Tascam 488

  • Thread starter Thread starter David Benson
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David Benson

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I have a Tascam 4 Track MKIII and I understand how you get 4 tracks on a cassette going one direction. How do you get 8 tracks on a cassette? How much do the 488 ususally go for on Ebay? Best Regards David Benson
 
David,
Look in the Selling section of this page, I am selling a 488 MKII in excellent condition w/manual, tapes, cleaner for $230.00 which I think is a very good price. One in lesser condition just sold on E-bay for $300.00. Their price on E-bay varies greatly depending on their condition but I've seen them go for $150.00-$400.00 depending on time, accesories and overall condition. Send me a PM if you're interested. Good luck!
 
David, its under the free ads, but the unit has been sold, sorry!
 
The tracks on a cassette 8 track...

are half the width of a cassette 4-track. Simple.;) :eek:
 
A Reel Person said:
are half the width of a cassette 4-track. Simple.;) :eek:
Click to expand...

yes, the heads on the machine are what divide the tape into "tracks". the tape is...just tape. the more tracks, the smaller the tape width used per track.
 
Track width

Is there a difference in fidelity with the smaller track width because of the smaller tape heads? DB
 
Yo Dave:

Go digital and you don't have to wait for the tape to rewind.

I had two 488s. Nice boxes and they record very well for being mid-price tape decks. I've remastered stuff from tape on my digital box. Only thing is, the tape noise gets more distinct with a digital box--small hiss becomes a bigger hiss.

488s=nice box but the digital boxes available or PC programs are much better.

Green Hornet
 
G.H.,
I do have some digital equipment. An 8 track Fostex and a 16 track Roland. I have shyed away from digital for a few reasons.
1. I play the trumpet and have thought the recorded sound was a little to cold from my horn. Right in your face type of sound. I also noticed the hiss you mention when I brought the multitrack cassette recording over to the Fostex recorder.
2. The Fostex was easy to figure out, but having to arcive onto a PC is a hassel. Not much room on those flash cards. In addition they are expensive. Poping the tape out and throwing in a drawer is so simple. Do a remix, pop the tape in and go. Going to a PC and bringing back the data to remix would be a pain. Plus the online reverds are not so good on the Fostex.
3. The learning curve on the Roland is very steep. It took me an hour to figure out how to set the clock.
I know I will get there some day, digital that is, but I still am having fun with the simple analog recorders I have. Best Regards D.B.
 
I think, by scrutinizing the specs,...

EACH TRACK, by itself (track per track), would have less fidelity on the 8-track format, vs. the 4-track format, BUT OVERALL, the total fidelity should be the same.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanx. ;)
 
Yo Dave:

I recently did some trupmet tests using my Grace 101 and the RNC = makes the horn sound mellow. The Grace 101 has come down in price and the RNC is a great little box considering the cost.

But, hey, if you're having fun and learning and recording, do what is fun and sounds good to you.

Green Hornet :D :D :D
 
If I may,...

to the best of my knowledge, the Grace 101 is an "external" mic preamp,...
& the RNC is the "Really Nice Compressor". /DA
 
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