cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
Not cheap but certainly a price worth considering, especially that this one looks especially good, 'minty', with little apparent wear.
In fact, I bought one locally for about the same amount a few years back and never regretted it.
Yes, I'd use the BIN option but ONLY if I could pick it up in person. It's not a good deal if it needs to be shipped 'cause nasty things often happen during transit and believe me, it's not worth the risk.
Drive out and pick it up in person. You can even ask the seller for a demo once you get there so that you know all is fine.
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In fact, I bought one locally for about the same amount a few years back and never regretted it.
Yes, I'd use the BIN option but ONLY if I could pick it up in person. It's not a good deal if it needs to be shipped 'cause nasty things often happen during transit and believe me, it's not worth the risk.
Drive out and pick it up in person. You can even ask the seller for a demo once you get there so that you know all is fine.
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lo.fi.love
Functionally obsessed.
Sigh... it's in Ventura County. About a 10-hour round trip, and "I ain't got no car".
Is it really that risky to ship a recorder, though? I would think that a sturdy packaging job could help it survive.
As a side note, I really think I ought to put an ad on my local Craigslist.
lo.fi.love
Functionally obsessed.
Ah, I just read the packing/shipping thread. Argh. I think I'm going to find one in the SF Bay Area instead, and have my room mate drive me over...
evm1024
New member
Nice deck
That deck looks nice....
The price represents the high end of the curve and for the deck to be worth it it would need to be (verified) as a low hours, well taken care of deck. In near perfect condition. IMHO
It appears to me that the 3440 have gone the way of Maxell tape. that is to say commanding a premium price.
I sold my last one a few years ago and have been looking for another in the background. Something inthe $200 range. But then again I tend to fix them up and do what is needed to make them work nicely.
Locally here in PDX they have been on craigslist for $300 for a good condition deck. I'm holding out for a $200 good condition deck.
When you do get one I know where you can get some super side panels for it.
Craigslist and local pickup.
As a side note: the 34 is a great deck and about half the price.
--Ethan
That deck looks nice....
The price represents the high end of the curve and for the deck to be worth it it would need to be (verified) as a low hours, well taken care of deck. In near perfect condition. IMHO
It appears to me that the 3440 have gone the way of Maxell tape. that is to say commanding a premium price.
I sold my last one a few years ago and have been looking for another in the background. Something inthe $200 range. But then again I tend to fix them up and do what is needed to make them work nicely.
Locally here in PDX they have been on craigslist for $300 for a good condition deck. I'm holding out for a $200 good condition deck.
When you do get one I know where you can get some super side panels for it.
Craigslist and local pickup.
As a side note: the 34 is a great deck and about half the price.
--Ethan
S
Sonarcade
Member
while I understand that some things are a matter of opinion and that any comparisons between machines are bound to raise some controversy, I don't quite understand what the appeal of the 3440 is if we're looking at pure specs. Ultimately, it will boil down to the preference of the recordist as a listener, which goes well beyond the parameters of any spec sheet, but is $700 for -- no offense here -- "dated" technology and 1/4" tape really reasonable? I would even say that $200 is pushing it and that a lot of sellers are cashing in on a niche market of enthusiasts who are willing to pay more than is really warranted.
The person who sold me my Tascam 38 pretty much convinced that many have gone the way of digital and have grown out of fetishizing "warmth". I know I certainly haven't "outgrown" it as I'm barely just getting into it myself. I think from lo.fi.love's user name to the amount s/he was considering spending, I feel it adds up to a general picture of what the market's been looking like for reel to reels here in LA, at least.
And it's not so much that I oppose buyers spending as much as they deem fit, but the ways in which indiscriminate buying can lead to the kind of dodgy sales practices that have been plaguing sites like ebay and craigslist. The other day, I saw a 38 go for $1200 on cl in LA!
The person who sold me my Tascam 38 pretty much convinced that many have gone the way of digital and have grown out of fetishizing "warmth". I know I certainly haven't "outgrown" it as I'm barely just getting into it myself. I think from lo.fi.love's user name to the amount s/he was considering spending, I feel it adds up to a general picture of what the market's been looking like for reel to reels here in LA, at least.
And it's not so much that I oppose buyers spending as much as they deem fit, but the ways in which indiscriminate buying can lead to the kind of dodgy sales practices that have been plaguing sites like ebay and craigslist. The other day, I saw a 38 go for $1200 on cl in LA!
cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
Yup, agreed on the 3440 & Maxell thing, Ethan... The prices for both have gone through the roof and mostly on legend, I suppose, rather than anything else. While it's a fine, fine deck, the 3440, the 34 & 34B are indeed other, less costly options, though a 3440 would be more of a tank. 
Hey, lo.fi.love, I'm glad you read the packing thread.
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Hey, lo.fi.love, I'm glad you read the packing thread.
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cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
Most of the stuff we talk about, around here, is 'dated' so...
Ah, the dreaded word, at least to me, "warmth"... No offense intended but those are the same people that should not have switched to analogue in the first place, looking for some magic bullet and a case could be made that they are at least partly responsible for crazy prices on the said gear.
