Tascam 688 appreciation link + manual

[dontaylor]

So glad YOU agree

OH, you have no idea how much better I'm feeling haivng read your note. I keep thinkin' to myself : I know i still have a few songs left in me--I want to share w the world yet, I always seem to get overwelmed w/too many details as I think in terms of many, many instruments thus the need for so many tracks.
Let me add this info to the mix JC....
Buried in my studio-turned-junk-storage room are:
Yamaha MU-128 modulle (2 tracks needed left & right)
Roland SC-55=2 tracks
KORG I-30 workstation 1998 vintage that adds drum fills when I TELL IT TO..(main keyboard that would trigger them all) 2 tracks.
Roland ('90)R-8 DRUM Snyth to add whatever....
There's more stuff too i was able to get from eating peanut butter jelly sandwiches & working a lot. lol
God, those 20 INs on Tammy688 would sure come in handy. I almost can't wait to get home & clean the mess out of the studio. I just remembered there's a Hammond X-5 & Leslie 760 buried in there someplace. I think there r no bodys-cause the smell is gone. Or maybe it was Ben ???(the rat from the 70's movie ??)
With all that gear not being used you all may wonder y ? because in So Florida it's not how good your ability to ENTERTAIN is it's who you know, how CHEEP will u do a gig for, how willing are you to greese some agent's palm. I think u get the picture. Oh Yea, I got tired of the old Farts who complained if the music was too loud, too fast, ect. So I simply screw it all & dropped out. It was sad & stupid, but after years of rock-n-rollin; playing the standards to Disco; it just wasn't F U N anymore. Now i am ready to get my new act together and Rock It @ the Salvation Army if that's what it will take.
Ciao fro now, Don

 

[Bigsnake00]

Don,

If you DO decide to go another route I would LOVE to buy your 688.

 

[dontaylor]

TASCAM 688 & her Future...

Hi, I'm wondering, & have been all this week about the 2488's.
So, I just might entertain having a deserving musician/composer "adopt" my once pride & joy.
I don;t have to tell many of you, times & money are tough & hard to come by w/a family, home & all the responcibilities that go with them all.
I am still on "vacation" but i am dreaming of being able to cut & paiste in DIGITAL. Also to bounce tracks w/o degradation.
Then again i think back to the ease in adjusting the 3-band-EQ's as well as the PAN-POTS. Can those hard to find 2488 POTS be tuff to "handle' ???
The biggest thing is--I have a demo MKII possibility waiting for my cash in their hands.
Can anyone share w/ me an in-expensive Condencer mic I can get for the 688 b-4 I .. .?
I've had great years w my Shure SM58 Beta--on stage tho.
the Shure KSM27 Studio Condenser Microphone has caught my ears--and at $200.00-gasping as I shout "I'm comin' to join you Elizabeth." I'm gettin' the BIG ONE...
Will the 1" diaphram make THAT much of a differance ???
Seriously i THINK it should...Yet we all know it's a lot of money. Especially when u total in the price for a T-2488.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Shure-KSM27-Studio-Condenser-Microphone-101500015-i1126544.gc

So, I've literally spent hours on this net reading about both
the MKII & Neo2488's. And yes, I've found 1 that did NOT boot up & the like i said b-4--the salemen were big Dummys, in so many words.
Then yesterday, I found another demo MKII-and lifted it to my surprise found it would be really easy to encase this & go out & do REMOTE recordings. Hmmmmmm then I'd need more mics.
Seriously, anyone have good LUCK using a REAL $100 or less 1" diaphrammed Condenser mic ??????????
Thanks for reading me. I am here where there is no SPRING-like weather--yearning for my home in the hot tropics so I can sweat, but slowly rebuild my dream recording studio some 19 years later. I really would appreciate any & all tips & tricks. Please believe me, I seem to remember all-night recording sessions w/ my 688 that produced many, many high quality backing tracks for my once flourishing F/T musical act. She (Tammy_Tascam that is) has always been pampered, covered, cleaned w/ only 92% on the heads & always properly treated belts w/ TASCAM BELT CLEANER as well as degaused as needed. God, the good times spent adding horn lines & harmony lines & synth leads while chuggin down the beers & sippin "Jack."
Well, I intend to stop reminissing about "back in the day" & make tomorrow the 1st day in my recording life. It's late, my spelling sucks, I know, but as long as you'all know I speak from my heart & soul, I figure you'll understand I'm NOT sitting here blowing smoke. I'm once again pursuing my DREAMS. Goodnight...Don

 

[cjacek]

Don, first of all, mics and other extra things we tend to obsess about don't make a recording but rather it's about the musician and how your gear is used that really matter and I'm sure you know this already. People get too caught up in purchases, including better mics, pres, outboard this, outboard that and, IMHO, they're putting too much stock into something which won't make that big of a difference, ultimately speaking.

