trying to decide btwn Tascam 38 and TSR8... advice needed!

[telecasterrok]

I'm looking at a tascam 38 and a tsr8 and trying to figure out which to buy! They are both in awesome condition from top to bottom.

Which one of these guys will give me the highest fidelity? which is best for maintenance and parts? I'd especially love to hear from people who have used them both extensively, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[jpmorris]

The TSR-8 has a computer-controlled transport which is very smooth and nice to use. It also has the ability to slave to other decks, which the '38 does not.

The machine can easily be programmed to do dead useful things like automatic punch-in which has now become part of my workflow for re-doing vocals and spot erasing thumps etc. when I get into place.

Audio-wise the TSR-8 was designed to compete with digital recorders and it sounds very clean when the noise reduction is switched on. Some might say too clean. It comes with 8 channels of built-in DBX noise reduction, which can be turned on or off in banks of four, or excluded on just the 8th track for timecode purposes.

Parts-wise, the 38 might be slightly better, though some parts like the heads are common to both machines. The '38 is easier to align as it has three heads instead of two. The TSR-8 is liable to be a nightmare to fix if the logic board goes on the fritz.

 

[telecasterrok]

okay, good info. With dbx switched off on the tsr8, would the tsr8 and 38 have a comparable noise floor? Does the tsr8 sound the same as the 38 when the dbx is off, or is there a 'sound' that is characteristic to either one?

 

[jpmorris]

okay, good info. With dbx switched off on the tsr8, would the tsr8 and 38 have a comparable noise floor? Does the tsr8 sound the same as the 38 when the dbx is off, or is there a 'sound' that is characteristic to either one?

I always have DBX on out of habit. I've only made one song so far where the DBX is off (I immediately noticed an increase in crosstalk). I've never had a '38 myself, so I can't do a direct comparison I'm afraid. (I do have a '32 though)

 

[MAXRB]

Hi,
some months ago I was choosing between the TSr-8 and the 38 as well, finally I got a TSr-8 with the remote controller, mainly because I was afraid about the lack of DBX of the Tascam 38.
Actually I found that I like the sound of the TSr-8 without DBX, as DBX sounds to me less analog and more polished. I like my levels a bit saturated so I don't have problems with noise.

I agree. Some friends recorded with a 38 and in my opinion the Tsr-8 sounds a bit cleaner. Anyway we didn't use the same mixer and not even the same mics, so I don't really know.


Another difference between both is the number of heads. The 38 has 3 heads: Erase /Record /Playback and the TSr-8 just 2. So you can't use the Tsr-8 as an slapback echo machine!

 

[telecasterrok]

Thanks, Max.

I guess I was hoping that it be an easier decision, but it sounds like they're both on par with each other. When they were still being made and sold, was one considered higher quality over the other? I probably won't use the noise reduction, but it would be nice to have that feature if I needed it.

 

[MAXRB]

Thanks, Max.

I guess I was hoping that it be an easier decision, but it sounds like they're both on par with each other.

It happened to me, I couldn't find one really better than the other.

I think both were oriented to the semi-pro market and project studios, etc.

The 38 is a basic recorder build like a tank with Vu meters cool and three heads while the TSr-8 is more sophisticated (dbx, computer controlled transport,MIDI/SMPTE capability on Track 8 with outboard unit...) recorder. Both have good points IMHO and they sound similar
when DBX is off so maybe you should get the one in better condition.
Hope it helps.