What did the TASCAM 234 cost back in the day ?

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cjacek

cjacek

Analogue Enthusiast
Greetings! :D

Can anyone please tell me what the 234 retailed for when originally released ? Also, when was it first introduced and then discontinued ? :(

Thank ya! ;)

Daniel
 
"1983 - The TASCAM 234 Syncaset was the first 4-track rackmountable cassette recorder/reproducer with dbx and 3 3/4 IPS tape speed."

... i'm not sure how much it cost back then, but i have the original receipt for my recently aquired 244 (which came out in '84), and it was $1100!!! holy crap... it's great to be able to get all kinds of old analog gear for cheap these days. god bless computers.
peace - jv
 
In Canada, it retailed for 1200 bucks when it was new back in the early 80's.

I remember seeing it at Long & McQuade, downtown when it first came out.

Cheers! :)
 
johneeeveee said:
"1983 - The TASCAM 234 Syncaset was the first 4-track rackmountable cassette recorder/reproducer with dbx and 3 3/4 IPS tape speed."

... i'm not sure how much it cost back then, but i have the original receipt for my recently aquired 244 (which came out in '84), and it was $1100!!! holy crap... it's great to be able to get all kinds of old analog gear for cheap these days. god bless computers.
peace - jv
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 244 is indeed a great recorder, much better than the cheapo plastic and light portas they make now. :rolleyes: When I first got the 244, "mint" for $150, I couldn't believe the sound quality! May have been lo-fi but was MEGA in sound density! It sounded tons better than my 414, 424 etc .... It's not that cassette sucks but todays cassette DECKS suck! The bloody things, back in the day when somebody gave a shit about quality craftsmanship, sounded better than cds! Yes, cassette CAN sound better than a cd! Anyway ....

Daniel
 
The Ghost of FM said:
In Canada, it retailed for 1200 bucks when it was new back in the early 80's.

I remember seeing it at Long & McQuade, downtown when it first came out.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I go to L&M all the time (in Vancouver). Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to be there when TASCAM was producing all that fantastic gear! I was too young! :(

Wow, I wonder what $1200 CND, back in th early 80's, would be translated into now ? Perhaps $2000 CND ??? It's pretty cool that the 234's design was copied from the 34B's or vice versa .. not sure what came first tho .. :confused: Anyway, I've heard so many people over the years praise the 234's build and sound quality. I hope I can get me one soon! :D :D

Daniel
 
cjacek said:
Yeah, the 244 is indeed a great recorder, much better than the cheapo plastic and light portas they make now. :rolleyes: When I first got the 244, "mint" for $150, I couldn't believe the sound quality! May have been lo-fi but was MEGA in sound density! It sounded tons better than my 414, 424 etc .... It's not that cassette sucks but todays cassette DECKS suck! The bloody things, back in the day when somebody gave a shit about quality craftsmanship, sounded better than cds! Yes, cassette CAN sound better than a cd! Anyway ....

Daniel
Click to expand...

... i agree that good 4 track recordings have a sound all their own. i don't know about "better" than cd, that is subjective, but i agree that they can sound really cool. i'm getting some great results with my "new" old stock 244, and may actually put out an ep of some of these recordings. many great artists have created fine records on this medium... elliot smith, sebadoh, neutral milk hotel, devendra banhart, pj harvey and many more.
it's nice to run into others on this forum that dig the porta's. i think it is a format that is easily dimissed due to it's obvious limitations, but embracing those limitations can yield some very worthwhile results... imo, of course:)
peace - jv
 
234 or 244?

I too have the 234 and folks love the sound of the demo's that come from it... it weighs a ton and is built like a tank! they don't make cassette machines like it anymore..

I would like to see more gear from this school of thought.... I can't fall in love with the digital recordings when compared side by side with this unit? anyone agree?
 
