This gave me a real chuckle...

[miroslav]

I don't know if you would call this very optimistic or seriously misguided...

Tascam M3500 24CH Studio mixing console

...especially considering that the last M3500 I saw on eBay sold for $300...

...but hey, I'm going to be rooting for the guy, and I might have to rethink the price on my M3500 when I list it.

 

[sweetbeats]

Wow.

That's a terrible listing. But like you said it's stupendous if a fella has one to sell and is hoping the outrageous will cause the market to creep up.

It's been "fully revised". That's worth $5,500 I think, Miro.

 

[j.harv]

I was expecting to see flower pots.

 

[miroslav]

It's been "fully revised". That's worth $5,500 I think, Miro.

And let's not also forget that ...

"It's a great console, compact with excellent preamps and EQ
It is a console of Quality, the first that were made of this model."

I sent him a message, just to say he should check the going prices and at most, he might get $600 for it.
He wrote back:

"Thank you for your advisory work to sellers.
regards"



Hey...it is in Spain, so sometimes items that are plentiful here, are scarce in another part of the world, and maybe it will fetch a higher price, though I think he is still WAY off...and it doesn't take much Googling to find reviews and going prices, etc.

 

[RFR]

Hey ya gotta ask, if you want to receive.
The sad thing is how consoles that were 10 to 20k back in the day fetch so little. Even if totally refurbished and in like new condition.

 

[miroslav]

Yeah...prices have gone way down...though certain brands/models do better than others.
Hate to say it...but the TASCAM consoles never did well on resale...especially this old.

It's like some of the more retro/vintage-ish types attract more interest...and as corny as it is, "vibe" just sells better than something of equal quality but with poor or no "vibe".

Of course...names are the thing with a lot of older audio gear.
Also...things sometimes go in cycles. Something might be very sought-after for a few years, because of some "buzz' and that "vibe"...then it goes cold for a bunch of years...then it might come back again and be sought-after.

I think there's a great deal of "fashion" in the audio/recording world...and like clothing fashions, it comes and goes and comes back again. In the pro-audio world, there's a bigger need to be "trendy"...like you have to have whatever is the flavor of the month...or whatever is old that's suddenly got a buzz going...etc.
Then there's the supply/demand thing. If it's hard to find...the price goes up...and if it's old, and hard to find, and it gets a buzz going...the price really goes up.

AFA the TASCAM consoles...I think they were solid, and could be tweaked and modified to a higher performance level...but, there were a bunch of audio snobs on the pro forums that talked shit about them all the time...and man, they just died on the resale market. They were cool for a few years when they first came out...and then they tanked after that.

 

[RFR]

I blame gearfucks, or is that gearslutz.

 

[j.harv]

I blame gearfucks, or is that gearslutz.

A little column A and a little column B

 

[RFR]

Seriously, we're in an era where compact and portable is king.

You got music on your phone. People will listen to music via the speaker, earbuds for a fidelity upgrade and maybe for HiFi listening one of these Bluetooth speaker boxes.

Long ways off from the home stereo of the past.

A whole record can be done on a laptop, and you can mix on headphones while you're at a coffee shop. You whip out your cellphone and call the client to meet you for coffee and go over the mixes. Thats if you have clients that aren't hours away. ( then you email or use dropbox)

Different world.

No wonder that a mid level console, that weighs a hundred pounds and takes up space, is near worthless.

That said, I still love em.

 

[miroslav]

So I was bouncing on eBay...and noticed that the original listing was closed...and now he relisted at half his original price.

Tascam M3500 24CH Studio mixing console | eBay

Still high...but at least he's getting closer to reality.

I'm sure eventually he'll be down to under $1k.

 

[Level Anything]

Shipping it to the states would cost double what you can find it for here. A guy I know had one of these in his studio apt. Now, I don't mean he had a recording studio in his apt. No. He's living in a one room studio apt with his girlfriend and one of those taking up a quarter of all available space. He was trying to "give it away" for $500 on CL but couldn't find any buyers. His girlfriend was using it as a place to keep coats and sweaters that didn't fit in the closet. That was a sad situation.

I think Don Z from Inner Ear studios (Minor Threat, Fugazi etc) used one of these, or something like it for a lot of those recordings.

 

[miroslav]

He was trying to "give it away" for $500 on CL but couldn't find any buyers.

