Teac 80-8 vs. Digi 003

[humelectric]

Here is the deal. I have a semi-functioning Teac 80-8 sitting in my house as I type this that is in need of a new playback head and also, some other repairs but, I have no board to run it through and only one reel of tape. I have been sitting in this piece of equipment for awhile and have debated buying a newer mackie or similar board to go with it and start tracking on tape for various projects I do by myself and with my band. I am thinking the repairs on this machine could be anywhere from $300-$500 plus buying a board for it that would cost about $1000 for something that would sound decent.

Now, here is the dilemma my other option I have thought about is saying "I will deal with you later" to the Teac and just getting a Digi 003 and learning how to use protools better and start messing with that realm. I can see it being easier to deal with and quicker to setup the digi 003 but, I think I could be missing out on a great learning experience using the Teac.

So, I just want some opinions on the matter. The money is there but, my final decision is not. Uncertainty at its worse.

[dsw]

You need both. Start with the computer, because you'll need some time to shop for the board that you could be recording right away with the computer.

The tape will force you to be simple and think things out well.

The computer will allow you to edit out the one little thing that bugs from an otherwise brilliant take.

Shop well for the board because it should be an inline direct out mix b havin great pre's and eq kind of thing not a mackie or a scare-in-ger.

Both good in long run.

[tubetapexfmr]

Have you considered a hybrid rig? If you bought a MOTU 828 mkII used for about $400 and built your own PC/hackintosh w/ Reaper for $600 you could use that as your DAW and your console. The MOTU has a built in mixer with zero latency monitoring and bussing. It does multiple mixes as well. If you were to shell out a little more money for the new 828 mk III you would get on board dynamics EQ and reverb so it would perform the function of a much more expensive digital console. The beauty part is the 828 has SMPTE I/O so you can slave your computer rig to your tape machine. Workflow would be like this:

1. Sync tape to computer. This is as easy as striping one track with time code. Now the computer will chase the code on the tape.

2. Track to tape on the 7 remaining tracks.

3. Dump the tracks in the DAW.

4. Grab another reel of tape (or erase and reuse the same reel) for each 7 tracks of overdubs or just overdub straight to the DAW.

5. Mix in the box.

[poopdealer]

I would try both. You can find Digi002 racks on craigslist or eBay cheap and download LE 7.4 on Digidesign's website. I also have a couple of 80-8's that are between repairs. (aren't they always?)

Nothing compares to the sound of tape-even if it is a junky machine like the 80-8. I've managed to get stellar sounds on mine with a Tascam console I borrowed. If Boston can do it, so can you! Learn to calibrate it for the proper level and you won't want to track without it. Ask me in about a month about parts for your 80-8. I might part one of mine out.

[buenavista]

The beauty part is the 828 has SMPTE I/O so you can slave your computer rig to your tape machine.

Has anyone actually suceeded in doing this? A couple of years ago I tried to sync my mkII with my tascam 388--basically exactly as jessemesasavage describes in his post, and with the exact same goal. As I recall, I could never get it to work right, became discouraged, and eventually gave up. Has anyone suceeded with this setup?