Tascam 388 // Home Recording to Tape
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
- I record to the Tascam 388 from my DAW, track drums to Reel to Reel tape, and send it all back to the interface in this Analog Digital hybrid recording session from my home recording studio in a barn. What more could you ask for?
So which do you like best? I want to know.
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Using the Tascam 388, I attempt to warm up a digital recording. I had a sterile digital track and wanted to mess with sending that to tape, mixing it with the analog realm, and then sending it back out.
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How I found and fixed my 388: • I found a Tascam 388 /...
There are two approches here. One, is to send every individual track on the tape back to the DAW. Since I recorded 6 tracks, I would then have 6 tracks that I could manipulate back inside logic. Which is what I did. I think ultimately it gave me a second opportunity to improve the mix. The drawback to this in my opinion is twofold. I don't get as much of that blendy squishy congealing analog tape magic, where the drums kinda act like a sidechain and squish the whole track. Also, there are more opportunities for error, alterations in volume between individual tracks, more noise, more cables running, more weirdness.
The 2nd option is to just mix it all inside the 388, and send that final stereo mix to the DAW. This means you can take advantage of the EQ and master section inside this Analog Reel to Reel mixer tape machine multitrack record combo. Pretty cool! You get to slam levels, take advantage of a nice sounding eq, and not endlessly change your mix. I think I mixed the drums a little too loud on this version. Something I rectified later with the line out mix, in my endless tweaking.
The third option (which I did not attempt here), is to adjust the routing a little and use the PGM outs. This allows you to use the eq inside the 388, and still send individual outs. This might be the best of both worlds, but I didn’t feel like messing with it. It still will have the problems that are inherent with option 1, and it also means you are printing your eq. If you're printing your eq, then what do you want to do at the end? Just change levels? Just asking.
Yes I’m building a home recording studio in a barn using almost exclusively salvaged equipment. The guitar used on this recording is my dads, the casio keyboard was donated, the drums were broken and I repaired them, the carpet was a donation, the 388 was busted and I fixed it ( link), so though it wasn’t a donation, it cost a fraction of what it should have.
I'd love to hear your thoughts :)
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This video demonstrated to me, better than any other, why I want real analog hardware, and why I want a real tape machine, in my studio.
The Tape machine/console mix was the best, and it wasn't even close.
Mind you, a few creative mix decisions could have saved that in the box mix, but that takes way more time, effort, and energy. Plus you're looking at a screen and menu diving and all that instead of just putting your hands on the faders and in-line eq and just feeling it out. And you were able to demonstrate this despite the youtube compression algorithm. Thank you for this.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this and showing all the comparisons! Your studio sounds great! Lots of character.
thanks matt! i appreciate that
The mix that was completely mixed on the 388 sounds the best. A lot of people wanted to talk me out of using tape. And they were right. Those things need service, repair, etc.
BUT they simply deliver that something that a DAW couldn't give me. It has come so far that every time I tried to record or mix in the box, I stopped after a few minutes. Most of the times I just can't bare the sound anymore or I feel annoyed having to look at the screen all day.
EDIT: Thank you for the videos. It's a pleasure.
The 388 mix for sure! Great video!
Good choice!
@@travisraabyeah, great sonic quality in that 388 mix. Perhaps a little boomy in the low end (kick and bass seem to fight for the same range), but the vibe comes across and you can 'feel' the track. The magic of tape!
I am really enjoying this channel. It's great to hear these machines go head to head. And it's fun to watch you build the tracks. This video was going pretty well, and then... Esteban! Everyone's favorite guitar hero! Perfect!
Esteban strikes again! Thanks brian, I appreciate you
This was genuinely such a fun video to watch. Loved this
Peter that's really nice of you to say! welcome :)
Duuuuuuude I am absolutely in love with this track
Then it shall be a bidding war!
The space is so awesome, mice welcome!
lol exactly
Nice track! We just did a whole album on the Tascam 488. Tape is the way to go
Just listened and it sounds super cool! Nice work. Really took advantage of the sonics of the medium.
@@travisraab Hey thanks a lot! Love yer stuff as well!
🙌👍😎
This studio setup should be called "The back breaker", great video as usual!
