Tascam M 216 Mixer
- Thread starter Ladnar
- Start date
B
Beck
Guest
Yep, every penny. I've had one for years... since about 1990 and it still works like new. You get a lot of bang for the buck with the M-200 series... nice compact boards with a big sound.
If you can get one locally you can avoid shipping costs and check it over in person.
If you can get one locally you can avoid shipping costs and check it over in person.
B
Beck
Guest
IMO, you can never have too many channels… if that’s what you mean.
I use the M-216 with my TSR-8 and it's a great match. You can use almost any mixer with any multitrack as long as it has the inputs and features you want. I had a lot to choose from but decided to go with a fairly compact setup. The M-200 series fit nicely about anywhere and are easy to work on if you like modifying stuff like I do. I also have an M-208. They're nice little boards… much nicer than some of Tascam’s later stuff in the same price range.
I use the M-216 with my TSR-8 and it's a great match. You can use almost any mixer with any multitrack as long as it has the inputs and features you want. I had a lot to choose from but decided to go with a fairly compact setup. The M-200 series fit nicely about anywhere and are easy to work on if you like modifying stuff like I do. I also have an M-208. They're nice little boards… much nicer than some of Tascam’s later stuff in the same price range.
Tim,
Rest assured, I know this is a stupid question, but how could I utilize the extra channells on the M 216, that my current mixer (Tascam M 30) doesn't do?
This unit is pristine, everything lights up etc. I guess what I'm saying is, how could I use this to my advantage over the M 30?
Thanks in advance for your great advice as always!
Randal
Rest assured, I know this is a stupid question, but how could I utilize the extra channells on the M 216, that my current mixer (Tascam M 30) doesn't do?
This unit is pristine, everything lights up etc. I guess what I'm saying is, how could I use this to my advantage over the M 30?
Thanks in advance for your great advice as always!
Randal
funkytonk
push it to the limit
I have a Tascam M-224 and a M-208 that I use with my 48. Great combination, and in no way is overkill. In fact I am kinda looking for a good 8 buss mixer. The way I set them up is I use the M-224 to track with into the 48 and I use the M-208 for playback out of the 48. Having a second mixer is nice because you don't have to fumble around with cords to listen to what you just recorded.
Even though you have extra channels with the M-216 you still only have 4 busses. If you are tracking a full band though, the extra channels would be really nice for drums and stuff. Some guys like to mic every piece of the drumkit. That could be 8 mics just for drums.
I agree with Beck, the mixer is worth $300 in good working order. Especially local pickup. Make an offer, $250 or something. At least in the region I live in there isn't a huge market for them. I bought my M-208 off craigslist for $75. The guy was asking $150 but said the ad had been up for 2 weeks and I was the only call he had received on it.
Even though you have extra channels with the M-216 you still only have 4 busses. If you are tracking a full band though, the extra channels would be really nice for drums and stuff. Some guys like to mic every piece of the drumkit. That could be 8 mics just for drums.
I agree with Beck, the mixer is worth $300 in good working order. Especially local pickup. Make an offer, $250 or something. At least in the region I live in there isn't a huge market for them. I bought my M-208 off craigslist for $75. The guy was asking $150 but said the ad had been up for 2 weeks and I was the only call he had received on it.
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
I was thinking that with the 216 the way you might use it is, as suggested above, have some channels dedicated to the returns from the atr, like 9-16. That would give you only 8 channels for tracking, but depending on how you are doing your tracking that might be enough and then, again as stated above, you wouldn't have to repatch.
I have an M-208 and an M-216 and I love both of them. I recently had an opportunity to compare them side-by-side with a modern mackie mixer in the 1200 dollar range... not sure about the model, but the tascams actually sounded much better. They're a little noisy, but they have a kind of clarity and presence that was missing in the mackie, which sounded somehow 'dead' or 'flat' in comparison despite the lower noisefloor.
Having said that, I don't really like the sound of the mic pres on the Tascam boards. I usually use a separate preamp for each mic before it reaches the mixer when tracking... nothing fancy, but keep in mind that even a 100 dollar preamp is going to sound a lot better than whatever is built into each channel on the board. I'm planning to mod my 208 for 48v phantom this summer, and hopefully I'll be able to upgrade the preamps as well.
The 216 only has 8 RCA inputs anyhow, and more channels is never a bad thing... if you ever have the opportunity or inclination to move up to 16 tracks you'll be ready. If it really is in perfect condition I'd grab it- local deals are far, far preferable and worth extra money. Think of it as paying for the best possible insurance that it won't arrive smashed or useless. We've all had our share of ebay train wrecks.
Having said that, I don't really like the sound of the mic pres on the Tascam boards. I usually use a separate preamp for each mic before it reaches the mixer when tracking... nothing fancy, but keep in mind that even a 100 dollar preamp is going to sound a lot better than whatever is built into each channel on the board. I'm planning to mod my 208 for 48v phantom this summer, and hopefully I'll be able to upgrade the preamps as well.
