Just Scored My New Studio Set-up

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Sennheiser

Sennheiser

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I just won an auction on E-bay for a TASCAM 38-8, two TASCAM DBX DB-4 NR units and an M-30 mixing console.

Plus a new reel of Quantegy 456, the deck manual, all of the connecting cables for the rig and a tape splice block.

The deck has had a recent alignment when the pinch roller was replaced and everything is in excellent condition. I just hope it arrives that way when the UPS gorrilla's get through with it.

I can't wait to start tracking with this new stuff. I have dreamed of being able to produce a professional quality aster tape. I remember going into the Pro Audio store back in the mid-'80's and drooling all over machines like this that had price tags that were in orbit for that time. $3600 for a TASCAM 38-8 was way out of range for me at that time.

Adding in a decent four or eight buss mixer, connecting cables, tape, and on and on, would have put me in the poor house back then.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about the whole thing so I thought I'd put something into this dead forum. Am I the only one on this board that uses 1/2" tape?
 
Nice score. Is that a 1/2" 8track? Post some stuff when you get a chance, I can't wait to hear it. Maybe you can A/B your casette vs. reel.
 
Yeah buddy! 1/2" eight track. I just expanded my track width by a factor of four! And God knows what the S/N ratio when up to.

I think with the DBX units it's up around 95dB or better at 15ips. I don't have the manual yet to check.
 
Yeah man, that's great! I caught you over 'there'.

As I said before, when it comes to the Tascam 38/M30, I'm a 'long time user'. I've had this setup since '83, and I know it inside and out. I think you made a good choice, and I hope the best for you with regard to damage-free shipment.

Most of the people I've heard disparage the 38 and/or M30 don't actually have one. I've been here and on Tascambbs for quite a while, and just trust me on this. JS always says the 38's no good, and that he recommends the TSR-8, [like a broken record], and he always says he had the M-3, and draws all his analogies about the M-30 from that. I'm here to tell you, that IMO he's wrong about those things, almost completely.

I'll also say, that on Tascambbs, a person with the initials of LR also talks about a lot of stuff he has no first hand experience with. Some people may not realize that, but I do. He always interjects himself into almost every topic, but his experience is limited to only a few Tascam devices, namely, the 246.

On the other hand, I have a Tascam 38, 34, 34B, 32, 388, MSR24, 234, 244, 246, 424mkII, 424mkIII, 564, PortaOne, M30, M312, MH-40, and MX-80. On the Fostex side, I have an A-8, A-8LR, Model 80, Model 20, E-2, and 350 mixer.

I don't call myself "A Reel Person" for nothing, but I'm not here to recite my resume'. I just wanted to point out who's credible and who's not, when it comes to Tascambbs. Sometimes I'll find people commenting on topics that they clearly have no idea of.

In general, on the 38, you should expect the 'normal' maintenance issues when it comes to a R/R the relative age of the 38. That doesn't mean they're bad, it's just normal for the analog world, that analog decks need periodic maintenance, especially after 15-20 years.

Fortunately, the one you bought was described as just having maintenance, and you should be good to go, on that.

Again, good luck, and tell us all how it goes after actual delivery!

Feel free to email me offboard, if you have any specific questions.

d.archuleta@att.net
 
Yeah, I just saw your post "over there". I know what you mean about LR. He is very knowledgable about many things, but I didn't get the vibe that he knew a whole lot about the large format TASCAM's.

But I remain polite and take it for what it's worth. He really clued me in on different patchbay configurations. Man I was out in left field on that one if it wasn't in an open configuration.

I do not comment at all on anything I have not owned or have no direct experience with or have never tried unless someone would like anyone to take a guess about a problem.

There are a couple other folks here from the TASCAM site too.

Using my one and nearly only mic, my Sennheiser MD-441U, do you think I will hear a great difference between the pre-'s in the M-30 and the 448?
 
Dude, the 38/DX-4D/M30 will rock your friggin socks off,...

as compared to the 488mkII.

The sound of the 38 is BIG, and the difference will be obvious, especially with dbx.

The M30 is a quiet board, with plenty of headroom. It is a relatively open architecture, with patching combinations limited only by your imagination. It's an 8x4x2x2 configuration, with 6-XLR's and 2-HIz-1/4" inputs. There's effects patch points on each channel as well as each buss. It has direct outs, tape ins, AND line ins, in parallel with the MIC ins, [switchable: MIC/LINE/TAPE].
There's a dedicated stereo buss monitor [4x2], and a dedicated stereo SUBMIX section, [8x2], which is switchable between PRE-FADER, POST-FADER and TAPE. All the functions are logically related, in an open, switchable/patchable architecture. Most things you need to do, you can do with a flip of a switch. Those things you can't do directly with the flip of a switch, you can do with some creative patching. You can do anything, really, including producing unwanted feedback loops, so be careful at first, until you get more familiar with the board.

The Tascam M30 is a great vintage 8x4x2x2 mixer that anyone can get for relatively low prices.

I was like you, always dreaming about gear I couldn't afford, but now with the boom in digital, and the relative crash of analog, prices on analog are very reasonable. I've gotten a lot of things lately, that I could never have dreamed of having, back when they were new. Now I can get it all!
 
No shit! I can't wait to hear my first mix.

From the photo of the back of the mixer on the e-bay page I could tell there was a lot of gozinto's and gozouta's but I couldn't read any of the lables. It sounds like a great vintage console with a lot of options.

Someone on another thread here, or "over there" mentioned that this board was about a grand when it was introduced. Amazing.
 
Sennheiser said:
Yeah buddy! 1/2" eight track. I just expanded my track width by a factor of four! And God knows what the S/N ratio when up to.

I think with the DBX units it's up around 95dB or better at 15ips. I don't have the manual yet to check.
Click to expand...

It probably should be. My Fostex A-8 (1/4") is practically noiseless with NR. Congratulations!
 
Wow!

I haven't seen that many analog recorders in one room since my last visit in the '80's to World Wide Music in Raytown, Missouri.

Nice set-up.
 
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