Nice presentation ... I still love the older tech, well, because of the 50 or more songs I wrote on a Yamaha MT120. It died, I bought a used one from eBay that lasted a year and it died... ( I see you did a tear down on a MT120 , so I’ll watch that video next ) I now have a Yamaha MT100 II also from Ebay, and it produces identical sound quality and for the most part has the same features of the MT120. I like the Porta-studio for the simplicity of use while recording guitar and vocals and then drums and bass... as a typical song... 'Lest We Forget" found on my aviation blog... Done with the MT120. Most the older songs were recorded on the MT120, and the more recent songs post 2005 done on a Yamaha MD8 .... I tried the Roland 880 EX but found it way to hard to adjust 0n the fly so I donated it to a music school... I do have Boss 600BR and it is much easier to use than the 880 …. so I use it while on the road.... And its very portable. Great sketch machine with built in mics. However when writing new songs, they will be done with a machine that has a board, the Yamaha MD8 or MT100 II … Thanks for the videos, always interesting to see what others think about the developing tech in recording.

Great video. I've been using my Yamaha MT4X since I bought it back in 1995. From memory, I paid £550 for it, and it's still going strong. The only thing I've ever needed to replace was the motor about ten years ago. This was because it was left on for weeks at a time back in the day, in my studio, with a cassette loaded, and the drive motor continuously spins when a cassette is loaded. It's still even using the original belts.!! It ticks all the boxes. dbx that can be switched off, duel speed, separate track outputs, effects sends... Etc, etc. Highly recommend...👌

Surprise surprise the king is back

Great video Callum, loving the new content here

A very useful guide, I missed this when it was released but KZfaq just recommended it! 🙌

Two appearances in one day!? Truly you're spoiling us 🤣 Welcome back Calum :D

the king returns

good stuff mate - like the new video format. i still need to shift all my 4 track inventory lol and also get back to repairing my stack of brokens

I wanted a: 1. Tascam :), 2. as little of bouncing needed as possible 3. "full option" mixer. I picked 488 mkII, of course it has no tape outs but you can't have it all, and actually i also assumed that time stretch in a daw is somehow an option. But thanks to You first thing i did after checking tape transport and mixer was tear down and refresh gears lubricating. Yeah, although transport was ok, the gear C worked reeeealy hard:).

Tascam 414mk2 here. Really enjoy using it. Dropping in to fill gaps with extra material is a bit fraught though.

Master Repairman ! Thank you !

I like the features of 424mkiii but the group assign approach and aux return of yamaha mt4x is something I'd wish to see on tascams

Hey tetrakan, you are a deep well of knowledge on this stuff. Is there a patreon or something where one could donate and maybe get chance to pick your brain on tascam issues? 😅

Concise and excellent summary

hi word on that 388 tascam hell it was very very heavy is the word you are right about motor speeds in cassette decks can be bad i have alot of recorders like you love the betacam sp decks 4 tracks audio decks they have alot of gain i have alot all working still i think i am the only one in the uk has alot as i have had alot from all over london in the past i have 6 tascam 38 that are working still jusy got in to cassette units love the soundcraft 760 2 inch decks i have 2 space is the thing i have a house so i can used them easy no lady in the way mandy was like you

Great video, but once you buy one recorder...you basically want to buy all the rest! LOL. I just sold a 688 and I have a 388 sitting on my bench. I also have a Tascam 38, and I have no idea why I need one! LOL. The 688 was like operating a space station, so I'm going to try my luck with another 488. I had one, but it had some issues and I didn't have the patience to fix it. I gotta hand it to you. The patience and skill required to learn all that you have learned is immense. I can replace belts, clean pots, degauss and clean and calibrate the unit, but once it gets into circuits and all that, I kind of want to move along. The Tascam 38 I have is great. I actually repaired the motor to get it working, but actually recording on it is a chore all in itself. I'm so spoiled by using DAW's...want reverb, okay, just create a new track, send your signal to that track and BOOM, you got reverb. Want reverb on a Tascam 424 MKIII? Well...first, find a reverb unit. That'll set you back probably $100. Then, connect your AUX send via 1/4" cable to your input on your reverb unit, then return the stereo signal to the stereo FX returns. Then try to get it all to blend in so it doesn't sound like crap. LOL. I think I have more fun getting the tape decks working than I actually do using them. Plus...being limited to 4 tracks is...well...limiting. My Tascam 38 reel to reel is 8 tracks, and that's far better. Anyway, keep up the videos, it's fun just to watch these things being repaired.

Thanks. Always interesting.

what tascam porta studio would you recommend for someone that wants to make music sketch ideas and then take it to DAW as well as more creative sound design abilities such pitching and tape loops. thanks again mate

Thanks so much for making this video! I'm new to analog recording and am currently looking to buy my first multitrack recorder. I'd be very interested to see you compare/contrast a variety of 8 track cassette recorders. I'm especially curious about how they stack up in terms of fidelity.

Great

just a friendly suggestion - if you can work on your thumbnails to be higher quality and a bit more atttention grabbing you could be the go-to page for cassette gear.

Hello, could you dive into the SYNC functions of the 488 and others?

Great video

Great to see you again, Calum. Production values going up! Is that a Tascam 388 in the background?!

So, basically just get a Yamaha MT4X.... 🙂👍

While we recorded demos on a 6-track cassette back in '92, I would never go back to it after using DAWs. I've used a few, incl ProTools, but I finally bought Ableton Live (which I thought I wouldn't like, but ProTools got daft-priced) and I'm well happy with it. But then, my body has not been vandalized with tattoos, so that might make me more sensitive to quality.

Which models have Individual tape outs?

Great video!!