The AKAI MG1212 12 Track Recorder

akai cool

Hi guys,

I just wanted to post up on the Akai mg1212 since you seem to have a limited
correspondence with VST and David over there. I wish he would post something here, there........anyway.

David is a SoCal cool cat. I've taken two Akai boards to David over the years.
Yup, I have two of them. One was given to me and the other I bought from
VST.

First off, the EQ section on those boards are a class act. They did it right
for the times. If there was a way to just get those EQs and rack mount them!
I mean, 3 band fully parametric is outrageous. You can do wonders with the sound.

But even David will admit the mic pres are not the greatest. He had suggested to get some decent micpre and input it's signal through the
channel effects loop or accessory input....whatever it's called.

I used my Akai in many different ways. When the tape transports kept giving out and I got tired of VST child support (yep, it was like my monthly visit
or sumthing!) I bypassed the entire transport and just mergered the two boards and had 24 tracks of Akai cool.

I know everyone who has ever read a recording magazine has been bombarded by the desire to sound and perform in a larger than life scenario,
it doesn't always work out in the family budget though. So in that light, if you can live with a little noise factor the MG1212 can still be the centerpiece
of your home studio.

Did I mention it looks real cool? All those meters and stuff. Cool. It's a vintage board and should be treated as such. I've heard nothing but good things from people who have made radio hits and that says something about a machine that's pushing a 30 year envelope. Trevor Rabin, Thomas Dolby just to name a few.

The whole tape thing is a mess eventhough Akai has been said they will keep making it till the year 2010. This according to David at VST.


I say move your existing tapes to another more standardized format and
quit sinking money into that antiquated tape transport.

I recently purchased the Alesis HD24 and have never looked back. As for the Akai, I gave one to a friend who has yet to set it up. But he wants to go over the old tapes of our recordings and re master and all that.

You could drill some holes in the back and put rca or 1/4 outs from the
12 record sections. Then you would still be able to use the record buttons. Or maybe just use it as an inline per track to some other
tape or digital machine. Even hooking it up to a computer will give you
an analog edge.

As far as it not having a big bottom end you could get one of those bass
enhancers. Everybody incorporates them in their gear nowadays. Even dbx
has it in their PA rack or ART or Behringer. Aphex, BBE.

Thanks for hearing me out on this subject. Peace.
 
I sold this fellow http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=109147732 a 1212 when they first came out. It was one of the very early units in the US. A couple of years later he up'd to the 1214, only because he was so impressed with the 1212. He was a very prolific producer (Bonnie Raitt's first album) and former artist on Electra (before they were a rock label) and produced MANY albums on the two units that he had. I'm about 90% certain that the cd on the site, "Piano Hits Willie, Willie Hits Piano" was done on one or the other.
 
akai mg614

Hey I've got 2 akai mg614's I might consider selling.These are the 4 track cassette versions of these consoles you guys are talking about.Very cool looking and sound good.6 inputs and 4 tracks.2 tape speeds and dbx.
 
Akai Mg 1212 for sale!!!!

Hello all

I have an Akai MG 1212 that I sent to Texas to a company call IGM or something like that (its been a while) they are the company that repairs all of Aaki's older models. anyhow It was shipped via Yellow freight and sent back overhauled in a custum built shipping crate.It cost me $1100 to get it overhauled. it worked great when i packed it up and keep it in the corner of my studio. it has not been opened in at least 5 years. we are now in the video business and i no longer have any use for it, but am interested in selling it. I would sell it for $500 plus the shipping cost (already has a crate) rolling stand would have to be shipped seperately. the tapes i believe can be purchased form Nashville tape supply and i still have about 24 tapes that can still be used. got a buddy whos interested so im pulling t urt of the crate this week to check it out.

any one interested please email me.
 
So I'm a newb and just got one of these bad boys, see my "HELP" post...Just curious to know if it is difficult to replace the 1/2" Maxcell EE to MK20J carts? How do you do it?

Thanks!!
 
