Tascam in China??

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cjacek

cjacek

Analogue Enthusiast
Guys,

If TASCAM had decided to resurrect some, if not all, of their long discontinued analog recorders and mixers but this time, subcontracted the Chinese to assemble the components (which wouldn't necessarily have to change from the originals), wouldn't the same pieces of gear retail for substantially less, and I mean like 2, 3 and 4 times less the original amount? That would make it very affordable and would still make TEAC money.

Can you imagine, for example, a 1/2" 8 track recorder for only a couple of grand, brand new, with warranty? That'd be a bargain compared to what they retailed for back in the day and I'm sure many would jump on the deal. I'm not arguing anything other than the "Made in China" scenario. It would cut costs dramatically. Why wouldn't this be a good idea?

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AFAIK most things which are made in China very cheaply tend to be big runs of semi-disposable equipment. This sort of thing is effectively a shorter run of more expensive, and theoretically more durable items. IIRC the TSR-8 was something like £6000 in the mid-90s and that's when the pound was worth more. Even if it had a price tag of £1500 or so, you could still equip a reasonably decent digital project studio for that kind of money.

However, if they were to start making the parts again, that would absolutely rock.
 
I think the build quality is what it all comes down to. The parts themselves wouldn't be the issue (unless those too were fabbed by China), it's the matter of how long the unit would last as well as function. Would it be a true "Tascam", or simply a knock off of a has been unit?
 
I just don't think the demand would be there, other than as a limited-edition "retro" machine which would probably flop.

-MD
 
I remember reading that some reel to reel multitracks are still been made in Hungary recently, think they were 2" 8 up to 24 tracks? Perhaps there are others being made in Russia , India or somewhere else?

Tascam TSR8's were a lot cheaper than £6000 street price that was probably RRP.
I'm sure you could get them around £2000ish early '90's?

However R2R machines do have a lot of moving parts I assume so maybe they would cost a lot to make nowadays?

A lot of music gear from mixers to mics are still being made in the old fashioned way so it's a possibility!

Should point out that some music gear companies are changing the same prices for their same products even though they moved their production lines to China! SSSShhhhhhhhhhhhh!
 
trancedental said:
I remember reading that some reel to reel multitracks are still been made in Hungary recently, think they were 2" 8 up to 24 tracks?
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That was STM and they did 1" 8-track machines, yes. I can't remember what their line in 2" machines was. IIRC they had a 16-track model, probably 24 as well, but I'm not sure. I can't find their website anymore so they may have folded.

Tascam TSR8's were a lot cheaper than £6000 street price that was probably RRP. I'm sure you could get them around £2000ish early '90's?
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Sorry, yes, that was the MSR-16. The price in my little guide thing was £2500. Even then I'm not sure if it was the actual price or the RRP. I might try to get an early '90s issue of SOS or something off ebay.

Should point out that some music gear companies are changing the same prices for their same products even though they moved their production lines to China! SSSShhhhhhhhhhhhh!
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Ah well, at least the competitors using the stolen design are passing on the savings...
 
cjacek said:
Guys,

If TASCAM had decided to resurrect some, if not all, of their long discontinued analog recorders and mixers but this time, subcontracted the Chinese... Why wouldn't this be a good idea?
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Imagine Heineken made in China.

***End of Thread***
:D
 

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jpmorris said:
Even if it had a price tag of £1500 or so, you could still equip a reasonably decent digital project studio for that kind of money.
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I get your point but who'd want a digital project studio?:eek::D;)

jjones1700 said:
I think the build quality is what it all comes down to. The parts themselves wouldn't be the issue (unless those too were fabbed by China), it's the matter of how long the unit would last as well as function. Would it be a true "Tascam", or simply a knock off of a has been unit?
Click to expand...

Only labor would change but not the parts or quality control. TEAC would have everything made to their exact specifications and blue prints. It's the labor that's more expensive than anything.

themaddog said:
I just don't think the demand would be there, other than as a limited-edition "retro" machine which would probably flop.

-MD
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Certainly not mass demand but a smaller one. I keep referring to this all the time but the last several TASCAM 34B's, straight from TASCAM America, absolutely brand new, a few years ago [a well kept secret;)], sold out like hotcakes at about 4K a pop, a 4 tracker. That and the comparatively small but significant resurgence of analog would make it a no brainer for a smart company. Remember that people jumped on the digital band wagon 10 - 15 years ago and wanted to do everything 'in the box', and this included mixing. After the initial dip in the popularity of not only tape but also analog mixers, many people were very disappointed and wanted to get back to an old fashioned analog mixer, not only to its intuitive, 'real world', functions but also sound. The demand for analog consoles went through the roof. I'm afraid this too is happening, albeit much slower, to tape based recorders. Now, if UPS, FEDEX, DHL, USPS and others do their best [as they've done] to smash up every single recorder out-there, in transit, then we'll get there a lot faster!:eek::D;)

trancedental said:
However R2R machines do have a lot of moving parts I assume so maybe they would cost a lot to make nowadays?

A lot of music gear from mixers to mics are still being made in the old fashioned way so it's a possibility!

Should point out that some music gear companies are changing the same prices for their same products even though they moved their production lines to China! SSSShhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Click to expand...

They would cost a lot today but no where near what they could make them, if they all were produced in China.

Speaking of these old fashioned mixers and mics and other outboard gear, it's amazing how much these go for. I mean, some compressors go for thousands of $$ and some consoles as much as luxury car!

Yeah, it's crazy but the fact that some manufacturers do indeed keep prices the same despite moving production to China, is either a crime or a good business decision!:eek::eek:

Guys, one last thought ........ I actually came to the realization that this can come about when I read that some high end console manufacturers were resurrecting some classic 70's designs but in order to keep prices down (like 3 or 4 times less), they have places like China produce 'em, to the original specifications, which means no substandard components and such. It can happen.

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