Tascam 4 track: recommendations?

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technoplayer

Recovering Gear-aholic
I am looking for a good 4 track reel machine, and would like a Tascam/Teac.
The are several different ones out there (ebay etc) and I dont know the technical diifferences..which is most robust/newer model/best features...

Any recommendations?
The ones i have seen are : Tascam 34 (and 34B)
" 44
'' 3440
" 22-4
" 40-4

Also there seem to be TEAC version of several of these.
Any help or recommnedations would be apprecaited....Thanks

J
 
The 34b and 22-4 are the newest. The sound quality of these two machines is similar. The 34B is big and heavy, but takes 10' reels for more recording time. The 22-4 is lighter and easy on the back but only takes 7" reels. It is much friendlier to transport for on-site projects.

These machines record at the same speed (15 ips) and use the same heads.

If I were looking for one today I would go for the 22-4. The few extra features on the 34 don't really justify the extra expense, shipping cost and bulk.

:cool:
 
The 34 would be the newest and last available as new from TASCAM. Though they were introduced in the early 80's, TASCAM kept them in the line up for close to 20 years and were available brand new in the box up until a few short years ago.

You probably have the best odds of finding a low mileage one compared to the other models.

From a technical standpoint the 44 would be a more rugged design with slightly better specs but these machines are harder to find in truly good condition at this stage of the game as most of them were purchased by pro studios and got a lot of heavy usage. Parts and such may also be on the difficult side to find for them.

The 3340 and 3440 where kind of the " birth of a nation" type units and many of these are around on Ebay and elsewhere. They too are a good sounding deck and many were bought originally by home recording enthusiasts so it is still possible to find low mileage models of them too.

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks.....I'm not too concerned about size/weight( except for the shiiping of course). The 10.5" reels are nice cause these things eat tape at 15 ips.
Do any of these have DBX onboard, or should i plan on picking up an outboard unit?

thx...J
 
The dbx is outboard and optional on all of them. :o

Cheers! :)
 
Of the ones ON your list,...

the Tascam 44 is the most robust.

NOT on the list, is the 34 and 34B, both already mentioned as suitable machines.

The second best that's ON the list, is the 22-4, but note the description, above.

Each of these units is LESS dbx, and so would require the Tascam DX-4D, outboard dbx unit. I'm not sure if the 3440 and the 40-4 fully acommodate the DX-4D & it's control cable. The DX-4D will work properly with the 30-Series, the 44 and the 22-Series 4-track decks.

I'll leave it, at that. :eek: :confused: :rolleyes: ;)
 
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