Re: 234 or 244?

blewgrass said:
I too have the 234 and folks love the sound of the demo's that come from it... it weighs a ton and is built like a tank! they don't make cassette machines like it anymore..

I would like to see more gear from this school of thought.... I can't fall in love with the digital recordings when compared side by side with this unit? anyone agree?
Click to expand...

I, for one, and a host of others would certainly agree. Sure there are nay sayers outthere, but fact remains that these are getting more and more popular very quickly. I've been following ebay very closely for a long while now and the bids and prices have been generally on the UP on those units, and this includes 244, 246 and of course the 234. All three have similar good sound, which is FAR from "cheap sounding", but what distinguishes these is that the 234 can be paired up with a higher end mixer and have way more routing options and perhaps a bit better quality of sound as a result of the better circuitry in that particular mixer.

Yes, you're certainly not alone with loving the sound of these units. As for digital .. it has its uses but I'd never go back to digital recording, EVER! I hate it with all my heart.

Yes, I would like to see private companies fill the "analog" void and start making these types of units again. See, everything is about filling a demand and if a firm sees this "demand" for this type of gear, then it's all business and marketing from then on. Much of the "marketing", however, is word-of-mouth, and it is plentiful on many boards including this one and the "Analog Only" forum. Check it out.

Daniel
 
... i think most recording mediums have their merits, and great work can be accomplished on many of them. i am a junkie for big analog sound in the form of 1 and 2 inch tape, but here at home i dig my 244. the overdiven sound of a cassette porta has a mojo all it's own, and it suits me fine.
hey cjacek,
you and reel seem to get some really clean sound from your old porta's. i am wondering if you use any outboard pre's or di's going into your 1/4 inch ins on the 244. i posted this on another thread to no avail, but i am having trouble with rf interference going into the inputs of my 244 with an impedence matching transformer. i can usually find a spot in the room that is quiet, but wonder if you are useing good quad mic cables or something. i use good short cables, but still have the problem. any input?
thanks - jv
 
johneeeveee said:
... i think most recording mediums have their merits, and great work can be accomplished on many of them. i am a junkie for big analog sound in the form of 1 and 2 inch tape, but here at home i dig my 244. the overdiven sound of a cassette porta has a mojo all it's own, and it suits me fine.
hey cjacek,
you and reel seem to get some really clean sound from your old porta's. i am wondering if you use any outboard pre's or di's going into your 1/4 inch ins on the 244. i posted this on another thread to no avail, but i am having trouble with rf interference going into the inputs of my 244 with an impedence matching transformer. i can usually find a spot in the room that is quiet, but wonder if you are useing good quad mic cables or something. i use good short cables, but still have the problem. any input?
thanks - jv
Click to expand...

Hey jv,

It's interesting that you brought up "interference" 'cause when I bought a low z to hi z matching adapter, I've found a bit of a noise coming in. I'd best describe it as "power noise" as if I'm hearing the amp working with that low buzzing sound. Is that what you meant ? Yeah, I'd really appreciate someone filling me in on this rather bizzare occurance. Other than that, I dig my 244. For some reason I really like the cassette based recorders, namely the older TASCAMs, which were really superior in design as compared to the shit they put out now. Maybe I was just raised on cassette ? ;) Fact is that if something is well recorded and mastered to cassette, on good gear, it's gonna be every bit as good as anything, only lower fidelity, which I happen to dig. Pick up a well recorded cassette, from BMG/RCA for example, and play it back on a good sound system and you'll know what I mean. I've had a person say that cassette cannot sound as "good" as CD. Well, by "good" I didn't mean "accurate". Do you want your music to sound good or accurate ? Fact is that if you record yourself playing guitar or piano and singing, for example, directly to cd, you'll be disappointed at how flat and boring it sounds. "Accurate" .. maybe but "good" .. not. Record the same to cassette (with a good recorder + dolby or dbx) and you'll prefer the sonic characteristics of cassette. It can be close to cd quality but sounds nicer than cd.