The 216 only has 8 RCA inputs anyhow, and more channels is never a bad thing... if you ever have the opportunity or inclination to move up to 16 tracks you'll be ready. If it really is in perfect condition I'd grab it- local deals are far, far preferable and worth extra money. Think of it as paying for the best possible insurance that it won't arrive smashed or useless. We've all had our share of ebay train wrecks.
B
Beck
Guest
The possibilities are endless. When mixing down, your 8 tracks for the 48 will use channels 1-8, which have tape inputs. Your other 8 channels can be used for effects processor returns, MIDI instruments driven by a sequencer running in sync with your multitrack, other tape machines. And you can overdub during the mixdown phase if you have extra inputs for mics or guitar, etc.
When buying a mixer it’s good practice to go for more channels than you think you need, because as your system grows and you start experimenting you’ll run out of channels real fast and wish you had more.
Hey guys!
I scored that mixer today.
The guy said $300 or best offer, I went over to look at it at lunch today, and offered him $200.00 just as a joke, and he said sure!
It has a flight case with it also.
So, I brought this bad boy home and I need a manual for it.
Any tips?
Thanks!
Randal
I scored that mixer today.
The guy said $300 or best offer, I went over to look at it at lunch today, and offered him $200.00 just as a joke, and he said sure!
It has a flight case with it also.
So, I brought this bad boy home and I need a manual for it.
Any tips?
Thanks!
Randal
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
Ladnar, that's sick! 
Nice work! That was a great deal!
I second cjacek's advice to get it from Tascam. I've been there done that with the eBay manual thing and it was the worst $20 I ever spent.
Do it once, do it right. You really need a genuine Tascam reprint to go with that "bad boy"!
Nice work! That was a great deal!
I second cjacek's advice to get it from Tascam. I've been there done that with the eBay manual thing and it was the worst $20 I ever spent.
Do it once, do it right. You really need a genuine Tascam reprint to go with that "bad boy"!
B
Beck
Guest
Randal, you scored supercalifragilisticly! Congrats!
I've seen the M-208 go for that much.
I've seen the M-208 go for that much.
pentatonik
New member
different place, same story
great deal actually!
today I'm in the same situation as Randal last week:
I've been watching eBay for several months, looking for a board to fit with my TSR-8. I'm so desperate that yesterday I bid on a M-208 in NY (120$ shipping, I'm in France ). Fortunately I lost the auction (it went up to 244$, plus shipping ):
today there's a 216 on local pickup for 150€ (240$)!
I will have the opportunity to see it, but not to test it I'm afraid.
What should I take a look at, in order to assess its good/bad condition?
I'm also a bit afraid of the size of this 16-channel board, so here's another question:
Does it fit in a rack anyhow? I guess not, but not sure.
I don't have a dedicated room for music, and need to room the stuff every time I'm done with recording...
Thanks in advance for your great advice as always!
great deal actually!
today I'm in the same situation as Randal last week:
I've been watching eBay for several months, looking for a board to fit with my TSR-8. I'm so desperate that yesterday I bid on a M-208 in NY (120$ shipping, I'm in France
). Fortunately I lost the auction (it went up to 244$, plus shipping ):today there's a 216 on local pickup for 150€ (240$)!
I will have the opportunity to see it, but not to test it I'm afraid.
What should I take a look at, in order to assess its good/bad condition?
I'm also a bit afraid of the size of this 16-channel board, so here's another question:
Does it fit in a rack anyhow? I guess not, but not sure.
I don't have a dedicated room for music, and need to room the stuff every time I'm done with recording...
Thanks in advance for your great advice as always!
B
Beck
Guest
great deal actually!
today I'm in the same situation as Randal last week:
I've been watching eBay for several months, looking for a board to fit with my TSR-8. I'm so desperate that yesterday I bid on a M-208 in NY (120$ shipping, I'm in France
today there's a 216 on local pickup for 150€ (240$)!
I will have the opportunity to see it, but not to test it I'm afraid.
What should I take a look at, in order to assess its good/bad condition?
I'm also a bit afraid of the size of this 16-channel board, so here's another question:
Does it fit in a rack anyhow? I guess not, but not sure.
I don't have a dedicated room for music, and need to room the stuff every time I'm done with recording...
Thanks in advance for your great advice as always!
Sounds like it could be a nice deal, but I wouldn't buy it if the owner didn't want me to test it. Take some headphones along (1/4" standard stereo plug) and listen for obvious hum, feedback or dead channels. Even with nothing plugged in you will still hear a soft hiss with the master faders up while bringing each trim control and channel fader up. You can also hear what the EQ is doing to the hiss by turning those on each channel
So you can test a mixer in a limited way just by analyzing the self-noise of the unit. However that will still leave you guessing as to whether it will pass a signal from inputs to outputs. If you could bring a mic and cable or a portable CD player that has RCA output jacks you could test it more thoroughly.
The M-216 is not small enough to rackmount, but it's not big either as mixers go. The M-200 series are ideal for limited space or situations that require portability.
eddiemunster666
New member
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