..........

I think Don Z from Inner Ear studios (Minor Threat, Fugazi etc) used one of these, or something like it for a lot of those recordings.

They are not anywhere near the same sonic/operational level as an API or SSL...etc...but, you can still do a really good mix on them, and they have a more robust routing/metering/monitoring flexibility than some more expensive consoles.
I switched mine out for a Trident 24 London that cost 4 times as much back in the day when they were both new...but TBH, the TASCAM 3500 is more flexible with the routing/metering/monitoring options.
Not that the Trident is short on features...it's just the Japanese design mentality included more options in what was/is really a project studio console.
The Trident 65/75/London series were/are also a project studio console...but...the design focused more on sonics and followed a more old-school design approach.

Hey...I have no regrets at all getting the Trident......just trying to say that the TASCAM gets short-changed in the audio community...and that's what they don't get a lot of action on the used market.
They are not pristine...I mean, it's not a console to try and mix Jazz or Classical stuff, where it has to be super clean...but man, for Pop/Rock...you can do a solid mix on a 3500.

The other "issue" with the 3500 is that they are getting loooong in the tooth. These are now 25+ year-old consoles....and unlike some other older consoles (like the Trident I got)...the TASCAM stuff, at 25 years old, is not something anyone wants to drop $2k-$3k+ to overhaul and modify with upgrades. There are places that will mod them...but at about $250/channel...plus severl hundred for the master section...well...do the math.
IOW...if you grabbed an older Trident or an older Neotek (I really wanted one of them, but much more $$$)...or an older MCI....etc...and then if you tossed $2k-$3k into them for an overhaul and mods...you would end up with a kick-ass console, plus, there's the whole "name" thing, and TASCAM was never able to get their brand name in the same light as those others...it just is what it is.

Anyway...I too will be looking to "give away" my 3500 soon...cuz right now, it's sitting in the laundry/sewing room that my Mom uses when she's up from Florida...so my 3500 is also becoming a clothing rack!

 

[witzendoz]

An M3700 with patch bays sold for AU$600 (US$420) here recently, made me realise that I will be keeping mine for life (mine) as it's not worth selling it an I am still getting great recordings out of it. Even if I keep it for routing within the studio it's not worth selling it LOL.

Now don't get me started on the 2 x Tascam MX2424 recorders that I use all the time.

Alan.

 

[RFR]

A bunch of luddites some of us are.

 

[miroslav]

Even if I keep it for routing within the studio it's not worth selling it LOL.

I actually had some of the same thoughts...just use it for cue mix stuff if nothing else, because I had that all wired just right...so it was comfortable working with it when I was tracking to the tape deck.

My main problem...I just got no more room in my studio space to keep the 3500 set up....and like I said, now it's sitting on it's end in a spare room....but I'm going to have to move it out of there come spring. I don't want to just keep moving it from room to room if I can't get any use out of it...so I need to unload it.
Worst case...I've got a couple of music buds that I may just give it to....though they don't really have a recording situation, they are more gig focused...so then it would just sit in one of their rooms unused.

 

[nsureit]

I've got a fully functioning, but dirty and dusty M-3500 in my garage. Found it in an abandoned storage space that I won in an auction. I'd have fun using it, but it's so freakin' huge and weighs a ton! Plus, RCA outs? WTF?

Ain't nobody got time for dat!!! It does work, surprisingly.

PS: Miro, the knobs are all tight and hard to turn. Is that normal, or are they gummed up with 30 years of dirt?

 

[witzendoz]

The rca in & outs were only on the US models, Europe and Australia models had jack in & outs. The full meter bridge was an option in the US where it was standard everywhere else.

Cheers
Alan

 

[sweetbeats]

An M3700 with patch bays sold for AU$600 (US$420)...

Why spend $420USD on a loaded M-3700 when you can have an M-320 for...

$1650???

Tascam M-320 mixing console | eBay

 

[sweetbeats]

Wait...I stand corrected...it would be better to save $150 and get this...only downside to this "collectible" is it's got 12 less channels than the M-320, and some fantastic custom paint...

TASCAM M308 AUDIO MIXER | eBay

 

[Level Anything]

WTF!? Also, who is watching it? Where'd this guy even come up with that price? I see some wild stuff but this really shocked me