buying a Tascam 388 -- help! (pictures)

[specialreport]

anything I should watch out for in picking up a used 388 with ostensibly no issues for $800? any components easy to check on that commonly fail and prove expensive or difficult to repair?

I have done my research, just trying to get input from knowledgeable people before I make a huge investment into this machine! I am experienced in the ways of cassette multitrack recording and I am really excited to upgrade to a machine with a little more headroom and punch. thank you.

how do these heads look to you?

[curtiswyant]

wow, are they really going for that much money? i thought they went for $300-400

[specialreport]

I wish. $500-900 is common

[kslight]

Wow $800 seems really high...really only eBay 388s seem to get that...that's more than double what I paid for both of mine.

BUT...since you asked...


Obviously, power it on, check your meter bulbs, the meters themselves, the transport (including ff and rw), check all mic inputs (make sure they are relatively consistent, a thin sounding channel for example would be an indication of problems in that channel), record a sound to ALL tracks then play it back and monitor each track. Move the faders and knobs and check for excessive resistance or scratchiness. Also pop the hood above the meter bridge, check the power supply caps. If they are oozing then this machine needs work and you should offer at most half (easy work, but, it is indicative of the rest of the maintenance on the machine).




For that kind of money the thing better be absolutely pristine and completely rebuilt.

[markjazzbassist]

the heads look fine, i sold mine for $1200 after a full rehab, so $800 for a working one isn't terrible. go for it, great machine i loved mine.

[donny]

For less than half of that price, you could get a 1/2" 8-track machine like the Teac 80-8, Tascam 38, or an Otari. All of which are potentially better machines. The only reason the 388 goes for so much is because it's easy to use, sounds cool, and was cheap at one point in time a few years ago, so lots of cool records were done on them. Now it has street cred.

1/2" 4-tracks like an Ampex, Scully or MCI are in the realm of $800 ... $1200 and you're getting closer to 1" 8-track ... a 388 is not THAT cool !

[specialreport]

donny -- I'm really looking for a portastudio. can't afford a mixer + a minty half inch machine + the cost of half inch tape.

[specialreport]

& I definitely want an 8 track, not a 4 track !

[donny]

donny -- I'm really looking for a portastudio. can't afford a mixer + a minty half inch machine + the cost of half inch tape.

You probably can. A Tascam M35 mixer for $100-$200 and a Teac 80-8 or Tascam 38 for maybe $300-$400. 1/2" tape is easier to find NOS cheap than 1/4" tape. Quantegy 406, Scotch 206, Basf/Emtec/Agfa 468 ... it's all out there. This is basically a higher quality, slighter older (more 'vintage'!) version of what you're looking for.

[Mklein]

Just to stoke the fire a little bit, a cursory glance on ebay pulled these up right away.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tascam-TSR-8-1- ... 7675.l2557

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Soundcraft-200B ... 7675.l2557

Together they hit your $800 budget (more or less), and you get an extra 8 channels of console, thicker tape, and the various other perks of having a full console.


I had/used a 388 quite extensively, and while I love em to death, I think they may have surpassed the price ceiling/value point. Then again, I feel the same way about Roland Space Echos. For $300, totally. For $900, I'll stick with the plugin.

Cheers

[kslight]

Just to stoke the fire a little bit, a cursory glance on ebay pulled these up right away.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tascam-TSR-8-1- ... 7675.l2557

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Soundcraft-200B ... 7675.l2557

Together they hit your $800 budget (more or less), and you get an extra 8 channels of console, thicker tape, and the various other perks of having a full console.


I had/used a 388 quite extensively, and while I love em to death, I think they may have surpassed the price ceiling/value point. Then again, I feel the same way about Roland Space Echos. For $300, totally. For $900, I'll stick with the plugin.

Cheers

Don't forget about the cost of cabling, and that tape costs twice as much...

[donny]

Just to stoke the fire a little bit, a cursory glance on ebay pulled these up right away.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tascam-TSR-8-1- ... 7675.l2557

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Soundcraft-200B ... 7675.l2557

Together they hit your $800 budget (more or less), and you get an extra 8 channels of console, thicker tape, and the various other perks of having a full console.


I had/used a 388 quite extensively, and while I love em to death, I think they may have surpassed the price ceiling/value point. Then again, I feel the same way about Roland Space Echos. For $300, totally. For $900, I'll stick with the plugin.

Cheers

Don't forget about the cost of cabling, and that tape costs twice as much...

New tape, yes ... if you buy NOS, sometimes 1/2" is actually cheaper because fewer people are using it. cable cost doesn't add too much.

The 388 is a cool machine. It's worth $800, sure. But you can get a potentially 'better' (faster speed tape w/ twice the width) setup for cheaper, or around the same price.

Sure, if you use the thing often for a long period of time, tape costs might add up to make the 388 cheaper. But that's like saying 'don't buy a 12-string guitar because the strings cost more'!

I've used 1/4", 1/2" and 1" over the last few years, and have never really thought about the difference in cost much. It all balances out. 1" actually costs more than 2" on eBay because it's harder to find.