The technology advanced so much and yet I still have not heard an improvement in today's music, rather, it's a step backward. We have so much available to us, that 40 or 50 years ago seemed a dream and yet I still have not heard something really worth listening to, that bettered that era. Most of us have not even attained the proper know-how on gear usage and yet we have boat loads of it in our little cramped studio spaces.

Sure, you'll get a more detailed and open sound using a condenser (any really) than a dynamic but it doesn't mean necessarily "better", as it's a subjective thing and depends too on what you want your sonic signature to be like.

At the same time, if you're not getting satisfactory recordings from dynamic mics and your portastudio, you won't with a condenser nor with a 2488.

I gotta ask: why in the heck do you dream to be "able to cut & paste in DIGITAL" ? That can potentially be very damaging, especially in digital, where it's truly too easy to screw things up. In fact, I don't have a problem with digital per se but rather with how it is used. IMHO, it is the extensive editing and processing which is responsible for the crap being released today. Why do you want to potentially follow that lead?

I provided a link to some mic reviews above but you can also browse or ask on the mic forum.

Stick to your 688, keep it simple, keep making music and have fun.

 

[dontaylor]

look what I just came across-Is this anti 2488 Propaganda or something we should all

Hi All,B-4 I answer my new friend's question about my 688's experiences. Allow me to share a site.I misdplaced the URL, so allow me to quote PLEASE:A GAIN THIS ARE NOT MY WORDS or THOUGHTS--just something I have found that may stop my salavating for MORE TRACKS.

>"In the market for a Tascam 2488?
>Want to hear what the National Reviewers of the 2488 won't tell you?
>Want to hear what TASCAMFORUMS.COM doesn't want you to know about this DEFECTIVE product that you SHOULD know about before spending your hard-earned dollars? (They're already stuck with their busted units, and want you to get stuck in the same situation!)

So here's the truth and the whole truth about the Tascam 2488...

3 days after Christmas my Tascam 2488 started to freeze up. It went away after shutting it down for about 24 hours, but immediately started to freeze up after about an hour of use. 5 days after Christmas the Jog Wheel quit working and I was stuck in Cursor Hell!!! On Jan. 3rd the 2488 quit for good! Won't boot up.

I called up Tascam just to see if it was some sort of a problem that I could fix on my own.... I was on hold for about 45 minutes before I spoke to someone who HAD TO go to lunch in about 5 minutes and couldn't "talk for very long". He told me that my situation was "very rare" and only about "1-in-like-every-100,000 units are ever shipped that buggy". So I suggested that I'd return the unit back to the store for a refund, and he immediately urged me not to do that; but rather, that I should send the unit to Tascam for service repair. I was suspicious of his comment so I asked if he could send me a temporary 2488 to use while mine was being fixed. He said, "No." because the 2488 is "so popular [Tascam] can't afford to keep them in stock for such purposes... They're flying off the shelves, man!" (These 2488's MUST apparently be FLYING OFF the shelves and hitting the floor somewhere.)

In desperation, I asked the guy how long repairs would take if I sent it back to be fixed. He said, "We know the product inside-out. Less than a month." I asked him if he would guarantee that in writing, which is when he mentioned, "It depends on how backed-up we are with other stuff. Could be longer, but if it's more than half-a-year and you still don't have it, then dude, ya gotta call us back! ha, ha, ha" <--(by the way, that was HIM laughing, NOT ME.)

When he asked me for my name and contact information, I told him, "I have to go to lunch now.... Gotta run!" (Yeah, more like, gotta run to the store before it closes so I can get rid of the damn thing!)

You know, it's just too risky owning a Tascam 2488, unless of course, you're financially well-off and don't mind rolling the occasional C-note into a cigar and lighting it. Even if it looks like it's working fine, it will eventually bite you in the ass. Tascam should've included a rabbit's foot with this thing, because the end result is always the same: you'll have spent $1,200 for a very large paper weight.

Hopefully this independent product review will help you prospective buyers out there make a better decision with your $$. None of the nationally paid reviewers seem to have the guts to say it like it really is (probably because they got to keep their test units). But to be truly fair to Tascam, in THEORY the 2488 looks to be a winner, but in the real world it's a DUD. Go back and do your homework, Tascam and stop selling us your TasCRAP.

