the 388: the love thread

[ofajen]

Hey... where is the love?

Good point. I think for me, working with the 388 was a mixture of love and hate. I had occasional problems with dropouts and a circuit board that was a little flaky in its connection, so much so that I actually kept the top cover loose and ready to lift at a moment's notice to deliver the appropriate "pro audio wiggle". There were other problems that ultimately caused me to sell the thing and start using the wide track 3M machines.

OTOH, I have really fond memories of recording some of my own tunes and working with my friend Lee on his recordings and things we worked on together. When things were working right, I could make a good sounding recording on it pretty quickly. Yup, good memories and good times.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[cjacek]

My source of comparison is listed below for your reference:

Better stuff:
TASCAM anything with reels going at 15ips
FOSTEX anything with reels going 15ips
OTARI anything with reels going 15ips
MCI
Studer
Scully
Stevens
TEAC anything with reels going 15ips
Revox
Radio Shack anything with reels going 15ips
Denon anything with reels going 15ips
AKAI anything with reels going 15ips
Stellavox Analogue anything with reels going 15ips
Lyrec
Nagra-Kudelski
Sony anything with reels going 15ips
Uher anything with reels going 15ips
Brenell anything with reels going 15ips
CRown anything with reels going 15ips
DUEL anything with reels going 15ips
Kenwood anything with reels going 15ips
Mark Levinson anything with reels going 15ips
Mitshubishi
SABA
Soundcraft/Saturn
Tandberg anything with reels going 15ips
Technics anything with reels going 15ips
Tesla anything with reels going 15ips
VEB anything with reels going 15ips
Dokorder anything with reels going 15ips
Pioneer anything with reels going 15ips

Worse stuff:
Porta-studio anything, any company, any cassete, any oxide

Ok, that's cool, thanks. I must point out, however, a rucurring theme in the list above, which includes many dedicated, wider track recorders running substantially faster than the 388, with some, arguably, having better electronics and builds. Call me nuts, but I'd never compare any of the above to the TASCAM 388. It would be silly and irresponsible. I take the 388 for what it is. Would the 388's recording section (and sound) compare with many of the above ? Of course not. That would be an unfair comparison and so would comparing the mixer section to someting costing 10x as much. Again, take the 388, on its own merit and give credit for what it is. It is a fine all-in-one design, which will give higher quality results than any cassette based portastudio. Btw, I too have sources of comparison, including the TASCAM 58, TEAC 3440 and a few others. All, including the 388, have a special place in my recording chain. They're different, for different jobs, but hardly does one "suck".

 

[ofajen]

I’d be interested to hear what kind of tape people were using with their 388, especially those that bought them new in the mid 80’s. Maxell XL 35-90B was most commonly available around here, so that’s what everyone used.

Ampex 456 and 406. Maybe the 1.5 mil tape was a problem, but hey, I was young and foolish back then.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[shedshrine]

Well, had a rare day alone with all responsibilites covered, so got to play with my toys today.

Had the 388 help earn it's keep studio real estate wise by running 424mkII direct outs through the 388's more advanced eq, routing and punchier electronics. Salvaged some old stuff I'd forgotten had even been recorded.

Ran some old cassette stereo masters of 388 songs through to re-eq them. Would love to remix the reels themselves but as they are now in sticky shed hell it'll be awhile. Been on my list of things to do for quite awhile...next up will be tape baking.


but for now, it's time for the Merry Happy Joy Joy...