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lo.fi.love
Functionally obsessed.
Well, the name 'lo.fi.love' came about when I was initially doing live recordings on cassette. I've since expanded the scope of my project/money pit/time-sink to include mastering/archiving my recordings on reel tape, and I would eventually like to move to doing live recording on reel as well. All things considered, getting a better rtr deck for my studio would help me make the best use of my assets.
I've been peripherally involved in friends' studios and recording projects for years, but I never had a stable-enough income to buy my own gear. I turn 26 next month (to give an idea of where I am in my life), and I finally landed my first good, steady job at the beginning of this year after working freelance for several years. I've been living on a modest personal budget since then and have been spending about half of my net income on recording/audio gear. It's a dream come true... finally.
That said, I think my timing is kind of bad. I've seen these recorders appreciate in value as recently as the past two years. There's also a growing "buzz" about the older analog gear. I have a very specific reason for doing everything analog, and it has nothing to do with some kind of half-baked notion of analog's superiority over digital. It has more to do with my familiarity with analog audio formats, and with the fact that I find it extremely difficult to understand something that I can't manipulate with my hands.
The other big reason for doing everything analog is that most of the top-of-the-line gear from the past three decades is now affordable for most people to own and operate. Friends of mine have digital studios that cost as much or more to assemble and the end result just isn't as cohesive or "polished" as what I can do on my "outdated" gear. All costs considered, I've spent maybe $2,500 to put everything together, and I have a setup that is extremely capable.
I think the point I'm trying to communicate is that there is a whole new generation of recording enthusiasts coming up who were taught to do everything digitally, who find analog to be a perfectly acceptable alternative. Most of us didn't start recording until recently; if we had started maybe five years earlier, we could have picked up a lot of this gear when demand was lower. The surge in demand that we've created is really driving costs up.
The armchair anthropologist/sociologist/psychologist in me also says that folks of my generation feel jilted by the impersonal nature of our modern digital lifestyle. I think a lot of my peers miss the personal nature of the analog medium. Analog is also more of a DIY format since you can get great results by relying on sheer creativity and cleverness instead of buying shrink-wrapped, expensive, shiny, overpriced equipment and software, and many people I know are pissed off with having commerce and industry dictate how we express ourselves as artists.
Sorry. Half-manifesto there. I really just wanted to respond to the comment that I quoted above.
S
Sonarcade
Member
Most of the stuff we talk about, around here, is 'dated' so...
indeed!
Ah, the dreaded word, at least to me, "warmth"... No offense intended but those are the same people that should not have switched to analogue in the first place, looking for some magic bullet and a case could be made that they are at least partly responsible for crazy prices on the said gear.
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I think I can safely say that I'd probably fall under those who looked to a reel to reel as a magic bullet. But I couldn't possibly be responsible for driving those prices so ridiculously high. I'm [strike]cheaper[/strike] better than that!
hey man. It's only fair considering the half-manifesto half-hi-jack move I pulled with my shenanigans above.
I think some clarification is needed here considering I kinda just let loose without considering that my statements above may have been seen as criticisms directed toward you. They are not. I, like you, feel like I had timed my migration from the digital realm into the world of analogue a bit too late, when demand is ostensibly higher than might be expected. But then again, I don't think I can recall a time when reel to reels can be had for less than $1k. So, things, in a way, feel as if they've progressed since the last time I checked, which was in 2004. Still, I can't help but feel reamed when I find those occasional deals for a Teac 80-8 for $150 and another for a gazillion. This is one of those exceptional cases where you may NOT get what you pay for. Although I'm even tempted to go beyond that and say that the cheaper ones are more likely to be in working condition than the more expensive ones, I won't.
On an unrelated note, I've also jumped on the bike community, which is seeing similar market patterns where people are pawning off their shoddy merchandise using the shibboleths of the biking community at jacked up rates. And I think the similarities between these two markets left me a bit irksome and led me to my li'l rant. I'll try to restrain myself a bit in the future.
Also, to actually answer your original post, I personally don't think it's a bargain, but that's only because I've already set a cap for the amount I'm willing to spend on one. I look at really inconsequential things like specs and think the 1/4" bit is the deal-breaker for me although if divided into four tracks, each track gets as much real estate as on an 8 track that uses 1/2" tape.
But then again, I don't know much about this kit and maybe you can clue me in on what really shines on this thing. It looks friggn great, though!
Vintage Texas
New member
The 3440 model is popular and what I can see in the pictures, in really good condition, not abused as many others, heads show low wear.
IMHO the 3440 sounds better then 34, more robust, better motors and quality.
A 34 tuned right and serviced is a good machine, don't get me wong but many suffer bad capstan-motor and weak reel-motors.
Always better to check out a deck first before buying, but again if you pay with Pay Pal and item is not as stated, you can always get your money back.
IMHO the 3440 sounds better then 34, more robust, better motors and quality.
A 34 tuned right and serviced is a good machine, don't get me wong but many suffer bad capstan-motor and weak reel-motors.
Always better to check out a deck first before buying, but again if you pay with Pay Pal and item is not as stated, you can always get your money back.