sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
For SteveM
Like Ethan's find, it was a craigslist deal...I'm telling you, craigslist is the place. I occasionally do a Google search for "Tascam craigslist". That's how I found my M520 console as well for $80 total (not including the gas to drive the 700 mile round trip
but I was getting 31 ~ 32 mpg...
)
The deal for my 48 and 58 pair came up right after I had finished a CD project tracked/mixed/mastered digitally. I was so frustrated with the digital grit in the vocal tracks (granted they were tracked at another location out of state at 16bit/44.1kHz with a low-end preamp/converter), but I tracked the drums onsite at 24bit 44.1kHz and it was another in a long list of recording experiences to digital where it was so hard to get the drums to sound natural. They couldn't breathe. They were choked and so I felt I had to work with the digital and augment what that process was doing to the drum sound rather than letting the instrument sound lead. Does that make sense? I had done limited work with a 3340S early on in my experience and it seemed like, in the back of my mind/bottom of my heart I was always trying to get that sound. I thought I could do it with better converters or pre's or outboard hardware dynamics processing or whatever, but the drums always got choked to some degree. Now this is not to say that it can't be done with better gear, and more than likely a better engineer
, but I had run up against a wall. I do love what digital tracking does for the drums for certain styles, but it feels limiting to me in that regard. So I started thinking about getting back into analog. I bought a 238 for cheap that had problems, but even with the problems, after some quick tracking with my bass I was freaking out...oh MAN the life and detail that was there! So I returned the 238 because it didn't perform as advertised and settled on lookin for a 38. Had no clue what I was doing, but I knew that was the direction I had to go. eBayeBayeBay...and then I thought craigslist. So I searched my region and lo and behold here is this listing from a pro video production house for a 48 and a 58. Original picture in the listing:
No price. I call them and I ask the guy what they want for them. I'd never even heard of the 48 or 58, but I figured the model number is bigger, it must be better right?
The guy answers "Mmmm...$250." And I figure he means each and I'm amped at that but when I ask he answers "No, for both." So I gave them a down payment over the phone site unseen and went and got them a couple days later. The business had acquired them when they bought out a couple smaller production houses, at least that's what the guy could remember. They had been unused for some time, but as I now know are both relatively very clean, and low-hours units. I was fortunate. Its been nearly 2 years now. Its been slow, but I have learned so much. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything and I feel like I rescued the beasts from a place of passive disrespect and it has been a pursuit to learn how to care and feed them appropriately.
More than you wanted to know, but that's the story in a nutshell.
Ethan, sorry again for hijacking the thread. Back to your story...
Like Ethan's find, it was a craigslist deal...I'm telling you, craigslist is the place. I occasionally do a Google search for "Tascam craigslist". That's how I found my M520 console as well for $80 total (not including the gas to drive the 700 mile round trip
but I was getting 31 ~ 32 mpg...)The deal for my 48 and 58 pair came up right after I had finished a CD project tracked/mixed/mastered digitally. I was so frustrated with the digital grit in the vocal tracks (granted they were tracked at another location out of state at 16bit/44.1kHz with a low-end preamp/converter), but I tracked the drums onsite at 24bit 44.1kHz and it was another in a long list of recording experiences to digital where it was so hard to get the drums to sound natural. They couldn't breathe. They were choked and so I felt I had to work with the digital and augment what that process was doing to the drum sound rather than letting the instrument sound lead. Does that make sense? I had done limited work with a 3340S early on in my experience and it seemed like, in the back of my mind/bottom of my heart I was always trying to get that sound. I thought I could do it with better converters or pre's or outboard hardware dynamics processing or whatever, but the drums always got choked to some degree. Now this is not to say that it can't be done with better gear, and more than likely a better engineer
, but I had run up against a wall. I do love what digital tracking does for the drums for certain styles, but it feels limiting to me in that regard. So I started thinking about getting back into analog. I bought a 238 for cheap that had problems, but even with the problems, after some quick tracking with my bass I was freaking out...oh MAN the life and detail that was there! So I returned the 238 because it didn't perform as advertised and settled on lookin for a 38. Had no clue what I was doing, but I knew that was the direction I had to go. eBayeBayeBay...and then I thought craigslist. So I searched my region and lo and behold here is this listing from a pro video production house for a 48 and a 58. Original picture in the listing:
No price. I call them and I ask the guy what they want for them. I'd never even heard of the 48 or 58, but I figured the model number is bigger, it must be better right?
The guy answers "Mmmm...$250." And I figure he means each and I'm amped at that but when I ask he answers "No, for both." So I gave them a down payment over the phone site unseen and went and got them a couple days later. The business had acquired them when they bought out a couple smaller production houses, at least that's what the guy could remember. They had been unused for some time, but as I now know are both relatively very clean, and low-hours units. I was fortunate. Its been nearly 2 years now. Its been slow, but I have learned so much. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything and I feel like I rescued the beasts from a place of passive disrespect and it has been a pursuit to learn how to care and feed them appropriately.More than you wanted to know, but that's the story in a nutshell.
Ethan, sorry again for hijacking the thread. Back to your story...
Bummer. Might actually be the same assembly with a differing part number to differentiate the deck model...
