I think, as far as the recorder, ultimately you should do what works best for you. You know my opinion…I would almost consider the R8 more portable than a 238 because it takes up a much smaller footprint than a 238 in a rack…even has a carry handle…I/O conveniently located on the top…detachable integrated full function control panel…it’s a really smart design. But I do understand your points about media cost. But, for me, the better performance and stable functionality outweigh this. A good condition 238 with a new reel table drive tire and Athan pinch roller can perform with stability, it’s just more “on the edge” trying to obtain and maintain that stability across all 8 tracks compared to something like the Fostex.
Back to the mixer…there are lots of contemporary options that would work fine from Yamaha, Mackie, Allen & Heath…I like the early generation MixWizard consoles…vertical per-channel PCBs, plenty of AUX busses, 4-band EQ with swept mid bands, etc…lots of good features and even a 16 channel console still fits in a 19” rack if you want it in one. The WZ20:8:2 is the one to get for multitrack recording if you can find one, but they are rare. I don’t like the value-engineering that is part and parcel to most contemporary offerings. The SMT circuitry including caps I think impacts the sound. Now I sound like a snob. They’re also harder to work on. The monoplanar PCB designs and tiny pots and switches don’t last…so that’s one reason I like something a little older and the 80s Tascam stuff is easy enough to find and checks a lot of the boxes for me, but not all the 80s Tascam stuff checks the same boxes. For smaller format I’m really talking about the M-300 series…in a little bit bigger size the M-2600-16 is actually a really unique board as far as the audio power rails and signal path. The M-500 series have a lot of unique features too but physically are so much larger. But never underestimate the value of a device constructed of all through-hole components like all of the above for ease of troubleshooting and repair…SO much easier than SMT stuff. And, again, I think it sounds better. For compact 8-track setups I really like the Tascam M-308. The inline monitoring and routing flexibility are something that is lacking in most any small format “budget” console over the past 20-25 years and is still highly practical for analog setups...hybrid too. I also like that it is based around the 5532 opamp, which I also think sounds good. What I *don’t* like about the M-300 series, and it’s not specific to that line or brand, really…extremely common in all sorts of more budget bracket products from a wide range of manufacturers, is the use of phenolic resin PCBs vs glass fiber, and the use of buss PCBs to connect all the channel PCBs together…this combination results in repairs needed over the years because of failed solder joints. It’s harder to service because, in order to remove a channel PCB, you have to remove the whole buss PCB…and every time you pull it apart it weakens the solder joints, and this is exacerbated as a result of the weaker phenolic resin PCB material. Enter a relatively obscure offering that was contemporary to the M-300 series made by BiAmp. I think they are pretty under-the-rader…but also that’s because there weren’t as many made. But the first analog console I ever really worked on or operated was a BiAmp 12-28. This was a 12-channel 8-buss console with 3-band mid-sweep EQ, long throw faders, a comprehensive monitor section, inline monitoring, etc…well-suited for FOH and recording applications…all made in the USA. At the time I didn’t know or appreciate the details about these consoles and in the last couple years got myself up-to-speed. They are also “budget” consoles, but knowing what I know now I think they are worth considering if one is looking for a “vintage” budget-friendly console and one comes across one. I found an 8-24 a couple years ago for really cheap, and made the nostalgia-driven decision to bring it home. The 8-24 is in the same series as the 12-28 I used decades ago. Like the Tascam M-308, the 8-24 is an 8-channel 4-buss console with dedicated master buss as well as mono sum buss. What I didn’t realize in the past, but learned after opening it up and also getting ahold of the schematics, is it is also 5532-based, all the PCBs are thick glass fiber type, the PCB interconnection is by relatively large pin Molex ribbon cables…these can require a little work…exercising the connections, reseating the punch-in wire connections, but I’d take these any day over a phenolic resin buss PCB. And you can get an individual PCB out without having to disconnect everything. The 8-24 also has a pretty beefy power supply compared to the Tascam…like, the main transformer is huge. AND…the audio rails are +/-18V vs the more garden-variety +/-15V on the Tascam, so significantly higher headroom on the BiAmp. They properly biased the signal path so no polar coupling were able to be used, which is more expensive and sonically better. There’s just a lot of evidence of greater attention to sonically and build-quality in the 8-24 compared to the M-308. The 8-24 has some very useful global mode switching, along with the aforementioned individual inline monitoring, and unlike the Tascam there is zero logic switching…all very straight-forward circuitry. A number of 80s vintage Tascam stuff is starting to experience logic IC failures, but the BiAmp consoles have no logic switching ICs. I also think this is better for sound in cases where signal actually passes through the logic circuitry like in the Tascam. I like the analog VU meters on the Tascam, though the VF meters on the BiAmp look cool too. But the Tascam metering is better. But my overall assessment of the BiAmp is it is a much more robust build than the Tascam, has better headroom, more flexible monitoring options, is made in the USA (not too far from me actually), and overall has a better feature set. I also like that the hi and lo EQ bands are shelving on the BiAmp. One down-side to the BiAmp is the form factor of the push switches is smaller than the Tascam. They don’t last as long. Fortunately nearly all of the switches are identical, and they are pretty cheap brand new when purchased in the quantity needed, so if one has to replace them it’s not terribly expensive. Neither the Tascam or the BiAmp have phase inversion or HPF functions, which is unfortunate. But they are both still great vintage mixers. On top of it all the BiAmp just looks cool:
View attachment 149314
Here’s a view of the guts exposed…you can see the glass fiber PCBs, ribbon cable interconnects, and the power supply is at the top…huge power transformer and heat sink for the regulators:
View attachment 149315
Anyway, it’s another option you likely don’t know about.
