388? 87 lbs and 1985. A ton of fun, no doubt, an awesome machine.
Okay, it's hard to stack the 388 directly against the 38 and TSR8, because the 388 includes a killer 8x8x2 mixer, that pretty much sets it apart from the others. The 38 and TSR8 require an external mixer, at an extra cost.
Likewise, the 388 is all-complete, including dbx NR, and the 38 requires external DX-4D dbx units [2], also at an extra cost.
The TSR8, however, does include built-in DBX noise reduction.
The 388 runs on 1/4" tape on 7" reels, & is spec'd for 1800' reels of [Ampex] Quantegy 457, but will work well with 1200' reels of 456, being an equivalent. 1/4"-7" media cost is about $7-$10/reel, retail, but I have a line on 456-compatible new Quantegy tape, on 1200'/7" reels, white box, for $2.95/reel. That's the best reel deal going, right now.
The 38 and TSR 8 are both 1/2" machines. 1/2" tape can cost $40-$50/reel, for about 30 minutes of record time at 15 ips. Production cost is higher on 1/2", but so is resulting production value.
The 388 is a great machine, that sounds great, and is an all-in-one Portastudio fanatics dream come true. Sound quality is very good-to-excellent, well above the cassette Portastudio's capability. The 388's a noticeable, appreciable boost in production value over cassette 4-track.
The 38 and TSR8 are also great machines in their own right, that are also a relative cut above in hifi audio, over the 388. The difference between 1/4" track width in production and 1/2", is that the 1/2" has more headroom, which means the 1/2" tape can hold more raw magnetism, track-for-track, than 1/4" tape. Therefore, you get a higher signal-to-noise ratio, given that all other factors are equal.
Also, an important factor is that the 388 runs 7.5 ips and the 38 & TSR8 run at 15 ips, so you'd get another boost in hifi audio quality at 15 ips, relative to 7.5 ips. However, that being said, the 388 running at 7.5 ips sounds really great, and it's not a huge issue, considering what you get in the all-in-one 388.
There's a formula, which escapes me now, but there's an appreciable bump up in production value & sound quality, when going from 1/4" wide to 1/2" wide tape. You have to pay for that bump up in quality, though. For every level you go up in tape-reels and production formats, there's a relatively higher cost.
Any production format you choose, there's relative costs and tradeoffs, so for however much you want to pursue more professional sound quality, consider the costs associated with it.
IMO, it's worth it. For however much a 388, 38 & M30 mixer, or TSR8 & M308 mixer costs, it's relative, but those units & basic formats are very worthwhile. Also, FWIW, considering the cost ratio, the 4-track cassette Portastudio and/or Syncaset is still well worth it's relative cost.
For however much you want to place yourself into multitracking, you just weigh the options, and buy in at the relative level you feel comfortable at.
Q: Which do I have: 4-track cassette Portastudios, Syncasets, the 388 or the 38 & matching M30 mixer?
A: All of the above.
