Newbie needs gear selection help

[A Reel Person]

Tascam 424mk2

 

[A Reel Person]

Tascam 424mk2, back!

 

[A Reel Person]

Tascam 424mk3, top and back!

Same pic!

 

[A Reel Person]

Found a better picture of the 244!

 

[A Reel Person]

And can you handle this?

Well, can'ya?

This is the Tascam 388, Studio 8, which is the ONLY reel-8-track Portastudio format recorder/mixer combo, EVER. It runs on 7" reels of 1/4" tape, and records up to 8 tracks simultaneously, through it's awesome, built-in 8x8x2 mixer. But, being appx 90 lbs, Tascam wouldn't DARE call this a "Portastudio". So, it's affectionately known as the "Studio 8". Dig.

This is an audiophile machine, folks. Only found as used on Ebay, & elsewhere, as it's a 15-year old unit. What's really cool, besides the design, is that the 388 can often be found at prices as low as the NEW 424mkIII, but is SO MUCH MORE for your gear buying dollar.

Need help carrying that to the car? Ha!

/DA

 

[A Reel Person]

Here's the tape compartment of the Tascam 388.

 

[A Reel Person]

Here's a closeup of the 388's mixer.

 

[A Reel Person]

The 388's mixer back panel, FWIW.

 

[A Reel Person]

Okay, let me not forget the Tascam 234 Syncaset.

Cassette based analog 4-track. Can be used with or without a mixer, and accepts either RCA or 1/4" MIC/LINE inputs, with input TRIM, and ONBOARD STEREO CUE MONITOR, which is mainly for cue, but can be brought into service as a simple stereo mixdown mixer.

This unit is a gem, folks. Can often be found for under $100, but average probably $145, used/Ebay gear.

 

[A Reel Person]

Tascam 234, back panel.

C'ya!

 

[A Reel Person]

The 234 would be nicely matched with the Tascam M30 mixer.

... among others!

 

[The Ghost of FM]

77 minutes west of Toronto, by car.

Here's the rest of the contact info for Tele- Tech

Tele-Tech Sales Ltd
Phone: (905)475-5646

211 Telson Road, Markham, ON L3R 1E7

There not open on weekends but, give them a call on Monday and see if they have what you are looking for.

I get all my TASCAM stuff serviced there and Patrick, the head technician, is a wizard at bringing back the dead as well as healing the crippled!! Regarding equipment, strictly, that is...

Cheers!

 

[A Reel Person]

Aw shucks! Here's the M30 back panel!

I'm outta here!

 

[The Ghost of FM]

This is just a hunch but, I bet that ARP's family photo album has on shot of the wife and kids and 4000 shots of his equipment!!

Thanks for the photo essay, man!

Cheers!

 

[A Reel Person]

Let's hear it, for GFM, and the Tascam 22-4 w/RC-71 remote!

GFM, You're more right than you think!

 

[A Reel Person]

Here's the cute little Porta One!

 

[A Reel Person]

I just couldn't resist this one! Another 424mk2 !

 

[cjacek]

I'm curious as to why the 246 kicks the 424 when it comes to features. I looked at the 246 and couldn't tell how it was better (if both were in mint condition.)

Thanks for the answers. It's very nice to have you around here having owned both and actually making good comparisons.

I would like to add to the great (and lengthy ) replies that Dave "A Reel Person" posted re this. I say, in addition to what Dave said re the features superiority of the 246, that the 246 significantly outperforms the 424, 424mk2, 424mk3 in the area of sound quality. The 246 has a much better mic preamp/amplifier section and that translates into much more robust recordings. The mixer is cleaner, quiter and capable of a lot more sound pressure levels. Fact is that the 246 is much better, in features and sound quality than any other cassette portastudios made after it. I dare to say it competes very well with digital porastudios and in many cases surpasses these with its nice and robust sound. The only other "portastudio" (with mixer built in) that achieves the same sound quality as the 246 is its stripped down cousin, the 244.

Daniel

 

[cjacek]

Re: The 246 kicks ass, first of all, because it's a 4-buss mixer matrix.

So, any of 246's 6-input channels, with full EQ, Aux and channel strip, can be routed to any of 4 output busses, and thus, to any 4 tape tracks.

A 4-buss design [246] is a lot more advanced than a 2-buss design, [L/R-Stereo], like on the 424, [8x2 mixer] but the 424 gets added utility with the DIRECT-to-4 recording mode. Still, direct-to-4 as in the 424std/II/III is not as high an engineering feauture as true 6x4, 4-buss mixer, [246].

Also, the 246's dark brown motif, with real VU meters [6], and wildly bright colored knobs, makes the 246 an example of vintage 4-track Portastudio engineering excellence.

The 246's design features go well beyond the 424's. On the other hand, a 424mkII is still a fine machine, and it's relatively a lot newer, to say nothing of the still-available-as-new 424mkIII, which IMO is the best analog new 4-track out there.

Vintage equipment, as in the 246, is a whole other level of engineering, when you get down to it, on several choice Tascam units, starting but not ending with the 246.

That being said, I do have the 424mkII and 424mkIII, and they're fine recorders that I like very much. I produced a whole album's worth of cover material on the 424mkII, the [Dave's] Ramones Tribute Album [cd] that was part of my 'Davemania' 4-cd set.

But, stacking up the 246 & the likes of the 424, the 246 wins, and I have a 246, also. [two, acutally]./DA

- We were talking about self-contained 4-track analog recorders, eh?

From notebook sized to moderate-suitcase-sized analog 4-trackers, means nothing to me, except "Tascam Portastudio", with the exception of the "Tascam 234 Syncaset", which is an overdubbing 4-tracker, with cue/stereo mixer, but not a full mixer, and therefore is a "Syncaset" and not a "Portastudio".

Maybe I should sign off, before I repeat myself any more.

I'll admit, that I'm a 4-track analog fanatic, as well a a vintage analog fanatic of all track numbers and formats, and it's a tough decision, based on what's out there.

You want top of the line in brand new equipment, 4-track analog, then go GC or musiciansfriend, and get the brand new 424mkIII.

If you're into the used/vintage scene, then there's a LOT of equipment out there, and you just have to shop and bid on a truly mint item, which I assure you, people are dragging out of their closets from time to time, in Like-New-in-box condition, and selling them on EBAY. I assure you, it's possible still to find absolutely mint items that are 15-20 years old, right now and until further notice.

Case in point, among many other things, I have two very mint 246's, that look new-in-box, and function perfectly. Got them for an appreciably good deal, too. That's just an example, but the deals are out there. Enough about me.

GOSH, forgot to mention, that the 246 has 2-band SWEEPABLE EQ, and the 424mk2/3 has 3-band EQ w/2-FIXED and 1-SWEEPABLE, so there's a relative difference there. It's a fine hair to split, but I think the 2-band sweepable [246-EQ] is better. YMMV.

Good luck! C'ya

You forgot to mention that the 246 has 1/4" channel inserts

Daniel

 

[Dethska]

Damn, I'm sorry I asked.

And I'm sorry I said you were showing off before. Now you are really showing off.

Thanks for the info. I hope you don't think I was disagreeing with you. I was just curious, as I've never heard of the 246. It looks really cool, but I hear ya on the 15-20 years old vs. 5 years old on the 424mkii.

Thanks for all the pictures. The 388 looks pretty cool, how hard is it to find the tape it uses? Do you buy regular tape and load 7" reels?

Okay, since it seems you are having fun talking about this stuff, I'll completely hijack this thread and ask how the 388 stacks up against the 38. I realize that there are very different units, but they both have 8 tracks. And for grins, throw in the TSR-8.