need advice choosing a tascam present...

[Drplaid]

My son has asked for a Tascam 424 for Xmas. Finding one seems to be no problem for around $120. I have found A DP-01FX for about the same price. All I really know is that one is going to record to cassette, the other a CD. Is the move to the DP a good one, or am I missing something?

:Technically incompetent in Minneapolis

 

[steveneudaly]

Actually, if I am not mistaken, the DP-01FX records to a built-in hard drive at "CD quality." There is a USB port to move the recorded files to a computer. As your son's abilities grow, he'll be able to use the DP-01FX in conjunction with a computer and DAW software to eventually build quite the portfolio. Of course, he could do this with tape, but copying and sharing recordings could become an issue. You may want to ask him why he specified a tape-based recorder.

If your son is looking to start recording, in today's world, I think it would be much more valuable to be working in the digital medium provided by the DP-01FX. However, there's always something to be said for learning the old-school.

$120 for the DP-01FX sounds like a great bargain.

 

[bunt]

I totally agree with everything steven said above. But... are you sure about that price? I see DP-01FX new for about $350. I did see a few used ones for $225

 

[Drplaid]

Price on Tascam

I found the FD101 on Craigslist today for $125, and it looks to be in great condition!

 

[Drplaid]

Old school thoughts...

My son is very technically savvy, but he also likes to old-school it. He has an old royal typewriter, and a Selectric. He really like cassettes and is interested, but has not yet bought into, LP's. So I am really riding the fence on whether to go Platform-forward with the digital capabilities, or throwback to the tapes.

 

[dodgeaspen]

It would be nice to stay analog if he likes the sound and things. IMO as unfortionate as it is I think analog is becoming a lost art. I don't just mean the analog products but the people who have the knack to use it.

 

[TeyshaBlue]

I'd go with the Tascam as well. It's reliable as hell. No fussing with file names and file transfers. It will teach him the basics of multitrack recording and signal path logic much better than a digital box. The lessons he will learn on the 424 will be priceless and will be a benefit as he grows into more sophisticated machines later down the road.

 

[steveneudaly]

My son is very technically savvy, but he also likes to old-school it.

Enough said. He'll love the 424.

+1 to Drplaid for being a parent that goes the extra mile.

 

[Armistice]

You can get him a Sony Discman too... or a video player (preferably beta...)

My $0.02 is go digital.

Didn't even know you could buy cassettes any more...

He'll enjoy snail mailing cassettes of his music off to his friends, I'm sure. Imagine they joy said friends will have when they open the envelope and wonder wtf it is they've been sent...

OK, kidding, but I'd stay with current technology. I used to have a 4 track cassette recorder, a Fostex, a fine machine, for its time.