Tascam 688 or 388 for demos/possibly albums?

neier · Post by **neier** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:25 am

Hi all, new to the forum, got a couple of questions:

I'm considering buying one of the above and would appreciate any input from anyone who's had/used both. I'm attracted to the portability of the 688 and lower cost of media, but would not want to sacrifice sound quality if there's a very big difference between the two.

My favourite example of the 388 sound on a recording so far is the Rocketship album (orange cover, can't remember the name now), for the 688 I've been really impressed by the studio casa cassette stuff.

Also, does anyone have any experience using high-end outboard with these? Is it lost on these machines to a great extent or can it improve the sound to a noticeable degree? (subjective, I know, but...) I.e a distressor for tracking and/or on the 2 buss? Neve/api clone pres? Higher end eqs? Etc etc

Many thanks!
Neil

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:02 am

If the have the opportunity to buy both, get the 388 for sure...make sure the cost is reasonable (I have 2 decks, paid $350 for each) and the condition is good as you may have some maintenance to do if the previous owner did not.. The 388 while not a hi-fi machine by any stretch of the imagination can sound really good in the right hands, has a greater track width, and runs twice as fast as a 688. The 1/4" format is still a relatively inexpensive media as far as tape goes, if you were really feeling thrifty you ay be able to find some used reels for next to nothing on eBay...I know there used to be a guy that sold them by the lot...but I already have a ton of tape...make sure you get the right formula and thickness for that deck.

IMHO the only downsides to the 388 versus the 688 is how good of a sound you want...its definitely a more robust machine design for lots of use and designed for maintenance, yes the media costs more but you can reuse reels if you have to... And its pretty big and heavy so you probably don't want to lug it around everywhere...

And yes you can interface quality gear with a 388...I've used it with Chandler TG pre/eqs before, but I don't normally mix in the 388, I dump it to Pro Tools... The onboard pres/EQs are wholly unusable by any stretch of the imagination...but they certainly could be improved upon.. There is no phantom power so you have to use an external pre or phantom box to use condensers.

markjazzbassist · Post by **markjazzbassist** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:49 pm

388, i used to own one and loved it, great machine. it's portable as well you just need 2 guys, it's not that heavy, i used to lug it around in my station wagon by myself without problems (i'm a big guy though).

the preamps are great and 1/4" tape is still really cheap (scotch 207 is 5-10 NOS on ebay).

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 4:59 pm

388 vs 688? Choose the 388. To reiterate, it's not hi-fi at all, but it works. Big issue is to use the DBX noise reduction or not. If you record with the DBX, the resulting sound has less hiss, but also less dynamics and high end. Record with it off, you get more openness/less compressed sound, more high end but a ton of hiss.

Last year, Pitchfork did an article on San Francisco-based indie rock bands using the 388; you can obviously tell that most of them recorded with the DBX off. I prefer it on and I deal with the resulting dark sound on playback with eq when mixing.

I prefer to dump the tracks from the 388 to computer to mix as well; I primarily use Reaper. I just need to use my 388 more.

neier · Post by **neier** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:25 am

Pretty unanimous then. I think the only reason I'd consider a 688 would be the ease of taking it to wherever there's a drumkit easily (I'm more or less done with programmed drums. Minus the "more or less" part). I take it the 388 is sturdy enough to deal with being lugged around every couple of weeks then? Portability aside I'd definitely go for the 388. Any recommendations for outboard to complement this thing? The overstayer fet comp seems well-liked. Also thinking about the Golden age pre and comp..

neier · Post by **neier** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:27 am

Oh and if "Suck on this" by Primus was done on a 388 then it really is an underrated machine...

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:28 am

Any outboard gear will do well with the 388. Line inputs and channel inserts are unbalanced, so a mic preamp like the E-H 12AY7 that needs a balanced input may hum. The GAP Pre73 won't have that issue. I'd look for an outboard phantom power source so you can use condenser mics with the 388's preamps. An ART PRO VLA or early JoeMeek channel strip would give you slower, smoother opto compressor choices as a contrast to a fast FET comp like the Overstayer.

neier · Post by **neier** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:55 am

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. Seaking of the Primus album, how come it's got plenty of high end and barely any hiss? Is it just a matter of recording practices and a well-maintained machine? Haven't heard many 388 albums sound that polished.

(Incidentally, just listened to the Crooked Saws one a bit last night, very good! Will have to buy that on payday)

markjazzbassist · Post by **markjazzbassist** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:32 pm

when you record if you boost the highs each take, then when you cut the highs in the overall mix when you mixdown to lower the hiss/noise it basically cancels out. also when you mixdown to another deck that can help to bring some life back in up top as well especially if you're mixing to 15/30 IPS.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:54 pm

neier wrote:Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. Seaking of the Primus album, how come it's got plenty of high end and barely any hiss? Is it just a matter of recording practices and a well-maintained machine? Haven't heard many 388 albums sound that polished.

(Incidentally, just listened to the Crooked Saws one a bit last night, very good! Will have to buy that on payday)

Yeah you really have to think ahead when recording to 388...boosting highs on the way in and cutting them down when you mix.

Another example of a major release 388 recorded song is The Black Dots of Death - Destroy Anything (streaming at www.theblackdotsofdeath.com)...all elements recorded to 388 except for one keyboard line...

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:27 pm

Hmm a 688 showed up on my local CL for $100...if I didn't already have a couple 388s...and if I were more impressed with the stuff I've heard recorded on a 688 (really mushy sounding even compared to a 388).

neier · Post by **neier** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:53 am

Do the heads on this one look too worn to be worth it?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tascam-388-St ... 1241wt_922

Thanks

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:32 am

neier wrote:Do the heads on this one look too worn to be worth it?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tascam-388-St ... 1241wt_922

Thanks

Might be more help if they had bothered to upload something besides a shitty cell phone photo... From what i can tell the head on the left looks messed up compared to mine, but that could also be tape goop or just a bad angle. Hard to say. If the heads are okay the price is right though...if you know how to get it going. If you don't know how to get it going I'd wait for a known good one, local pickup preferably, shipping a 388 is no minor task, especially since its already being sold as not working then you could get more problems than you bargained for. Even at its price now if you had to pay a tech to get it working you'd have spent more than what I think a good one should cost...(obviously though I have no idea what a 388 costs in the UK)

For comparison I paid $350 each for my 388s in working condition (one of which in near mint condition).

Hope that helps.

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Tascam 688 or 388 for demos/possibly albums?

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