Message Board

388's use 7" Quantegy 457, same as 456 but thinner tape. You can find it at almost any pro audio store that carries Quantegy reel tape, $10-11 per reel.

oldDude, be sure to have a pro calibrate/service your 388, you won't really know what it can do until it's up to spec.

This Fostex MR-8 recorder only records 2 tracks at once, which might be ok if you're just recording yourself, but if you want to record a band or group you will be lacking in resources. Also, it uses smart media cards to hold the audio, which means that you'll probably have to finish one project bef...

I don't doubt that the Hamptone kit mic preamp doesn't sound good.
Major question is, why did Hamptone discontinue the preamp kit (circuit boards and transformers)? It couldn't have been due to suppliers for parts being scarce...

The Fostex mixers are OK. To get started, for $200 or less you won't be able to do better. Not very transparent sounding, but fine to start with. Buy the 16 channel version, for more options later. Use it and upgrade when you can. With the Fostex, avoid the really cheap outboard mic pres (ex: ART) a...

That it matters not what you record on... as long as you do it.
Digital or analog, it doesn't really matter.
Use what you got, learn to use it well.

$200 is the street price for the non-tube AT3035 mic. The AT3060 is $599, sold at $499. Same as the 3035 except for the tube circuitry and less low/hi end on specs (50-16k vs 3035's 20-20).

Damn. I was gonna go looking for one.

soundguy, where did you see this "$200" audio-technica tube mic? The only one low-cost one I can find is the 3060, phantom powered tube mic, lists at $499.

I agree with super skoda - multitrack cassette recorders are cool for what they do, but the Tascam 388 is the ultimate "portastudio", except it's not so "portable". 7" tape reels don't cost much.

The Behringer headphone amp @ $99 is probably all you need, but for only a little more you could have something better. The OZ Audio HR-4 or HR-6 give you lots of level and flexibility. I have a OZ Audio 6 and it's built like a tank, clean power, no distortion. The 6 is pricey ($270-300) but the 4 i...

UpsideYoHead couldn't possibly be a reader of the magazine or this message board. His assessment is just plain wrong and meaningless.

Has anyone tried using an older PC (700-1ghz) with an 8 in/8 out digital sound card running VST plugins/effects as a realtime effects module? I read about using the obsolete Gadget Labs Wave Pro 8/24 card, running FXpansions free VST Host software, and new 3rd party WavePro 8/24 ASIO drivers to lowe...

Kyle,
I've looked all over for the Switchcraft XLR tube (the one with the male on one end and a female on the other) to use for making pads.... can't find them in L.A.. Do you know of an online supplier or a store where I can order 'em?

Use what you need to. With tape recorders, some people believe it best to compress the track when you print (record); using it later on the track brings up hiss. I use no hi-end stuff myself, my current fave is a dual and single ART levelar. A friend of mine swears by his Roland compressor/sustainer...

I only read TapeOP, occasionally Recording magazine. Everything else blows, most of them just sell ads and deceive the buying public with slanted reviews and ad space.

If you have a PC laptop, you should be able to repartition the HD without wiping & reinstalling the windows OS by using Partition Magic.