Btw, I don't use any mic pres other than the ones on the 244. They sound good. Make sure you get a basic compressor to even out (not kill) the dynamics a bit. I find it essential, especially with a dynamic voice, and it helps your sounds to be more pro. Just get a used, inexpensive one as there's really no need to spend more. It how you use it that's important.

Daniel
 
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rf interference

... the hum that you hear is most likely rf interference from these frequencies being picked up due to unbalanced lines. other than keepng the lines short and using quality cables, i was just wondering if there are any tips that others have come across when dealing with this problem (other than moving around the room to find a quiet spot). i'll investigate a high quality quad cable (like the blue kiwi cable that's on sale right now at gc for $29), and report back to ya.
peace - jv
 
Re: rf interference

johneeeveee said:
... the hum that you hear is most likely rf interference from these frequencies being picked up due to unbalanced lines. other than keepng the lines short and using quality cables, i was just wondering if there are any tips that others have come across when dealing with this problem (other than moving around the room to find a quiet spot). i'll investigate a high quality quad cable (like the blue kiwi cable that's on sale right now at gc for $29), and report back to ya.
peace - jv
Click to expand...

Yes, please report back as I want to solve this problem as well.

Hope to hear from ya soon!

Daniel
 
I have a 238 which was the 8 track version (actually I have two of them). I paid $1700 for it new back in the 80's. I got some very good recordings out of that machine.
 
Thanx, man.

Nah, all my stuff is done "in the box"

;)
 
Re: Thanx, man.

A Reel Person said:
Nah, all my stuff is done "in the box"

;)
Click to expand...

... that's actually the way i like to work with my 244. i like the pre's on board. i was just wondering if you run into rf interference at all and if you had any tips for avoiding them other than short cables, a good impedence matching transformer, and moving around the room a bit to find the sweet spot). your porta recordings are inspiring, reel, and as always, thanks for the input.
peace - jv
 
Thanx JV, and I think you said it.

Keep cable runs short, use one or more of those transformer/adaptors, and find a sweet spot in your room, if necessary. HiZ 1/4" plug mics are okay, since they usually have short cables anyway.

I've never had much of a problem with RFI, though, as long as the computer monitor and any other noisy electrical appliances are turned off.

Thanx again for listening & commenting on my stuff. Always appreciated.

------

I think the 234 retailed for $1100 - $1200, back in the day.

Good thing, you can get them for $125 now!
;)
 
thanks again reel,

... do you consider 20' a short cord? (i've heard for unbalanced cables, that 20' and under is ok).

... yeah, i saw a 234 just go for $125 on ebay. it's a great day for anyone looking for analog gear.
peace - jv
 
20' and under should be okay for unbalanced lines.

Yeah, it's an analog head's field day, thanx to digital.;)
 
Go Analog

Peace to the 234!

I still use mine very much.... has anyone taken their 4 track mix from a cassette machine and feed it into a unit like the DA 38 or a hard disk system .. and then tweak it out with more digital tracks?

can that work?

what about the TSR-8?
is that a bear to use? or very simple with the built in dbx? can you get heads and parts for the older units? anyone besides tascam service them or build parts?

thanks

Steve
 
The TSR-8 is not that old a machine and if you can find a low mileage one, there's no reason you can't get 10 years or more service from one with normal home use type hours.

TASCAM does stock parts for it, should any be needed and operating it should be no more difficult to operate then a 234 with the only extra skill needed to learn on it is how to thread a tape and that's no biggie to get the hang of.

Compared to a cassette based recorder, the TSR-8 runs at 15ips and has dbx type I professional noise reduction built in and can be part of a multi machine lock up through it's synchronizer port on the back panel.

I have a TASCAM 38, which is also an 8 track, half inch recorder, with external dbx units made by TASCAM for it and it's sound quality is completely professional sounding and fuller then many lower end digital recording mediums.

Cheers! :)
 
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