Haha yeah it's insanely heavy! Thanks marwan
I love your channel alreadyy man found it today
I love your videos! You're an inspiration to sit down and get to know the machines that make that magic. I hope you get a nice big desk from Craigslist to save your knees! :D
Thank you midd night ! I appreciate that
Cool, Travis! I liked the 388-mix the most! (Btw. I couldn't get my 388 to work properly so will have some professionals get their hands on it soon … )
What??? I'm sure we could figure it out. What's wrong with it?
Lovely track. I prefer the mixed in the 388 version; it sounds more fuzzy warm and more mellow. Great music, too.
Great n perfect video for the nerds! Thanks bud!
heck yeah chance!
my favorite was the the line out reassembly, best of both worlds
i hear you. it also gave me time to adjust the mix. if i had applied eq etc it would be even better. i think the other thing to consider is that i mixed the other one using the 388 headphone jack, i didn't even plug it into monitors. but the regular 388 mix isn't so very different and i did it a lot quicker.
I like the line out version best. A little more detail but maybe also because it is pitched up slightly
Sounds good. I heard someone else's recording makes me wonder why they even bother with this tape machine.
Love the mix made completely in 388! Do you release your own music?
thanks mert! yeah i have a couple co writes on spotify. i think ill release more of my own this year if enough people are intersted
How do you do overdubs without the tracks going out of time? Do you have to limit yourself to 8 tracks, or can you send tracks to the DAW and do more overdubs. while keeping everything in sync?
I keep it to 8 tracks or less. If I need more I can always record them in the box. Or I could always bounce internally on the 388.
Great video, and badass song man!!
Thanks so much TB:)
I also like to put a moog, a couple of mics and a combo speaker on the floor in the studio and record something
Hey man, I’m so dang thankful for your analog recording videos.
I’d really like to know how your sending DAW signals to your mixers and recorders, and back out again.
Do you need a multi channel interface to do that?
I’m working with a 6 channel analog mixer and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo, which only had two inputs…
If you want to send multiple tracks in and out then you need a tape machine that accepts 4 or 8 ins and the same number on your interface. Or if you're doing stereo then your scarlet will be fine. Thanks for watching!
@@travisraab Thank you so much! That’s all your doing most of the time with the smaller tape machines, just one stereo track in, and one out?
@@jtmotenz no not necessarily. it depends which video you're talking about.
Sounds great man! Id love to get a 388. I use a Tascam 644
thank you! the 388 is definitely fun. the 644 is an epic machine!!!
Love this!
Good to hear from you Reve! i'm glad you enjoyed it :)
If the 388 doesnt have Phantom power, how did you get the condenser OH working on the drums? Cheers!
With the tonebeast!
After stupidly selling my 388 last year, I bought another one and just fired it up. QUESTION: Is it safe to leave the tape in the machine? Or do I need to rewind it after each session so that it's not possibly magnetizing the heads?
well if leaving the tape in the machine is bad then my machine is gonna be pretty messed up. i've never removed the tape after putting it in a year ago lol
Bombo ql exquisito
cool tascam sound!
man i agree these things are cool sounding!
Do you think the sound is worth the money?
money loses value over time. sound I think hit a peak prob 15 years ago. this sound can't be created in the box (yet).
@@travisraab I felt that would probably be true. They are still pretty pricey though.
Did you get your Tascam 388 to work/sound to your satisfaction. In one video you said there was a lot of noise.
she's noisey but i like her. i'd say i'm satisfied. how about you?
@@travisraab just sounds like you cranked a tape plug in honestly... i dont hear any real benefit.. at the end of the day everything is still digital.. you are effectively using the tape machine like a plug in
Sick to find another 388 user, enjoying these videos! I've started doing videos of making songs on my 388 in my old school electronic studio. The wrangle is real.
edit: just read your description properly lol. I use the PGM outs when I have a mix I need to work on more in Logic, as it gives me the magic of the EQs of the 388, but the ability to really dig into it on the computer. That said, I prefer the less pristine version of fully mixing on the 388 & using the stereo outs, but will always print a PGM out version just in case... The 388 eqs are great, adding a touch of highs on it just sounds magic!
