Those very rare Tascam accessories~

kmarksson

kmarksson

New member
Over the last three years I've been assembling something of a lo-fi tape studio in my Brooklyn rehearsal space. I purchased two Tascam 238 decks and an M-1600 24 track mixer, along with an ATS-500 I acquired through a serendipitous Reverb email exchange (to synchronize them). I've been able to record and mix some pretty fun tunes on the setup (photo attached).

That ATS-500 came bundled with an MMC-100, which I really enjoyed (I loved controlling the tape transport from my midi sequencer), but quickly sold since it couldn't be used at the same time as the ATS. Recently I added an MSR-16 to the setup, and suddenly I'm wishing I had not sold the MMC-100 :facepalm:

It seems they rarely come up on secondhand sites these days. Anyone out there have one of these units collecting dust in their studio?

EDIT: Sweet Beats mentioned the RC-51 as a particularly hard-to-find Tascam item. I'm super curious if other users here have a "white whale" piece of kit they've been waiting a long time to find?
 

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kmarksson said:
Over the last three years I've been assembling something of a lo-fi tape studio in my Brooklyn rehearsal space. I purchased two Tascam 238 decks and an M-1600 24 track mixer, along with an ATS-500 I acquired through a serendipitous Reverb email exchange (to synchronize them). I've been able to record and mix some pretty fun tunes on the setup (photo attached).

That ATS-500 came bundled with an MMC-100, which I really enjoyed (I loved controlling the tape transport from my midi sequencer), but quickly sold since it couldn't be used at the same time as the ATS. Recently I added an MSR-16 to the setup, and suddenly I'm wishing I had not sold the MMC-100 :facepalm:

It seems they rarely come up on secondhand sites these days. Anyone out there have one of these units collecting dust in their studio?
Click to expand...
Can’t help you out with that, but cool setup!
Love seeing people use real gear :D
 
RFR said:
Can’t help you out with that, but cool setup!
Love seeing people use real gear :D
Click to expand...
Thank you! I've been mixing much of what I've been recording without a computer, but I do also have this set up so that the MOTU 828 is looped-in on channels 1-8 (and groups 1-8) so that I can bounce to and play back from Logic as well. The MOTU takes SMPTE from channel 8 on the upper Tascam 238 (or channel 16 on the MSR-16) and uses it as the clock source, then the Syncman Plus converts that same SMPTE to MTC—which drives the MPC 1000—which in turn drives the MTC going into the MOTU to keep the song pointer/position rock solid in Logic. The result is a hybrid system where I can have as many tracks as I'd like coming back from Logic on channels 1-8, and then 14-15 tracks of analog tape on channels 9-24 (depending if I'm running two Tascam 238s synchronized by the ATS-500 or just the one MSR-16). Logic is perfectly synced, clocked, and locked to the tape!

Took a while to get that setup figured out, and adding an MMC-100 would give me the power to set the transport position for the MSR-16 directly from the MPC (a boon for setting pre-roll and punch-ins) 8-)
 
My "white whale" piece of gear isn't a Tascam piece, but a Fostex. I need an 8779 interface for a Fostex 3035. It interfaces the 3035 to my JH24. I got into the land of 3035's because I had a set of tapes that were recorded on an MS-16 and a Fostex B16, simultaneously, synced with the 3035. I had an MS-16, and managed to find someone selling an E16 _and_ a 3035 synchronizer. I found the 8785 interface for the MS-16 cheap, and got that all running surprisingly easy.
I've been on the hunt for the 8779, mostly just for fun, for a couple of years, but I have yet to see one for sale.
 
Back in the 90's Guitar Center was taking over Rhythm City in Atlanta. They were liquidating everything that wasn't nailed down for dirt cheap before the change over. Especially Tascam it seemed. For about 2 months, every Saturday, I walked into the pro audio department to find, the MTS1000 with cables. M2600, Tascam 238, patch bays, etc. We already had a TSR 8 and a MSR 16. Synced both and did several CDs that way. Getting ready to set it all up and do it again. All analog.
 
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