I have a TSR-8 paired with
a TASCAM M-216. I bought the board new around 1990 and it’s still going strong – never had an issue.
In my 25 years of doing this I’ve seen a general decline in build quality, along with a decline in consumer savvy. Part of it is the outsourcing to China factor… dismal quality control.
Manufacturers appear to have realized how undiscriminating much of their consumer base is, and want to see just how low they can go… what they can get away with. A nicer way to look at it (giving manufacturers the benefit of the doubt) I would say they are obliging a new class of home recordists with rather low expectations.
The gap between “Pro”and Semi-pro, or “Prosumer” is much greater than 20 years ago. There is clearly a whole new level or two below the old lowest level. There are more toy-like products available than in time past. Things are being produced for every income level – nearly everyone can afford something. One just has to be aware that some products shouldn’t even be on your radar… if you’re serious, even if they are in the Musicians Friend catalog.
A few of the new Chinese made A&H, Mackie and Behringer boards appear to be made from the same general chassis – just branded differently.
The thing about the 80’s is that it was a time when the home/project studio niche was developing, so manufacturers were competing with quality in mind. Once the industry was well established, manufacturers had to cut corners to compete in a market inundated with low cost choices.
Not all old boards are to be preferred though just because they’re old. Companies like TASCAM had their share of hits and misses, in the 80’s and 90’s.
I can highly recommend the TASCAM M-300 and M-200 series, as well as the M-2600 MKII. In fact, TASCAM recommended the M-200 series for use with the TSR-8 in product literature of the time. As a rule, I would choose an old Studiomaster or TASCAM over any Made in China anything, but there are exceptions.
Most old boards can be improved with newer op-amps that weren’t available when they were made, and other mods. That’s another consideration… do you like hacking and upgrading? If you do, something like the M-200 series are easy to work on. By the way, the headroom on those boards is phenomenal.
There are good boards being made, but most worth considering are in a higher cost bracket than their older counterparts… and of course now you can buy the old boards for a song on eBay.
Now that I’ve pissed off every music store salesman on the forum, I’ll leave it there.
Good hunting,
~Tim
