Tascam 688: How many tracks to record simultaneously?

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twdavis

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Ive heard great things about this cassette deck and I really like the fact it's 8 simultaneous. Would it be ok to record demoes, home stuff, or an independent album on? I've heard that no cassette deck could ever match a reel to reel deck, , and that cassette has a kind of muddiness.

OR, could you reccommend a different 8 track cassette deck for around the same price that's better?
 
And I actually heard also that the 688 can only record for a max of 5 min.
 
twdavis said:
Ive heard great things about this cassette deck and I really like the fact it's 8 simultaneous. Would it be ok to record demoes, home stuff, or an independent album on? I've heard that no cassette deck could ever match a reel to reel deck, , and that cassette has a kind of muddiness.

OR, could you reccommend a different 8 track cassette deck for around the same price that's better?
Click to expand...

As far as I can tell, while not the most popular model, the 688 was just about the best cassette 8 tracker ever made. Certainly the most feature-laden one. There are several members here who use this machine regularly. I have owned one for maybe 5 years now and I would say it is more than adequate for demo stuff and home recording. Kind of a steep learning curve, but surprisingly good sound quality for the format. Once you get the hang of it, working with one is really fun. I would recommend it highly.

With that said, I don't suppose it can touch a nice reel to reel set up in terms of fidelity, but there is something to be said for the simplicity of cassette. I find RtR to be a little intimidating personally.

Cassette recordings don't have to be muddy by any means, but there is a ceiling for the highs around 14k that can lead to a lack of percieved crispness. This is in some ways offset by a certain warmth to the sound, and you would eventually learn tricks for getting a brighter sound.

twdavis said:
And I actually heard also that the 688 can only record for a max of 5 min.
Click to expand...

Not so at all. You are only limited by the length of tape. Using no more than 90 min tapes (60 is preferred for its durability), recording on one 45 min side, but recording at a higher speed, you can record up to about 20 minutes at a time one one tape.

Unless you plan to cover Mountain Jam, you should be all set.
 
Never used a 688 but i have used but not owned plenty of 4 track porta studios. 688 might work for internet or mp3 but a CD would magnify all the shortcomings of the cassette format. For CD you might want something at 15 ips. Even a 1/4 inch eight track ala R8, M80 would be adequate. But give it a try and see how you feel about it.
 
I love my 688's.
I have one at our practice spot, along with a 488mkII, and 424mkII.
Then, I take the tape home and mix it there after practice, cuz I have doubles of all those recorders. I love the cassette medium, along with the reel medium too.
Once my cassette or reel is mixed,...I then transfer to my Alesis Masterlink for cd.

I highly recommend a 688. One of my all time favs. The only gripe I have about it, is the fact that Tascam did NOT add phantom power to the preamp xlr inputs.
I don't understand it,...They added it to 2 channels on the 488mkII, but not the 688 which was their flagship recorder. You can always buy a separate phantom power supply unit,..but it would have been nice to have it on the 8 simultaneous channels.
 
VESSEL2020 said:
The only gripe I have about it, is the fact that Tascam did NOT add phantom power to the preamp xlr inputs.
Click to expand...

Good point. I forgot about that.

Myself, I used the xlr mic inputs with dynamic mics and thought the 688 preamps were adequate. If using a condensor, I used an external pre and plugged a 1/4" output from there into the line in (with trim set to zero) on the 688. That worked pretty well too I think.
 
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