Don't believe me? Then go to TASCAMFORUMS.COM (click on the subgroup called, "2488 General") and do a search about it for yourself. You'll hear from many people and their problems with the 2488. Things like units that lock-up, lock-out, crash, and buttons that mysteriously won't work anymore, etc. I've even included some direct links to such articles at the beginning of this review (top of the third column).

If you insist on owning this dreadful product, then I wish you well. You must be a real glutton for punishment.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Read about problems others have with the 2488
(1) Read about buttons that STOP WORKING

 

[dontaylor]

Post script:

hi Again, the site is:
http://www.geocities.com/tascam_2488/

Now, I'm thinking, this has to do w/ the ORIGINAL 1st generation 2488 & these issues have been, 4 the most part, cleaned up in it's 3rd generation-the 2488neo.

Now, plese forgive me if this was NOT the forum to post this info. please redirect me. In the meantime, I just can not believe that tascam would have such POOR QUALITY CONTROL.
tHAT GUY'S info sounded like Fostex recorder reviews.
Happy monday all. Don

 

[dontaylor]

Wed thoughts and a question...

10:30AM Wed may 20,09
Good morning All, I was hoping I'd get a few more responces about some of your personal views having "lived" w/your 2488s & all. I hope I haven't come across as some TD (total dummy) asking my questions. after all the worst ones r the ones never asked.
I'm sure buying a condenser mic is , perhaps, a lot like buying a car. Personal taste & especially hearing the results yourself will be the final factor. I was curious if you veterans of many all your time spent w/ your 2488, might have come onto an industry secret, or 2 or 3, whereas the high-priced spread isn't always the best.
Earlier this year, I came across Utube & hastily put together a couple of my flashback songs I recorded on my beloved 688 during what seems now like a lifetime ago. I say hastily because, having givrnup on my musical life, I was looking for an outlet to promote my hobby, videotography. My music & video became a little more intertwined than expected. As we all have dreams of sharing our created music, our 'covers', our "Musical Magic", I thought my Utube venture would be short lived. To my surprise, my contributions r still there due to health issues these past 8+ months, I haven't really tried anything new, yet, recently my recuperation has rejuvinated me in all aspects of my life...especially my once dormant MUSIC creations.
Rome wasn't built in a day & neither will my home studio reconstruction be done in a week. My wife will testify I've promissed her to "get to" that studio mess some 6+ years ago.
Finding this group, YOUR 688 MidiStudio forum, & rereading your opinioms & listening to many of your musical shares has renewed my vigor to get back onto MIX & HAVE FUN doing it. Life is too damn short.
May I invite you all to listen to a little of my music, it may be OLD, but it was fun to track it all & even perform these homemade tracks, on stage, while playing & singing along during 1 of my gigs...back in the day. I never use a sequencer, no patience to learn how. lol
Enjoy, Regards, Don
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM-kxAMatdY&feature=channel_page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyUll9IURw4&feature=channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDQK40igeTg&feature=channel

I wonder just how much "cleaner" my music would sound on a digital 2488 w/a condenser mic ??? Thanks 4 reading me.

 

[cjacek]

Don,

Your repeated main theme seems to be the 2488. It started off cool but I think that you're a bit off topic, considering that this is the analogue only forum and that many, if not all here don't have experience with the 2488. You may be better served posting in a more appropriate forum where you could actually get some help with your questions. Do a search on 2488 and you'll find where most of the activity is. As far as mics, again, you may get more responses by going to "Microphones".

Good luck.

 

[A Reel Person]

Hey,..

I'd have to believe that the Geocities 2488 gripe page is primarily focused on the original (Mk I) unit, which is not to say some of this technology might not have problems occasionally. Don't assume they're all bad based on that page. The MkII and Neo could very well have reliability updates integrated in the design. To say go to a forum and look at so many people posting about problems, is missing the point. Most chatter on tech forums is about problems by it's very nature of being a help forum. The people running trouble free rarely post about it, however they may be more inclined to post somewhere else, like the MP3 forum (with their music).

I read by your posts that tho' you're totally in love with your 688, (IMO a very good and highly capable machine with excellent sound quality),... you're just itching to pull the trigger on the 2488, aren't you? The "BIG" (magic) number of "24" is somehow just too much to resist, isn't it? I mean,... old guys like us think of the 70's when the 24-track studio was the bomb. Now we can have it on our desktops for less than the original 144 or 244 Portastudio,... is truly amazing & I won't deny that. I understand, 'cause I've eyed the 2488 for a long time, (but haven't gotten one).

