Tascam 48?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris Shaeffer
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Chris Shaeffer

Chris Shaeffer

Peavey ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have an opportunity to pick up a Tascam 48 in great condition locally. I like having both balanced and unbalanced I/O and I was looking for a 1/2" 8 track to play with...

There is hardly any info on the net about this model, though, other than that it has more "pro" features than the 30 series.

Anyone familiar with the model? Anything I should know about it?

I know that's a vague and open-ended question, but the last reel-to-reel deck I used was something my Dad owned back when I was a teenager.

Thanks,
Chris
 
The 48 is indeed a way superior deck to the 38 and I say that as a 38 owner.

Everything from the ground up was designed differently and better then the 38.

The power supply is more robust.

The transport is a direct drive system, (no moldy belts). :)

The capstan drives the backing side of the tape so there is less drop-outs.

The capstan is also a ceramic construction so there's no worries with it being magnetized.

All 3 motors are under full servo control which makes possible remote control and synchronization via external machine control lock-up as slave or master.

The amp cards are said to offer more headroom, less noise and less distortion.

The tape counter is a proper minute and second design with reliable RTZ and STC functionality.

Overall, its a better built, better sounding deck and was originally marketed at the medium budget professional audio and audio for video sweetening market.

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks, Ghost.

I now know 200% more than I did when I posted. :D

Fortunately the machine comes with a big manual. This will be a fun adventure.

-C
 
Chris Shaeffer said:
This will be a fun adventure....
Click to expand...

...which, hopefully, will bring you to the point when you may wish to change your avatar :D

and good luck with the machine. :)

/respects
 
Ha! :D

Yeah, well... PT allows me to pay the bills. I mix analog when I can because its fun and sounds fantastic- and I'm not at all anti-digital.

But I miss VU meters (of all things) and really want to know what the difference betweeen tape and digital (as I can afford it) is. With 8 tracks I can track a drum kit and maybe a bass and digitize it to finish the project. I figure it can't hurt my clients to have the option.

And I want to have some fun, dammit! :D I know, I know- more work and maintainence than a digital system, but that (to my warped mind) is part of the fun. And the learning process.

I doubt I'll be scrapping PT and saving up for a 2" 24, but the 8-track might just supplant the mbox at my home studio. :D

-C
 
Chris Shaeffer said:
Ha! :D
I doubt I'll be scrapping PT and saving up for a 2" 24, but the 8-track might just supplant the mbox at my home studio. :D

-C
Click to expand...

You may find it to be more than a supplant. You could easily track a project entireley in the analog domain. Of course, without analog outboard gear, this can be tricky. Luckily, the M-Box has some pretty kick ass A/D, D/A converters, so you could run a signal through the M-box, through a Pro Tools plugin, and out back through the M-box to a channel on the 8-track. Rather than record w/ Pro-Tools, just use it's plugins, and record w/ the 8 track.

You could even run stuff out from the 8-track to Pro-tools when bouncing tracks to add effects and whatnot.

Then, run your stereo master mix through the Mbox to Sound Forge, or Pro Tools, whatever your preference for 2-track digital editing is.

Good choice with the M-box. Keepin' it simple. Even the BBC uses Mboxes for their sattelite broadcasts, so you can rest assured that it's a quality piece of digital gear.

LOTS of possibilities with your setup. That's just a few of a thousand.

callie
 
Thanks, Callie.

To give me even more options, the Mbox is just what I have in the bedroom. I have a 002, external convertors, outbaord gear and a mixer at the studio. The trick will be dividing the outboard gear between the two. :)

Wow. Hadn't even thought of using I/O in Pro Tools to record wet to tape! :eek: Now that's creative! Kind of role reversal in an odd sort of way.

I was thinking about archiving on tape since it *by far* out lives digital formats. Also thinking about sending stems to the 8-track and mixing vox up, down, etc. back to digital in whatever format it needs to be in- no more computer conversion stuff, just convert it from analog in the right format the first time. Not sure if that will help or hurt the sound, but I'm going to try it. More fun than buying a second computer to use as a mixdown machine, at any rate.

I'm sure someone else has done this and written about it somewhere, but my net searching hasn't turned up much reel-to-reel info so far. (shrug)

Thursday can't come quite fast enough. I have to drive 2 hours to pick it up, but even with CA gas prices the way they are it beets the pants off shipping.

Wish me luck. :)
Chris
 
Good luck, Chris! :)

If the machine you are getting was a decently maintained one, I think you'll find working with it is a pleasure in its intuitive nature of operation.

Cheers! :)
 
Well... 180 miles later... :D

I'm having so much fun with this thing! I was worried about how loud the machine would be, but its kinda fun to realize that is *quieter* than almost all desktop computers that aren't specially made for audio.

Ah, well. Spent all my energy on it tonight and not enough awakeness left to adequately describe how pleased I am.

Thanks for the help making up my mind on this.
-Chris
 
Chris Shaeffer said:
Well... 180 miles later... :D
Click to expand...
Welcome home, Chris.
Chris Shaeffer said:
Spent all my energy on it tonight and not enough awakeness left to adequately describe how pleased I am.
Click to expand...
Welcome home!, Chris :D

*************
btw, offtopic:
Chris Shaeffer said:
...all desktop computers that aren't specially made for audio...
Click to expand...
All desktop computers are made to compute while seating on top of the desk, regardlessly of what they were specially made for ;)
:D :D :D

/respects
 
:)

Been thinking quite a bit about that "home" feeling- you hit the nail on the head. Just looking at VU meters instead of on-screen peak meters makes me happy. It really is a going back to my roots. Even getting out a tape and threading it has a profoundly different impact on my attitude than, say, booting up the computer. :)

I'm slowly but surely becoming my father. I used to always ask him "Dad, why do you always do things the hard way?" His answer was always "Its more fun this way!" and a big grin.

I totally get that now. :)

Chris
 

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