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themaddog « Good entry-level cassette Portastudio »
Published on 06/05/11 at 07:44The Tascam 488 is a Portastudio designed to record 8 tracks onto a standard cassette. It features a built in mixer with high and low EQ on each channel, XLR inputs on channels 1 and 2, and 1/4” inputs for the other inputs. It can record on up to 4 tracks simultaneously. The manual is very easy to follow, and although it is not as easy to use as a standard 4 track Portastudio, like the Tascam 424, it is very easy to master after running through the operations a few times.
The 488 has a pitch wheel to change the speed/pitch, two computer controlled memory locations with auto-punch in, a return to zero locate button, two loops for effect and auxiliary, an option to record a SMPTE track on track 8, and dbx Type II noise reduction. For the best recordings, high quality Type II cassettes 60 minutes or shorter in length should be used.
This was my first 8 track recorder. It is a pretty solid machine for a cassette Portastudio, and sonically is similar to the Tascam 488 mkII, but lacks some of the mkII's features. Some of the missing features that would be nice to have are additional XLR inputs, the ability to record on more than 4 tracks simultaneously, phantom power, and more EQ options. Most of these features made it into mkII and the higher-end 688. However, for a solo recordist with a small project studio the Tascam 488 (mkI) is a great machine, capable of producing some excellent demos, particularly if the user is able to bouncing tracks. I kept mine for about a year or two, eventually replacing it with a Tascam 388. On occasion I miss having the ability to to truck around such a small, easy to use 8 track recorder that is capable of producing decent analog recordings while being able to stay “hands-on” with EQ (not having to drag through the menus of a modern 8 track DAW), but I'm again to get along without it and have no plans to replace it. That being said, this is an excellent first machine, and I would personally recommend starting with an 8 track cassette Portastudio over a 4 track Portastudio as the difference in sound quality is negligible, if one is going to make the foray into cassette multitrack recording.
The 488 has a pitch wheel to change the speed/pitch, two computer controlled memory locations with auto-punch in, a return to zero locate button, two loops for effect and auxiliary, an option to record a SMPTE track on track 8, and dbx Type II noise reduction. For the best recordings, high quality Type II cassettes 60 minutes or shorter in length should be used.
This was my first 8 track recorder. It is a pretty solid machine for a cassette Portastudio, and sonically is similar to the Tascam 488 mkII, but lacks some of the mkII's features. Some of the missing features that would be nice to have are additional XLR inputs, the ability to record on more than 4 tracks simultaneously, phantom power, and more EQ options. Most of these features made it into mkII and the higher-end 688. However, for a solo recordist with a small project studio the Tascam 488 (mkI) is a great machine, capable of producing some excellent demos, particularly if the user is able to bouncing tracks. I kept mine for about a year or two, eventually replacing it with a Tascam 388. On occasion I miss having the ability to to truck around such a small, easy to use 8 track recorder that is capable of producing decent analog recordings while being able to stay “hands-on” with EQ (not having to drag through the menus of a modern 8 track DAW), but I'm again to get along without it and have no plans to replace it. That being said, this is an excellent first machine, and I would personally recommend starting with an 8 track cassette Portastudio over a 4 track Portastudio as the difference in sound quality is negligible, if one is going to make the foray into cassette multitrack recording.