higher production value, if you'll forgive my cliche.
I hope that makes sense.
The 414mkII and 424mkIII should make recordings that are fairly comparable, except the 424mkIII has 6 full channel strips and 3-band (mid-sweep) EQ, while the 414mkII only has 4 full channel strips and 2-band (fixed) EQ.
The 424mkIII should have a slight edge over the 414mkII, when considering the features of both units. Not that the 424mkIII inherently will make a better recording, but it gives you a higher level of features, that should enable you to make slightly better recordings, by virtue of the 424mkIII bringing slightly better features to bear in the creative process that is recording. Better features = Higher production value, if you'll forgive my cliche.
I hope that makes sense.
monty
Banned
gee, I wonder if I should get a new one, before it's too late.
DigitalSmigital
A slice of analog pie?
I'd sell you mine...
but it gets weekly use, and even when they phase out production of type II cassettes it will make a fine sub-mixer.
but it gets weekly use, and even when they phase out production of type II cassettes it will make a fine sub-mixer.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
I think it's already too late,...
unless you can find a NIB unit at a small, out of the way music retailer. The GC's, MF's, AMS's, Zzounds are flat out of 'em.
Zzounds moved it's "expect more on 12/3" message, to "this product has been discontinued, pls select another product". So, that seals it's fate. No other MKIII's at any other retailers, that I know of. Sorry!
Smigital's right, & has me thinking I'll need to stock up on cassette media.
unless you can find a NIB unit at a small, out of the way music retailer. The GC's, MF's, AMS's, Zzounds are flat out of 'em.
Zzounds moved it's "expect more on 12/3" message, to "this product has been discontinued, pls select another product". So, that seals it's fate. No other MKIII's at any other retailers, that I know of. Sorry!
Smigital's right, & has me thinking I'll need to stock up on cassette media.
DigitalSmigital
A slice of analog pie?
Stockpiling cassette tapes! What has this world come to? Can they be cryogenically stored?