tsr 8

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JustinBell

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So, I came across this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tascam-TSR-8-WI...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2eac4ef68d

I think that I might get it, but am a bit sick to my stomach after reading through the shipping and packing thread. It would be nice if some people that have used this machine could talk about it, mabye in comparison to a 38, 48 or 58

I really would love to buy locally but I live in a small part of Canada and theres never any reel to reels for sale of any type. Ive called studios and the ones they have (16 and 24 tracks) there hangin' onto!

thanks,
 
The TSR-8 is a nice machine. 1/2" tape, 8 tracks,as you probably already know. It's not as robust as it's predecessors (38, 48, 58) and only has two heads, so there is not any monitoring off the tape. The transport logic, however, is far more advanced. The TSR-8 also has built-in dbx Type I noise reduction, whereas the older models had to have an external unit (DX-4D).

With the enhanced (updated) transport system, it's much more suited to running master/slave with a PC, if that is what you might end doing with it.

I personally have both the 38 and the TSR-8 and wouldn't part with either one. Like I said, the only weaknesses I see from the TSR-8 is the durability (it will still last you lifetime, just keep it in place in the studio, not a gig machine on the road), and the 2 head set up. Tascam still has many parts for it though, so that is a pretty big plus too.

If you have to get one shipped, be careful who you buy from and make sure they know how to pack it up. I would figure up how far I would be willing to drive before I would have one shipped. On the flip side, there have been people who have had machines arrive without so much as a scuff on the box, but it's still a scary proposition.

Good luck man, and keep us updated.;)
 
One of the wonderful things about the TSR-8 for a solo artist is that it can be easily programmed to do automatic punch-ins. This can be a real lifesaver when trying to record vocals, I never, ever get it right on the first try and invariably have to rerecord a verse or chorus.

It can also, as mentioned, slave to another machine with the right equipment, be that a computer or another deck. I run two of them in a master-slave configuration, I can bring up the second deck when I need to have more than 7 tracks (I use track 8 for the timecode).
 
That's not a bad set up for the price. I had a 2516 mixer, which is in the same series, and I always liked it.

Write to the seller and ask him if he'll double-box the TSR-8, and double-check that he'll ship to Canada. I'd also ask to insure the items.

-MD
 
wow thanks everyone for the detailed replys.
jjones what do you mean you cant monitor off tape? (Im sure thats a stupid question:)
yeah I heard about the built in dbx, what would be really cool is if someone has or knew where to find a tune that was recorded on one of these without the dbx and one with to A B. failing that can someone tell me what its like with/without the dbx? I know though, that how much hiss someone can handle is a reletive thing anyway:D
yeaaahh I reaally dont wanna have this thing shipped after reading and looking at all the pics on the packing thread. I can just picture it now, that really thin foam thats a thoundths of an inch think, nab adaptors are buldging out of the box ready to break at the next drop on the conveyor, mixer is packed in same box as deck moving freely about... :(
ahh mabye I can write for movies for the horror/thriller genre!
anyway my peeve about the mixer is that theres no direct outs for each track. thats ok for now as Im just recording solo guitar and I know that this deck is going to be a god send due to the huge dynamic range that this style covers I wont have to worry about going past 0 and having the track runied from clipping. yeah were gunna be in the red now! hah

edit: oh yeah I have to ask, is there a gentle way of talking to the seller about proper shipping? I mean some people could take it the wrong way and treat the machine worse like putting a fragile sticker on something going through ups. well obviously if the seller puts up a huge fuss about packing it I wont be buying, but lets hope for the best
 
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JustinBell said:
wow thanks everyone for the detailed replys.
jjones what do you mean you cant monitor off tape? (Im sure thats a stupid question:)
Click to expand...

With a 3-head deck, you have a playback head after the record head, so you can listen to what's just been recorded on the tape. IMHO this is less useful in a tracking scenario because it's delayed by about 1/15th of a second anyway, but it can be very useful, particularly for calibration.

With a 2-head deck, you just have the one head doing both record and playback. What you get in that situation is that for the track being recorded, you'll hear the input signal, not what's actually on tape. The tracks not being recorded will be coming off tape, though.
With a 3-head deck you can choose whether you listen off the record head or playback head. With a 2-head deck, you've only got the record head anyway.

yeah I heard about the built in dbx, what would be really cool is if someone has or knew where to find a tune that was recorded on one of these without the dbx and one with to A B. failing that can someone tell me what its like with/without the dbx? I know though, that how much hiss someone can handle is a reletive thing anyway:D
Click to expand...