One recent thing I got was the DP-02cf. Bear in mind that some of these newer style digital Porta's have certain limitations too, despite being packed with hundreds of features. The Tascam 2488, DP02, etc., will not do mixer buss-assignment on input/recording mode. Some will not apply EQ to the recorded signal (on inputs to-record-mode).

The point is you have to look at features very carefully when comparing. I think some Korg recorders may do input/buss-assignment, but that's another post for another forum. One thing about the DP-02CF is my paranoia that it will incur a static shock once in a while when I touch it, and every time I turn it on I fear it may not boot up (but it does). Every time I write to the FAT partition, I fear a fatal write error (but it doesn't). Those may be irrational fears, but when you switch to a unit with a computer brain and backbone, bootup and corruption issues are real. No such thing on the Portas like the 688, et al.

Sorry for the rant, guy, but I think you might be super-human if you buy the 2488 Neo and then use the 688 for front end mixer, thus enabling you 8x-simul, & to apply buss routing and EQ/effx on the input side of the equation.

Even the 2488 Neo is priced well below the original 688, beautiful tho' it may be. I honestly think you'd have a super-dee-duper winning combination with the 688 as front end and the 2488 as capture device. That wouldn't preclude you from doing other sessions or preproduction on the cassette media. Nonetheless, the 688 could easily be integrated with MTC to drive the 2488 in sync, so you'd get an additional 8-tracks analog audio through sync animation of both units in unison. I think I just hit on a great winner of an idea. You're welcome. I accept Paypal. Heh.

Plus,... 688 fandom being what it is, I just know by the nature of your posts you're just dying to score the 2488. There's nothing wrong with that, and we analog heads will try to understand, heh heh. It's not abandonment of analog if you integrate and use the 688 and 2488 together, as suggested above. It would be easy, and the 688 is optimized for synchronization. Heck, I don't have to tell you that.

I viewed your Youtube pieces. The player's compressed, so I'd not make an audio judgment on those alone. However, on the question of how much better can your recordings sound? I'd say the sky's the limit!

Perhaps if you'd scoped my Soundclick page, you'll find only 3 recordings (covers) done on the cassette 8-track, (plus many more recordings on other formats). I'll just say they're out there, and I think the sound quality is respectable. BUT, (I don't usually plug anyone but myself and this guy knows....).... Check out recordings in the MP3 forum done by RAMI, especially his covers (the only ones I've caught). The dude is brilliant from end to end, handling drums guitars vocals u name it, and sounds great doing it. I've not heard a dud from RAMI ever, but am always blown away. I'd not just say that. He doesn't even know where the Analog forum is, but... POINT BEING, RAMI's recordings such as Beatles and Rolling Stones covers (f/e) will give an honest picture of the sound quality the 2488 is capable of,... in his hands is no less than stellar. U heard it here first.

That's enough for now. Thanx for posting and reading. Best of luck./DA

 

[A Reel Person]

PS: Condenser Mic...

A condenser mic will sound brighter than a stage oriented dynamic such as the SM58. I think condenser mics with phantom power are glorified a bit here on HRcom (as well as preamps), but e'one should have maybe 2 (for stereo).

I have a bunch of old Tascam condenser mics that run on internal batteries, plus one Shure that does the same. I like condensers, FWIW. They can be cool. They do generally sound really good. They have their better applications. It makes the SM57 sound like the dud,... eh,... I mean diamond in the rough that it actually is.

Thanx again.

 

[dontaylor]

I love my 688...I need to learn & relearn her assets.

DA Wrote: "The Tascam 2488, DP02, etc., will not do mixer buss-assignment on input/recording mode."
I don't what that means tho in computereez BUSS pertains to the PATH. am i close ?