Akai Mg 1212

Hey everyone,

I have an AKAI MG 1212 for sale if anyone is interested. I also have the road case with it. I have plenty of used tapes that could be re-recorded upon if need be. I've transferred almost everything over to other recording mediums.
Respond back this post if you like.
 
i put mine up for sale locally and got some interest.
I have a bunch of unused tape but don't want to sell separately.
If no one jumps on it, i'll take it down to VST and have them do
a once over.
If i get to that point, i might as well keep it.
So if anyones interested, let me know.
 
akia mg1212

studiodrum said:
Greetings my Analog Brothas' . . . !
Well, I have officially advanced from a 4 track 424 MkII to a multi track 12 Channel recorder, . .Its an Akai MG1212, 1/2" Cassette tape mixer/recorder. I scored this bad boy for almost free! I was helping a friend, clean out some crap from in his garage, and he was throwing away, . what looked like this old mixer. . . Anyway, long story short, . .it turned out to be a Akai MG1212, that used to be owned by his long past father who was an engineer for CBS in NYC many moons ago, . . and if I haul it off, . Its mine!

Unfortunately, this bad boy weighs fricken 95 lbs, . and is huge!!! So, I had to con another friend of mine to help me get this thing home, . . .well, worth the case of beer!

So, far everything works on this thing, . .All the lights and VU lights work, . the motor turns, . . Except most of the pots and faders are pretty scratchy from being in the attic for 10-20 years. . . This thing takes special Akai 1/2" tapes, and I order a few from a supplier in the UK. So, after I clean her up her pots, and lube her faders, . and I receive those new tapes. . .We will see what we get. . . I was planning on getting a Tascam 388, or a 238 for this demo project that I got going on. . . .But, when U came across this thing, .I thought it was worth a try, . Cause, if it works, . It will be perfect for what I need. . . However, if it ain't workin or takes a crap, . then unfortunately, the only people out there that are still working on these things, . . .is VST in Pasadena, Cali, . and at 95 Lbs. .. the shipping would be astronomical, . although since it was almost free, . .Ya never know. . .

Anyway, . I'm excited. Granted. I still might end up with buying a Tascam 388, or 238 with an M-30 mixer. But, for now. . I'm still in the ANALOG Gang, . .and I'm still working with cassette, rater than reels. . . If anyone out there would like to share their MG1212, or MG1214 experiences . . I would love to hear. . !! I will keep ya updated.
Be good guys. . .!
Click to expand...

Hi there I am based in the uk , I would you still have the details of the uk supplier were you got your tapes for the akia mg 1212. I am all so looking for a power supply for a akia 1212 , hope you can help, thanks Lee
 
Akai MG1214 with Tapes and Replacement Rubber

I have an Akai 1214 with 21 tapes (two of them brand new, still shrinkwrap), two sets of replacement rubber (belts and wheels), and the unit itself.

The unit is still functioning and records and plays back well. Over the holidays I transferred ALL of my recorded music from the 1214 to my DAW. Now that this task is complete, I'm ready to let the MG1214 go ...

Anyone have suggestions where I might post it? I'm putting it on eBay this evening to see if I get any bites .. any other suggestions?
 
Akai 1214

Did you have any luck with selling your 1214? It's been over a month, and I just joined the forum...
 
rpcesena said:
I have an Akai 1214 with 21 tapes (two of them brand new, still shrinkwrap), two sets of replacement rubber (belts and wheels), and the unit itself.

The unit is still functioning and records and plays back well. Over the holidays I transferred ALL of my recorded music from the 1214 to my DAW. Now that this task is complete, I'm ready to let the MG1214 go ...

Anyone have suggestions where I might post it? I'm putting it on eBay this evening to see if I get any bites .. any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Do you still have the tapes?
 
Hey Erynne.

You'd get a better result if you post in the free ads section, or maybe the analog forums.
The latter is a little off protocol i think but it seems to be done with specialist gear sometimes.


Maybe introduce yourself too. Sometimes the 'passing salesman' thing doesn't go down to well.

You might wanna take down your email address too. You'll get spammed like crazy with it on public forums.
Best of luck; Those akai's are great pieces!
 
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