So whats going on with those old 4 track recorders prices?

[IronWine]

hello folks. after some consultation here i decided to go with an old tascam 246. but after checking some prices on ebay - gee!

the good ones starting at around 500-600 USD. non-operating ones for 100USD and more. and as i have no electronical knowledge, that would be an expensive mission.

what u guys thinkin about these prices? i went thru some posts from aroumd 3-5 years ago and a decent number of people got good units for like 150USD. is it just gonna go up and up?

cheers

 

[mdainsd]

Well, it is a finite resource of those machines and currently interest is them is high. Keep checking eBay and your local online sales pub like craig's list for them, be patient and you will get one for a price you can be happy with. A month ago I was walking through a thrift store and sitting there was a Yamaha vesion of a 4 channel porta-studio. Price: $9.95.

 

[miroslav]

Yeah...anything well-kept and without issues is going to fetch a higher price because there's nothing new being made....not for close to 20 years now.

Not looking to pimp it here/now....but I'm planning to sell my Fostex G16 any day now (as soon as I'm done with my studio upgrade project)...and since I have a clean, fully operational unit, with some new spare parts, all the accessories, and a second working parts deck...I plan to ask a high price for it, because there won't be another like it anywhere eBay.

 

[j.harv]

Ebay is not the place to go for these kind of things. Check your local classified.\
I got a mint in box 246 with accessories for $100. I bought my 244 from former HR member Ghost of FM for $50 .It did need a repair though. And I got a 424mkII in mint shape for $60.
Heck.... I bought 2 Tascam 388s for less than what a lot of four track cassettes are going for on ebay.
Got those both on local classified. $150 and $500
Keep looking.

 

[miroslav]

If you live in an audio industry "hub" (like Nashville, LA, NYC, Portland, etc)...your local classifieds might be a better option than eBay, but I don't think you can be eBay for world-wide opportunities.

I check Craigslists from all over the USA, always targeting the bigger cities...and it's slim pickings....though it depends on what you are looking for.
If you're looking for a guitar, you can practically buy those in the most remote town in the Yukon......if you're looking for something less common, you need to go where there are the most For Sale items.
I've purchased a few things from local, newspaper or website ads....but I always get that "concern", buying from and meeting someone locally if it's a higher-ticket item. For a couple of hundred bucks, it's not major risk.

There's also that new, audio gear only auction site...Reverb that looks like it's growing and getting better, but I've yet to buy or list anything there...though their rates are better than eBay, I just don't think they get as much play as eBay if you are a seller...and if you are a buyer, then you want to go where the sellers are.

Not sure where the hot spots are in Canada, but I would guess Montreal, Toronto, etc...

 

[witzendoz]

Of course there is the sellers wishful price and the reality price.

Seller view: "classic old portastudio irreplaceable and rare" = $1000
Buyer view: Crappy 20 Year old portastudio with dirty pots and 1 track not working" = $10


Alan.

 

[IronWine]

well i couldn't resist it and i got a good condition AKAI MG614 today. paid like 350$ for it, i live in israel and the market here is tiny. probably its one of 5 units around here lol.



thank you all

 

[Evom]

Is this old Fostek any good, worth buying? It's condition is unknown but told working. Around $100. I plan to take a cassette recorded on a Tascam 244 to see if it will play although worried that DBX might cause playback issues plus will the tape speed be the same?

 

[famous beagle]

well i couldn't resist it and i got a good condition AKAI MG614 today. paid like 350$ for it, i live in israel and the market here is tiny. probably its one of 5 units around here lol.

View attachment 96645

thank you all

Cool machine, I hope it works well! Good luck and have fun with it!

 

[rob aylestone]

ebay is no longer the place for bargains. My permanent search categories produce less and less each week. Also - there is a huge rise in American items appearing on ebay.co.uk My selection of UK only keeps resetting, and US sales of this kind of audio gear are being pushed hard here. Too many people looking for bargains. I now do a one bid approach. I bid what I think it's worth and don;t get into bidding races. People want far too much.

 

[famous beagle]

Is this old Fostek any good, worth buying? It's condition is unknown but told working. Around $100. I plan to take a cassette recorded on a Tascam 244 to see if it will play although worried that DBX might cause playback issues plus will the tape speed be the same?
View attachment 96650

You need to find out what speed the Fostex and Tascam play at. Many recorders feature switchable speed (standard and 2x), but not all do. The noise reduction will cause issues as well if they don't use the same type. I don't know if they do. It will still play, obviously, but it won't sound quite right.

 

[famous beagle]

ebay is no longer the place for bargains. My permanent search categories produce less and less each week. Also - there is a huge rise in American items appearing on ebay.co.uk My selection of UK only keeps resetting, and US sales of this kind of audio gear are being pushed hard here. Too many people looking for bargains. I now do a one bid approach. I bid what I think it's worth and don;t get into bidding races. People want far too much.

I always do only one bid as well. I make a decision as to what I'm willing to pay and then (assuming I can get free) I enter that bid with 5 or 6 seconds left in the auction. Bidding earlier only increases the chance of the value going up.

 

[Evom]

Yeah correct. I bought it and plays great. Very good condition machine for at least 25 years old! I think the eq is limited but workable. Better without Dolby of course. Glad to have found a compatable machine till I can get my Tascam 244 fully working again.

 

[Level Anything]

I started a thread about this last Fall after seeing a 246 sell for almost 1K. I sell 4-tracks and reel to reels in the NYC area and a couple months ago I found a 246 in really questionable condition. The seller wanted to meet in a parking lot, so I couldnt test it but I got a good feeling from him so I bought it. I knew the belts were shot but the heads were barely used. I fixed it up and cleaned it up and this thing was so nice. I also had bought some other stuff recently so i was forced to go ahead with my plan to sell it. I put it up for $475 on ebay a couple weeks back and it sold but then the buyer wanted to pay only the cheapest shipping available so I cancelled the sale (not to mention it takes a month for the money to go to yr account.) I felt bad about selling it that high anyways so I put it on craigslist for $350 and ended up giving ti to some young dude who is just starting out in tape recording for $320. Keep checking CL, you'll find a deal. F ebay.

 

[Evom]

Found this Yamaha MT 120, 2 speed, 4 track. Going for about $240 AUD. interestingly, it has switchable DBX. I wonder if it would be compatible with tapes made on a Tascam 244. The speeds are switchable but not variable as on my 244.

This is from the same shop I bought the Fostek 4 track. They say the Yamaha works well but I haven't tried it.

Worth getting? Any opinions on Yamaha 4 tracks?

Cheers!

 

[Level Anything]

IMO, save yr money. Unless you really want it. Yamaha 4-tracks are good, I had the MT4 or something like that, back in the late 90's and it was great. Quality stuff, but that's too much money for that model.

 

[witzendoz]

View attachment 97079
Found this Yamaha MT 120, 2 speed, 4 track. Going for about $240

Way too much money, you only buy these things if you are a collector or really want to be retro, you also will need some tech ability.

Alan