Best Cassette multitrak?

[Knights Who Say Neve]

What in y'all opinion is the best cassette multitrak?
I nominate the Tascam 688.
Opinions?

[cassettefetish]

sucks.

yamaha mt4x .. the cadillac of 4tracks

[Knights Who Say Neve]

Sucks?

Why?

[sthslvrcnfsn]

just bought a yamaha mt8x from my old roommate for $20 ... i had never had a cassette machine before, but i think i got a pretty good deal.

i like it, but it is sort of non-intuitive or at least user-Unfriendly. Then again he didn't give me the manual, so it took me about a month to finally figure everything out.

[wedge]

Tascam 238. It doesn't have a built in mixer, tho. It's rack mounted, and I believe was the state of the art for cassette multitracking in it's day. I've used them. They sound great, considering you're using a cassette. I've heard them described as the best 8 track cassette deck ever made. Gotta have a mixer to use it, tho...

[bobbydj]

X-12.

[audioboy6]

My first recorder was a Tascam 488 and I was really impressed with what I was able to do with that.

[cassettefetish]

it doesn't really suck. hyperbole.

[bobbydj]

X-12.

Yehright.

[Derrick]

This isn't one of those "well I have this one so it's the best" kinda things... but I have to say I've NEVER herd a cassett recorder with the sound quality or features of the Marantz PMD 740! XLR in's, two tape speeds (including standard speed!!), switchable DBX, 6 ch. mixer, analog meters, the list goes on...

[markee2004]

Avoid the cheap tascam one at all costs. I hate that piece of crap so much that I'd pay $100 per year not to own one.

The preamps on it are so bad that they sound like a distortion pedal.

[aurelialuz]

i have never owned a 688, but i had a 644 and i gotta say that four track sucked big time. it's so goddamn difficult to figure out, all that midi routing, "scenes" and "tracks" and what the fuck is going on here. i fully thought i was getting the best cassette four track money could buy - i mean it has so many options and with the four tracks instead of 8, i got fidelity too. but fuck me, that thing is chinese algebra. sounded fine, when i could actually get a recording to tape...

my vote is the tascam porta one or two, the old ones with the circular rubber dials, for no reason other than they sound raaaaad.

alex

[Zeppelin4Life]

X-12..I remember myself with one of thoes, and how I go so ripped off. I think it was like $150 for that thing. The good part is I sold it to my guitarist for $300 and that money went to a new drumset

[Mudcloth]

I got a tascam syncassette 238 a few years ago. It's the best 8 track cassette recorder I've ever heard. I actually have two of these with a sync box but since I never had a 16 track board I never hooked them up together. I suppose I could track on two tracks at a time if I just needed seven tracks. hmmmmm.
Anyway,I took them in to a repair shop [Mr. Wizards] here in Austin to replace the motors and the repairman said he couldn't believe how good they sounded. You'd never know your mixes were made from a cassette. I used to mix to a tape deck but when I started mixing to mini disc it just got better. If you can find one I highly recommend getting one. I'm running dp4 with a powerbook right now and I'm seriously considering tracking to my 238 first.
-Matt

[IronMaidenX]

What in y'all opinion is the best cassette multitrak?
I nominate the Tascam 688.
Opinions?

I agree...the 688 was probably the last great cassette 8-track made before all the digital tascam stuff came out. I bought one way back in 1991....used it for years, it was'nt the easiest thing to figure out though....My second nomination is the Yamaha MT-44...if anyone here remembers that one...you must be old!!!