the 388: the love thread

[shedshrine]

enough with the technical, the bias, the tape formula, the pinchrollers, the u.p.s. disasters,...

Get in touch with your inner pancreas, er, recording joy jones. WHat is it about this unit in particular that get you exited. How would you describe it's sound. What does it excel at. Talk in terms of vibe, atmosphere, zone whatever. It gave this tune a real____ it needed. etc. The mixer/eq really gives you a lot of ____. Like to get all this in one continuing thread for everybody. Yeah, I'm probably going over the top , but...

(had abstained from lattes for two months as an additional method of saving towards the big purchase. Guess who fell off the wagon today... )

 

[Herm]

Well I havnt done a complete song on mine yet but for me its just a cool unit.
No it is not the best sounding and its heavy as hell, but its just fun to play with.
Not everyone has one, Its easy to use and did I mention it still sounds better than a Alesis Adat? (I feel sorry for those boys)

 

[cracklin']

The 388 is my hero. It has been an amazing introduction to the wonders and delights of Analog recording. This user friendly machine has definately changed my approach to recording and kicks ass as a writing tool. I especially like the pitch control and simple (yet usefull) eq.
I will probably take my 388 to the grave. It rules!

 

[cjacek]

The 388 is like a beautiful woman, that many with the same taste can agree upon.

Aside from using the Studio 8, the 388 is one of striking beauty and uniqueness, that even hardened digital heads can find a sight to behold. Photos do it no justice and it helps if the person is right there in the same room. One had commented, in an eariler thread, that the 388 should be framed up on a wall. I agree.

Part of the charm of the 388 is its complete nature, where you have elements of an open reel deck and a full fledged mixer rolled up in one. Oh, and what mixer that is!

To touch, hear, feel and operate the 388 is a sensual delight. Everything is laid out so well that the interaction between the operator and the machine is natural. One feels like in the cockpit of a 747 jumbo jet.

The sound is unique and can be contoured by the excellent EQ section. The recorded sound falls between a top of the line cassette deck and a stand alone open reel deck going at 15ips. It's way better than a TASCAM 246 (which I think is the king of all cassette multitrackers) but not yet approaching the sound of a TASCAM 38 (with dbx). The 388 falls right about in the middle.

What you see is what you get with the 388.

The sound is certainly way better than your typical digital multitrack recorder that you can get at Musician's Friend.

It is a heavy, solid and very well constructed piece of art.

It is a complete, unique unit which allows all of the major studio elements to be easily accessible from one place. Tape is cheap and heads (if it's a low use unit) will outlast you.

Sorry for the sexual overtones but I hope you got what you wanted!

 

[shedshrine]

The 388 is like a beautiful woman, that many with the same taste can agree upon.

Aside from using the Studio 8, the 388 is one of striking beauty and uniqueness, that even hardened digital heads can find a sight to behold.
To touch, hear, feel and operate the 388 is a sensual delight. Everything is laid out so well that the interaction between the operator and the machine is natural. One feels like in the cockpit of a 747 jumbo jet.

Sorry for the sexual overtones but I hope you got what you wanted!

What sexual overtones? (rolls over to share cigarette wih 388 )

That was wonderful

 

[cjacek]

(rolls over to share cigarette wih 388 )

Yup, that too!!

 

[A Reel Person]

The 388 is big, busty & beautiful!

I looks good, sounds nice & is fun to be with. With a smooth demeanor and pleasant disposition, the 388's never let me down!

The things I like about the 388 are:
all-in-one Porta-format
nice mixer section
nice tape section
8x8 recording capability
2 headphone jacks
tons of I/O
SMPTE sync capability
good sound
good flexibility

The 388 was designed to exceed the fidelity of the cassette format Porta's, while still retaining the classic Portastudio all-in-one design, for the small post-facility (sound-for-film/commercial jingle studio), B-room facility or other halfway serious (semi-pro) setup. Remember,... this was 1986-tech, and the 388 was quite a huge advance in the Portastudio family, and recording gear in general.[Heh: pun!]

The 388's one-of-a-kind & in it's own class. It's the total package for middle-of-the-roaders (hifi audio nuts/semi-pro). It's the cassette Portastudio user's wet dream. It's in a whole other world of quality than any 1/4" 8-track Fostex ever produced, not to mention it trounces most modern digital "8-trackers" that have a small format, menus, 2x-simul record, with limited features and capabilities. The only digital all-in-one 8-tracker that can come close in features and quality to the 388 is currently the Korg D888,... and that was a long time coming!!!

 

[ofajen]

The things I like about the 388 are:
all-in-one Porta-format
nice mixer section
nice tape section
8x8 recording capability
2 headphone jacks
tons of I/O
SMPTE sync capability
good sound
good flexibility

Let's not forget:

QUIET! With that hefty flop down lid blocking off the modest machine noise, you can use a 388 in a one room studio without worrying that machine noise will show up on the recorded tracks.

Otto

 

[A Reel Person]

It's whisper quiet,...

but I'm not!!!

 

[shedshrine]

Cover shot and page from original Tascam 388 brochure.
Black and White image courtesy of Darfking over on TapeOp

 

[cjacek]

Oh, man ... thats BEAUTIFUL!! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!!

If you don't mind, I'll put these up DIRECTLY onto the site so that the scans stay on here indefinitely.

 

[cjacek]

second pict:

 

[cjacek]

Third picture:

 

[Beck]

It was the one that got away.

 

[cjacek]

It was the one that got away.

Have you given up your quest to find a nice 388 ?

 

[A Reel Person]

I have that brochure,...

but of course!....

 

[Beck]

Have you given up your quest to find a nice 388?

That's a good question. I'm not much of a collector and I have the TSR-8 as my main analog recorder at home. I also have the 246 for getting ideas down and small projects. That leaves the 388 in the middle... all dressed up and no place to go.

The other problem is that I’m growing out of my house.

I really dig the 388, so maybe down the road in a bigger house I just might get one anyway. I’ve got the original manual and that brochure (x2). I also have over 20 new Quantegy 407. Gosh, I even have the remote since it’s the same for the 246.

I had always intended to get one since they were new. I know what it can do in capable hands. If a deal comes along it would be hard to pass up.

 

[cjacek]

Hey, cool, Tim. Keep your eyes open and I'm sure somethin' nice will come up. Remember, though, the key phrase is "local pickup".

 

[A Reel Person]

Yeah,...

I bought all the 388's in my part of town.

Also, I di'nt tell'ya, but I bought a second house to accommodate my gear!
So now, my family lives next door and I live alone with my gear!
/film at eleven/

 

[cjacek]

Also, I di'nt tell'ya, but I bought a second house to accommodate my gear! So now, my family lives next door and I live alone with my gear!

Dave, not that there's anything wrong with that but you have to be kidding, right ? I will not believe it until you post a pict! I demand a pict!!