@@SPOD_ZONE I enjoyed your ambitious special! All done live? Does that mean it was shot non stop with changing sets? It's remarkable either way. What camera did you use? Great stuff
@@travisraab Thanks! yeah, as in I sequenced all the gear live from the MPC 3000 and just hit record onto the 388, doing live tweaks to the minimoog filter as it played back, then mixed down to the computer out of the stereo outs. Either printed delays or did them thru the effects bus. I just filmed it on my iphone last year and decided to edit it down. Might crack the decent camera out next time, seems like a hassle though!
@@SPOD_ZONE are you talking about that like 45 minutes long special you recorded to VHS?
@@travisraab Ahh whoops sorry, no my reply was referencing this, th-cam.com/video/jYRzR-TY5eg/w-d-xo.html so it'd sound kinda insane. But yeah, that special was all recorded live in one take, filmed with old valve cameras and video mixed down live to a master video tape. I was shooting 3 clips for another band so I booked the studio out for another 2 days and spent a day setting it up and shot it the next day in one go. No one really knew what I would do outside of the set up bits, as we wanted to run it like an old 'live to tv' show. Was a pretty insane process!
Just found one of these.The transport /motor seems to work when I lift the tension roller. I have no TAPE! Uggh. I need to test this before I sell it for too cheap...
I explain how to fix that in one of my other videos
@@travisraab I saw that. I'm just super eager and excited. A local is coming hopefully on Fri to load tape. I'm 2000 from home and have no car here in FL. Have no clear idea of who services these and where they are. Just wrote to Big Matt. His locale isn't listed anywhere. Thanks for the reply! Love your vids and musical abilities
I need a tascam 388 but just can t find it for an affordable price :(
I think your 388 might need calibrating, my Tascam 244 had the same problem and calibrating it solved the issue! I’d love to see a video on that😊
Why do you think that?
The problem was the tracks were recording at different volumes right? So but calibrating each track to record and playback at the same volumes will make your output levels consistent.
@@benwilliams9075 ah! ok interesting. No they are recording at the right volumes when I listen to them through the headphone jack or when I send something out of the master LR. But when I was doing individual line outs they were coming out different volumes. You're right I should calibrate it anyway. I would love to get the test tone tape and like go through and tune up the whole machine
Nice sound man 🤙 just started messing with my 388 again.
Yeah this thing really is fun. I'm always afraid it'll break down though. Do you shoot on the og bmpcc or the 4k? Your footage looks so good .
@@travisraab yeah mine started stopping while
Playing now, but only after it’s been on for a while. And I shoot on the 4K.
@@ThePinkLadyAppleHouse your 388 isn't working on playback after a while? Man I'm due for a technical difficulty myself. Super nerdy question, do you shoot in 4k on your bmpcc? Or in 1080? Your footage is so nice I want to unlock the secrets
@@travisraab yeah after it’s been on for while when I hit play it will run then stop and I repeat the process until it works again. I don’t know, it just started yesterday. I haven’t used it in several months until yesterday though. And I shoot in 4k and mostly post to IG sadly not made the jump TH-cam.
Didn´t know about the existence of Mac Demarco, but i got curious after you mentioned him. First song i heard i was like... this is so bad. Ten minutes later... let´s say there is something addictive about his music.
I know right?! He has some serious jams. Another one is a cool song that was done on the 388
@@travisraab Lucky you with that 388
I'm lucky! That's true. This thing still needs some work
I like your video style lol
thanks so much! i appreciate you🙌
Where can I get those knee shoes?
Link in description normally $10000 but free today
I believe, Travis, that the technical term for wire spaghetti is “tangled octopus”
Aspaghett.
MTS-30 perhaps?
who makes that?
@@travisraab Tascam MTS-30 is to write and read MIDI clock data to and from cassette. Gathering it should work for the 388 as well.
@@KPsTboy very cool!
6:43 guitar player stank face.
Shtank
Six minutes of cowbell only to realize you haven't recorded it... story of my life. 😅
For $1.49? Taken!
wait wait i put the decimal in the wrong place. it's .149
@@travisraab Even nicer!
So where to get it?
@@Mute67 you actually want to buy it? We could work something out
@@travisraab Sure! If you have made a finished track/s why not? I like the way it sounds. If you really like it yourself why not go for it and produce/release it?
Don't know if this is of interest but; do you know about www.duplication.ca or /.com? - If not check it out.
$
👋
Daw to cassette is kind of no-sense...
ok