Is the Tascam 488 Portstudio any good?

[napoli187]

I'm thinking of buying a used Tascam 488 Portastudio (8 track) for use as an analog aspect to my digital recording. is this a good idea? can i record through the tascam then send the tracks to my boss br1180 digital recorder?

 

[MISTERQCUE]

?????????????
Define "analog aspect" !

Are you trying to ,ummmm, "warm" your digital recordings to the BR!!??

Money spent on the 488 would be best used on a decent pre-amp!

 

[napoli187]

Yeah, basically i want to "warm up" the recordings. i'm willing to spend $115 for a used tascam 488. are there any preamps out there for this price that will work for all aspects of a band (guitar,bass,vocals,drums). dont know much about preamps so any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Yeah, basically i want to "warm up" the recordings.

Then put them in the oven............! This will have as much effect on the sound quality as using a PortaStudio to "warm up" anything would have...........

You want "warm" recordings??? Learn proper recording techniques.... warmth comes from what you send TO THE RECORDER, not from the recorder itself....

If your recordings are not "warm" (whatever that means) -- look at your sound source itself, and your signal path (the mics, mic placement, and pres) to fix the problem first.............

99% of the time, it ISN'T the recorder's fault, but rather the engineering.........

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Va Napoli:

I just follow what the Bear said to me back a few posts: "Just push up the faders and it all comes out fine." [I'm paraphrasing]

Since I used to do some stuff on a 488, which I still have, I have a warmth in my heart for the unit. I still remaster stuff I did on the 488 via my 2816 and the quality is pretty good.

But, the Bear is right; Alas, I had a session the other night and I screwed up the input volume of the vocalist and was most unhappy with the result. So, I'll have to do that one over.

It is the engineer who does the good stuff or bad stuff and since I'm the CEO I have to take all the heat when something gets out of whack.

But, I can't really see what you would need the 488 for except to putz around.

Green Hornet