Refurbished Tascam M-30 and M-216 mixers

[lo.fi.love]

Hey folks,

I'm getting rid of a few things in my studio and I'm wondering what to do about the Tascam M-30 and M-216 mixers that I've got in storage.

I'm considering doing a total tear-down restoration on both of them. Clean everything, replace missing knob caps, AND a complete re-cap.

I'm curious to know what these two mixers could sell for when they're re-capped and restored. Does anyone have an idea? The compulsive fix-it part of me wants to do it only for fun, but I'd like to know if it's worth the effort and if my savings account will appreciate the income from selling these.

Another thought is to find a 38 and two DX-4Ds to restore and sell along with the M-216. That is, to make it more appealing as a total package.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!!
Jeff

 

[jedblue]

I've been watching all these old consoles going on eBay over the last few months for a pittance Jeff. Tascams, Tridents, Soundcrafts, Soundtracs, et al. Good 16/8 & 24/8 frames and no one wants them. Immaculate M3500 the other day for around $800. I've been tempted a few times but I just do not need another recording console nor do I have anywhere to put it. I can't see these days how you could possibly get your money back on a recap job if you then try to sell it. If you're keeping it for your own use, sure, but to sell, I dunno?? Maybe a clean up and some knob work to buff them up then straight on to eBay with no reserve and take what you can get for them? And I'd add a few bucks on for packing and handling to make sure they arrive as sent when they do sell.

 

[cjacek]

I agree with that. It's just not worth it at all. No one will appreciate the "restoration" and you will lose out, both in time and money. What's more is that you may actually devalue your item, as crazy as it sounds.

 

[sweetbeats]

Amen and +100 to the above, Jeff.

You've seen my M-520 that I had...pretty-pretty-pretty. It was a labor of love and learning. Well worth it and opened the door to other things. It sold for $700 and I believe the market has actually come down since then. I spent a lot of man-hours on it and the board itself wasn't even recapped...the PSU was, but not the board and I *still* put a ton of time in. Save your TLC energy for the stuff you are keeping.

Cut your losses.

Do a quick clean on them and get what you can for them now because I don't think they are going to be collectables.

Window cleaner, a terry-cloth towel, toothbrush and an air-duster...put the caps in a basket in the dishwasher, blow the dust off, a good wipe down, toothbrush to loosen up the more stubborn dust and call it good.

That is honestly what I would do. I've spent way too much time putting energy into stuff that is just to sell and cjacek is right...99,999 people out of 100,000 won't get it or appreciate it.

And you'll only loose out more on a package deal...this stuff is more lucrative when sold separately IMO.

Sorry to rain on ya but I hate to think of you putting a bunch of time into spiffing those things up when they aren't going to help you do more cool tape delay stuff.

If you think about keeping one of them as a backup mixer or location mixer, or even for cue mixes I'd keep the M-30.

The M-216 may have better market appeal just because it has more channels.