Hi All, As I'm watching the RED Sox game I'm pleasantly surprised & happy as hell to have so much info to digest. Let me 1st say I've gotten endless hours of fun & satisfaction & some cool tracks since that Dec. 2, 1990 day I handed over a m.o. for $2,500 for that 688! That was considered a good deal. tho, I didn't have the net. I had ACE Music in miami & an 8-track DREAM MACHINE that would "bomb" my 144 & 244. Ya know folks I NEVER learned how to MiDi sync my R-8 Roland's dream-drums & that always impressive , Roland Sound canvas S-55. I know, I missed out. I plan to learn when I get going again-back then, all i wanted was to record my own versions of Sgt. Peppers & 'Good Vibrations". I was in my prime in age, weight & tho I was a f/t musician I never fooled around on my wife for she knew I did have two OTHER WOMAN-Tammy & Kelly ! Yes, folks I was messin' around w/ TAMMY TASCAM(688 CJACEK & KELLY Korg I4S.
I'm sorry for rambling, but I do enjoy reminissing w all of you especially DA who seems to be reading my mind. LOL
"Analog Head" so TRUE !! Imagine, connecting 1990 to 2009 with MiDi cables.But How would I sync them ????
1st, I must get 1/2 doz 33+ gal. trash cans & start chuckin' my 9 yr. junk collection. I'll take pics along the way as this may not happen overnight. Funny, I was looking at that same DP-O2CF. That baby is built like a brick S. as I've checked it out @ Guitar Center this week. The price is UNbelivable as we look back to '80 when i paid $820 for my 1st 144 DreamMachine=4 tracks, 2-at-a-time but ohhhhhh so sweet it was.
I'm NOT afraid to admit it, the 2488(@ $729-$799.) is not a priority in this recession. I already own a clean, pristine, midi688 covered & dust free on the countertop of my hidden studio. Yet, like the 'Analog-head-kid" that I am, I'll write this play 1 scene at a time. I NEED to relearn & learn what Tammy has to offer & record to prove to myself I still can. I'll need HELP from all of you willing to take the time. My short term memory isn't quite what it was 20 months ago, let alone 20 years ago. So please be patient w/ this old man. My reward will be come from having recorded something that SOME of you would consider both ENTERTAINING & pleasing to the ear. My next reward will be seeing my wife's face after i finally cleared out the big room.
Then if I'm a good boy, do all my homework & chores maybe then Santa will surprise me w a DIGITAL-DREAM MACHINE.

I'm tired. Thank you all for taking the time to read me.
Don

 

[A Reel Person]

Notes:...

~ Yeah, you gotta dig yourself outta that basement, hopefully soon.

~ The 688 is a highly capable machine that blows away many modern units, with features that go "deep" and practically on for miles.

~ Synchronization capability was one of the key featured uplifts of the 688, and is well worth looking into and exploiting,... in this case referring to sync'ing the 688 to a hypothetical 2488,... would be awesome. Tho' it's a bit complicated at first and I readily admit I've only skimmed those features & haven't learned them myself in a practical sense. It's there. It's powerful. It's paid for. Use it!

~ Input-Buss assignment is the act of routing raw mic/line inputs into the mixer and grouping them together before routing them to tape tracks. In digi-land they're just known as "tracks". The advantage to this is the act or capability of combining sounds before laying them onto tape/(disc), which may seem very lightweight just talking about this method in a post, but is a huge capability that many modern multitrackers omit. The 688 has "buss assign" or "subgrouping" capability of input channels on the "record-side" of the production process, same for applying EQ. In many cases digital porta units won't buss or subgroup inputs, and EQ adjustments may only be applied on playback. Again, maybe seemingly lightweight topics on a forum, but in actuality are very heavyweight and practical features or techniques (to omit, in the case of modern units, but included in the 688's outdated and obsolete technology). That's funny, or paradoxical,... the dumbing down of the recording process over the decade of technology advances. That's MO, & YMMV. Take it from me, buss assignment and applying EQ on the input side of the recording process is a very valuable tool, if not a lost concept or "art". Nuff said.

all i wanted was to record my own versions of Sgt. Peppers & 'Good Vibrations".

That's the classic quote of the ages!

 

[dontaylor]

buss & more

Dave ??
Hi Dave ( that's the correct name right ??)
I just wanted to thank u for posting an answer to my 4 wk. old question. I have a hard time finding these threads where I post--so forgive my tardiness.
I'm on a break from 'digging out" from my studio--I almost got thru to the 688 . . .wow.
On June 9th, I put a lay-away/deposit on a 2488 @ guitar center. I've been watching the prices RISE on the neo so while I had a dirt-low price, I went for it. My wife doesn't even know yet.
I've been making payments & have been extended from the usual 30-day pickup. So, somewhere around 8/11 (my birthday) i should have it. LET ME tell u this---that neo does NOT look EASY or as user friendly as my previous
porta-studios !! So, I'm already intimidated by her, but looking forward to having 24 freakin' tracks to orchestrate with.
Then again, I'm having 2nd thoughts. $635.00 could have gone into home repairs, a weekend getaway, gas, Happy meals, or even a therapy Yamaha DTExplorer drumset. God, I miss the days of steady gigs & NO KARAOKE !! when real musicians were respected & appreciated.
I better get back to work--I want my MTV--I MEAN TEAC 688 !! LOLOL
REGARDS,
Don