Naldo Xavier

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from private owner

Summary:
I bought a 388 around 1991. The machine I have belonged to the drummer of a major league Rock band from San Francisco. The first thing I did was start doing session work for friends as well as designing sn album .
I'm not the technical type. I'm a Musician first and foremost so the more straight ahead equipment is the better.I 'm what some call an analog dog. And if I had a choice I 'd go the combo route
meaning..... record the basics on tape and clean it with the computer..I've put 2 1/2 albums together. It actually was fun to learn (at times). Guitars, Bass, Vocals to me were the best. The Drums did ok if you used as many tracks as you could and them bounced them down to two tracks.The Parametric eq took sometime to learn. Even with help.
It is heavy 80+ pounds but it's durable and can produce good music but hernias if you try to move it alone..The cover on top keeps dust out which is a maintainence issue.
The tones you get are clear and direct and. because of the tape width you do have more headroom..it has a built in dbx.The music all in all came out great.
But then the maintainence\repair thing became important. I had the heads and motors fixed, calibrated ,some other minor stuff for. about $300 . To me that wasn't too bad the first time. But you do have to stay on top of it with the care.
Later I bought a second one because one of the first ones motors finally wore out. The second one wasn't in as good of shape so it didn't last too long . . I got an Adat and striped the 8th track of the second machine and used the first one as a mixer. The mixer seemed to be ok if you didn't do a lot of hard EQ-ing.
It even says in the manual. that you shouldn't have to do that. The first studio album was done with one 388 some roland TD7 drums,and a keyboard through a PC.. This gave me more tracks. When I added the adat It got more tracks but it got more complicated though my the recordings came out good . The need constant maintainence. . but. I stll like them

Strengths:
The Warmth,reversing ability,real studio mixer feel.,digital counter, clear cur array,easy outboard hookup, You won't see anyone running down the block with one, Because of the two motors it stayed precise almost no drift. It's easy to operate if you know how to run an old two track. It's pretty much like that with a mixer. If you like Analog . This was probably one of the last good reel-to-reel home 8 track decks they made before going to cassettes and digital.

Weaknesses:
Constant cleaning. The parts(Heads etc.) wear out fast with heavy usage. The bill can be high.
It's hard to find parts(mainly the motors). They are heavy, Having to use the 8th track to sync. Not being able to sync two up . The Eq could be better.. Tapes are getting harder to find. The price of repair. I still need two rewind/brake motors

Similar Products Used:
Adats seem to be somewhat close though it is digital tape . They sound pretty good. To me better than an all digital setup.. That's what I use now while using the 388 mixing boards

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
hello everyone
users of the tascam 388
i have a tascam 388 and i'm a little bit lost because the capstan motor is not working and more i lost it a few month ago after trying to make it repaired.
i 'm searching one for a few weeks now but it seems to be very very difficult, no spare parts available at any store.
So i'm looking for a very FRIENDLY person who have a tascam 388 too and who would like to help me
i explain i need to know the reference of the capstan ( volts amp. tec..) that are written on it and also the diametr of the pulley
If someone can't open his tascam and send me those information i will be able to make it work again and i really need it at that time
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP AND SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH I'MFRENCH

Digimidi

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2950.00 from Akron-Canton Music C

Summary:
I bought this unit soon after it was introduced sometime in the mid to late 80s new from a local music dealer. At the time, Tascam also intrduced an 8-track version as well, but the faster speed, wider tape and professional feel and weight of the unit convinced me to get it over the other. I have not been disappointed yet. I graduated from a TEAC A-2340 4-Track to the 388. It was hot! Having used it for many recordings, I still use it today and still enjoy the solid, well built quality of the machine. I also got the remote control later which is useful when I'm working with my sync'd Fostex 16-Track digital hard disk recorder. There have been some comments about the recorder section not being up to speed, but I generally disagree. After all, it is still only home recording. If maintained properly (demagnetized, head cleaning, good tape, etc.), it should last forever. Looking back, it was, at the time, a great machine. I have not had any problems with wow or flutter even though it is a 7.5 ips machine. It has clear and crisp highs and solid bottom reproduction. It's got the desired analog sound and can take signal that digital can't. I see it as my old friend and it sits proudly in my studio. Being in only my home studio, it has fared well. If you come across one of these units, I would advise you to pick one up, providing the condition is satisfactory. All in all, a great machine. In the ratings noted below, the price/value is based on the time of original purchase. Obviously, you can buy more tracks for less now, but this is MANY years later, so give the 388 a break. Still, it holds its own...