I do have one recording that was done without DBX, but it's a bit of a weird one anyway since it was aiming for a 1960s psychedelia sound, and all the mixes I have to hand were flanged so it's been put through a large number of tape decks anyway. All my other recordings are done with DBX enabled.
If I remember I might be able to do a raw mix of that song without any of the flanging.
 
thanks for clearing that up, makes much more sense now.
it would be great to hear the tune without dbx whenever you have a chance to upload it somewhere.
 
Justin, the heads just show nominal wear AFAIC...looks like plenty of life left. It looks like pretty clean setup.

+1 to what everybody else said above...the TSR-8 is a more user-friendly machine IMO...great sounding and will require less dickering...parts are more readily available...I think you would find that it is a more economical machine to run and has more convenience options. I'm partial to the older decks but that is just a personal preference in part based on aesthetics. I have absolutely nothing against the TSR-8 and plenty of people I respect around here swear by them.

2-head vs 3 head...yes, the main advantage with a modern deck that has the same performance when reproducing with the sync head or the reproduce head is during calibration, especially with setting the bias. Otherwise it makes no difference in tracking or mixing down...you'd be using the sync head most the time on a 3-head deck anyway, or even all the time.
 
Thanks for helping him out guys after I jumped in. I can't get to this site from work.:mad:

Hey JP, I've got a M-2516 that is paired to my TSR-8, similar to what you referred to.:p
 
None of this matters if the machine arrives smashed to bits. The original poster is rightly listening to that little voice, urging him to be wary of this purchase.

Communicate with the seller using judgment of what constitutes proper ways of asking about packing and if he replies back with a know-it-all attitude or very little interest at all, then pass on it. The most important part is the seller willing to listen and be concerned about the recorder's safe arrival. If you don't feel this, then pass.

The ultimate test is if you send him packing suggestions, links, examples and see what he says or does. Not something to overwhelm him but give an idea.

The seller, if he's an aware individual, will try to put you at ease, not with a few words like "Oh, don't worry, I know how to pack" or "I've never had a bad shipping experience" or similar.... then that's not what I'd call a good person to deal with.

Where in small part of Canada are you?
 
you guys rock

thanks again for all the feedback. yes Ive got a atr 700 that Im fixing up and have some 99% isoproply that works very well that I'll use on this aswell.
The auction has mabye another 15hours or so, and provided it still stays around the price its at now and the seller is able to understand about shipping that Im not trying to make his life hard but just want my machine to come, well not totally f*cked, then I'll be getting it. Thinking about shipping has reminded me about when I ordered this great 7 string classical off ebay, it was shipped in a double box kinda way with the guitar in a cardboard how they come when they are shipped from the factory and in a larger box. I beleive it was shipped usps and there wasnt a stratch on it. anyway I know that thats the exception not the rule hahaha:) lets hope this all goes well. I mean Ive searched for a long time, Halifax NS is where Im at btw, on forums and local ads, studios ect. the closest I found was a nice otari 5050 1/4" but was sold already and not really what I wanted to begin with. Sooo, unless some kind soul on here has a multitrack there willing to part with I guess Im stuck with junkbay.:(
 
JustinBell said:
thanks for clearing that up, makes much more sense now.
it would be great to hear the tune without dbx whenever you have a chance to upload it somewhere.
Click to expand...

If you're still interested, I mixed these tonight:





...they are on the same tape and mixed with roughly the same settings, straight to digital to avoid confusing things with any extra hiss etc from the mastering machine.

And just for fun (and I'm sure people will find this interesting and useful), I mixed clips of both songs with the DBX set wrong. The first clip is fishsticks with the DBX decoding enabled. Turn the volume down first!



The second clip in that file is SAIA Blues with DBX decoding disabled. It doesn't sound as bad. What you do tend to find is that you hear mains hum and other hiss much, much more prominently. This wasn't the best example of it going wrong, but I happened to have it handy.
 
Thanks for that.. as a fellow TSR owner it was helpful.

Paul

Warrington, Cheshire UK
 
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