Tascam 388 vs Portastudio 424 // Recording Drums to Tape

I compare the Tascam 388, Tascam Portastudio 424, Yamaha MT44, and the Tascam M30 Analog board in this Analog MultiTrack Tape Recorder Shootout. I recorded live drums to an eight track Reel to Reel, 2 four track cassette recorders, and a just a plain old analog board! I compare them in all their analog saturated goodness.

Which one do you like best? Tell me in the comments.

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0:00 My Bargain Hunting Addiction
1:23 Repairing and Tuning
3:29 The Shootout!
6:18 Jay McMillan's Thoughts

I think despite a couple flaws in the testing, you're still able to discern the characteristics of the different machines. For me it was interesting to hear how the Tascam 424 compares to the Tascam 388 and also how the m30 straight into the DAW compares to the M30 into the Yamaha MT44 cassette machine. I've been hearing people rave about the yamaha cassette machines and I think the mt44 sounds great. What do you hear?

First thing I had to do was feed my incessant bargain hunting addiction and buy a Tascam 424 on the cheap off craigslist. It seems to work ok. I'm actually pretty surprised cause at first listen it doesn't sound too different from the 388. I can't believe how expensive Portastudios are getting by the way. Then I had to fix this Tama ArtStar drumset that I've had since I was 18 years old. It has really taken a beating over the years and it needed some love. Luckily the barn had some glue and some tools that I put to use.

This is a non traditional mic arrangement, and there might even be some phase issues, but in all honestly, I am a throw and go type of producer. If something is god awful, or if there's a certain type of sound I"m trying to nail, then I'll spend more time with mic placement, and doing everything the 'right' way. But sometimes little quirks define the recording in a good way. In this instance, I wanted to hear kic, snare, and Tom. So that's what I mic'd up. two sm57s and a shure beta 52a.

This video features my friend Jay McMillan, who I met on tour with Andrew McMahon (lead singer of Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate). Jay has toured with Tommy Lee and was a member of Jack's Mannequin, and he also used to be a drum tech. A drum tech's job is to make other people's drums sound great btw. Jay gave me a lot of helpful tips, which I used to try to get the best possible sound I could out of this old kick drum. Jay took a listen to the drum tape recordings I made, and you can hear his feedback towards the end of the video.

Thanks for watching!
#388 #tascam #analog #tape #homerecording
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