Strengths:
High build quality. Flexible and full featured mixer. Analog sound. No wow and flutter. Great tape handling. Great sound. Flexible input and output routing. Looks cool!

Weaknesses:
Heavy, 80 pounds plus (the price you pay for high build quality). Hard at times to get to the jacks on back if it is up against the wall. No phantom power for microphones.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Basically a review can give you two things: an opinion, and some specs. I suggest LISTENING to an album recorded on a Tascam 388, your ears should decide. The only one I know of for sure is by a person/band called Rocketship the name of the album is "A certain smile, A certain sadness" Written and recorded by Dustin Raske and its available from Slumberland records. Even if you don't like the style of the music, you get a great sample of drums, bass, guitar, and, various organs, and vocals. Dustin said that he mixed 8 tracks down to DAT and then stereo back onto 2 tracks on the Tascam, leaving 6 tracks for additional overdubbing. There is no reverb on the whole recording. I believe he used a pair of Shure SM 81 condenser mics, and some SM 57's. I know to some it may be wierd to buy an album to see about purchasing a recorder, but think about it, if you hear the recording and respect it, than you know the only limitation is you, at least, and then you can invest your money wisely.

Strengths:
Sweepable-MID EQ on the built in mixer. 1/4 inch tape, its cheap. Analog mixes in real time. good tape saturation

Weaknesses:
1/4 inch Mic inputs as oppossed XLR inputs 1/4 inch tape, small by standards you need a degausser(de-magnetizer) and couple other tools handy for maintaining analog equipment

Similar Products Used:
I've had an Otari 5050 1/2 inch 8 track (no built in mixer like the Tascam 388) in which you have to be on your toes electronically to be sure its calibrated or pay someone to do it... but its twice the tape width and 15 IPS, but then again that costs more.... well repected machine, though... Be aware when buying used Reel to Reel machines that should have been and need to maintained. And eventually the magnetic heads wear down. So its always good to ask or check on the headware and how often its been calibrated and for which kind of tape ie, (+3,+6,+9) there is a lot to learn, but if you are hands on, and willing, all you'll need are good songs and the rest will follow suit...

Price Paid:  $1800.00

Summary:
I have had my Tascam 388 for about 6 years now. I am a producer / singer / songwriter... Since exiting recording school in 1990, I have had a ton of gear filter through my studio. The 388 has been a solid worker as a songwriting tool. It is so simple & strait-forward. Once the tape is loaded, you are ready to rock. One big plus is the pitch control & the obvious fact that you can track in reverse by flipping the tape over. okay... that's a rarely used perk, but you've heard Radiohead's song "Like Spinning Plates" on Amnesiac (2001)? Reverse, baby!

If you want to learn the ART OF RECORDING, go analog! Seriously -- the limitations of 8 analog tracks will make you a more creative musician. -- ask anyone who's used a 4-track cassette unit & they will agree...

Strengths:
Strengths include: Affordable Media (456 1/4" tape on 7" reels is about 10 bucks)... Analog tape distortion! -- You can push the VU's into PLUS 10 (that's 10 dB that you'll never reach in the digital world) and it just sounds great. If you know about tape saturation & noise floor, you'll know it's important to get all of the signal you can onto the tape. This unit will do that... No cross-talk -- I have put a bass guitar on a track directly next to a quiet vocal & it doesn't bleed-over. (it's an analog thing)... -- Very well-built.

Weaknesses:
WEAKNESS: The weight is like 80+ pounds. Tascam quit making them. -- that's a weekness. They jumped into the cassette units & made a bad name for cheap sounding multi-track portables. This guy should have been around longer -- obviously costs too much to manufacture, etc.