Analog 8 tracks: which has the best bang for the buck?!

[Bitchfork]

fellas & fellettes,
i've been looking to get an 8 track recorder, preferably $500 and under, and was wondering what everyone's opinions on the models were.

it seems the Tascams (38 & TRS) are the most prominent.
but i did have a 38 for a while and it just completely died for no reason on me, so i'm skeptical, the same with my friends' TRS a few weeks ago.

any suggestions or stories?
do you mind if i give you a back rub? go ahead, take your time...

[joeysimms]

You might find a tascam 48 or 58 for that cheap. Better built than the tsr-8 / 80-8 / 38, and xlr in/outs. Try Otari 5050 as well.

[eh91311]

Tascam 388, or if you are into 1/2" machines, a Tascam 48 or 58.

[w_]

sorry for this being slightly off topic and maybe incredibly stupid, but are there any manufacturers out there actually producing new analog 8 tracks?

[wayne kerr]

Wes, your question is an excellent one. Unfortuantely the answer is no. The 1/2" 8-tk was like THE punk rock machine... It brought recording power to the masses.

S/H

And, BTW, a MX5050 is a killer.

[abodean]

Go TASCAM 38 or TSR-8. You'll save money up front, and you'll have the same effect in the long-run. Especially in this day and age, when most everything will go digital in the end (normally, unless you're planning on a vinyl or tape release).

I have a 38 and it serves me very well. But, it is just my two cents. A friend of mine is using a 58, and it is indeed more expensive up front. In the end, it will reach the same medium as most everything else: the Compact Disc. And, in the end, it is used primarily for the same effect as the 38: analog tape compression.

Once again, just my two cents.

[lobstman]

And, in the end, it is used primarily for the same effect as the 38: analog tape compression.

What kind of tape are you running? Unless you're using low output tapes like 631 or 406, you aren't really getting tape compression- you're getting crappy electronics compression. The record amps on a 38 don't have the juice to overload 456- I think the most they can handle is +6 (320 nWb/m), which is the recommended level for 456 (it's an "elevated level" tape, although we don't really think of it that way anymore). Anything above that is your 38 saying "please don't hurt me!"

I've still got a 38 that I made many nice recordings on, but it won't slam tape like a Studer 827.

[Family Hoof]

fuckin' A, lobstman. well put. You'd be hard pressed to get +6 out of many Tascams I know of. I haven't graduated to 8 tracks yet (4 and 2) so I can't weigh in on this one. 406 is cheap, not a bad idea, and 407 gets you more length. Although, my Tascam 52 can do +6 with juice to spare. I was just introducing it to some GP9 as I write this.

[percussion boy]

Maybe stretch past 500 (or get lucky) and buy an Otari?

People have made good records on the MX5050, you can do a full alignment on it, and there's plenty of parts and knowledge still floating around, even though it's no longer made. Also, Otari will sell you the service manual.

It isn't a Studer but it was made for a professional environment. I managed to drop one of mine like 3 feet and it still worked fine.

[mixmasterdsr]

I have a 38 that I use to track guitar parts and bass. It was a bit difficult at first to get decent sound out of it but mainly because I had grown accustomed to how easy it is to get good clean signal from digital. Now I compress everything to tape, that seems to do the trick. I've been recycling the same tape that came with it when I bought it, I don't know what kind of tape it is. Can anyone recommend the best tape to get for it? I've been searching ebay for used tape but have no idea what kind is best for this machine. Thanks for any input..

[Family Hoof]

mixmasterdsr,
Get new tape. The two kinds mentioned above - Quantegy 456 and 406 - are probably best for this machine. 457 and 407 are the long play versions. These are readily available from places like http://tapeworkstexas.com/ and http://www.usrecordingmedia.com/. You may want to think about properly calibrating it at some point. That would allow you to achieve optimal sound. There are tons of posts about this so let us not hijack this one.

[mixmasterdsr]

Hey hoof -hijacking posts is why we're all here! So point me in the direction of info on calibration already if you'd be so kind! THANKS FOR THE TIPS

[Family Hoof]

Hey hoof -hijacking posts is why we're all here! So point me in the direction of info on calibration already if you'd be so kind! THANKS FOR THE TIPS

See the post I just made here. Also, do a search of the active General Recording forum for the word "calibration". Scroll down a bit and you will find everything you need. I've covered the topic enough times that I forget what I've written and have had trouble keeping my facts straight about certain machines. Oh yeah, and one other article I left out that should help is this one.

[mixmasterdsr]

Thanks again... yet see how lame I am... what format do I buy? There's pancake, 10.5" reel, and 7"!

[Family Hoof]

Thanks again... yet see how lame I am... what format do I buy? There's pancake, 10.5" reel, and 7"!

Pancake is useless unless you have flanges and screws to attach them or empty metal reels sitting around to transfer the tape to - but this is very tricky. 10.5" is pretty standard in the professional world. If you have the big plastic NAB adaptors that attach to the small metal shafts then you can use 10.5" reels and get more time per reel. 7" is still fine, I use them on my Tascam. just take the NAB adaptors off and use the metal shafts directly. less time per reel though.