My first Tascam 388 Song

My First time multi track recording on the Tascam 388 Studio 8 Reel to Reel recorder machine. I was messing around to see if the machine worked and what kind of sounds I could get.
If you want to know how I fixed this machine, please let me know by subscribing! www.youtube.co...
My Music Theory Cheat Sheet:
tinyurl.com/7w...
My Gear:
Clarett 4Pre - imp.i114863.ne...
Danelectro Honeytone - imp.i114863.ne...
The Timmy Pedal - imp.i114863.ne...
line6 m9 pedal - imp.i114863.ne...
Epiphone SG - imp.i114863.ne...
Warm Audio tb12 tonebeast preamp - imp.i114863.ne...
SM7B Dynamic Mic - imp.i114863.ne...
SM57 Dynamic Mic - imp.i114863.ne...
MXL 990 Condenser Mic - imp.i114863.ne...
MXL v67g Condenser Mic - imp.i114863.ne...
Audio Technica AT2020 Condenser Mic - imp.i114863.ne...
Mogami Guitar Cable - imp.i114863.ne...
Mogami Mic Cable - imp.i114863.ne...
I bought this guy on craigslist and it had a lot of issues, some of which I'm still working on. Transport (Fast Forward Rewind) problems, counter issues, dead channel issues, scratchy pots, lot's of stuff. I was pretty excited once it was actually running so I just knocked out an idea real fast, which is what you see here, just for fun, please don't judge it too hard haha.
This is a home recording studio in a barn built out of reclaimed materials, recycled gear, left over stuff.
Story of the barn studio: • Building a Home Record...
This is a cool reel to reel machine! I can't remember the last time I messed with reel to reel, and I have recorded to cassette a whole bunch (I have a few portastudio, tascams, and a yamaha mt44). I was surprised by how much compression I got. The overdrive was interesting too. The guitars were recorded clean, so all the drive you hear on the instruments is all right in the tascam. I think that would probably be interesting to a few of you out there, I certainly have always wondered myself if the tape plugins and emulations I was using were accurate sounding, or if they sound wack. Honestly, overdrive emulators, and amp emulators, they alway sound garbage to me. I don't know if it has to do with the even order odd order distortion thing, but that's always been my experience.
Yamaha mt44 repair: • Best Cassette 4 Track ...
Tascam m30: • Tascam m30 (Tascam 388...
What do you think about the tones on this machine? I'm curious about your thoughts.
#salvage #tascam
www.TravisRaab...
Studio Guitarist & Virtual Guitar Teacher
Facebook: / travisraabguitarlessons
Instagram: / travisraab

[@travisraab]

I fixed a broken Tascam 388 -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKuccqqAeJWMesU

[@davewestner]

this video is hilarious, and man, the sound of that gizmo is really quite good.....I always wanted one of those things back in the the old days when it came out. Used to daydream about it being the perfect machine to record myself. "8 tracks is a TON of tracks!" I thought Here we are, "in the future" and I have 9,000 virtual tracks to record on. And I still want that machine

[@travisraab]

thanks dave! I know right? all i need is a cabin, a shotgun, and a dog. (a real dog). #goals. more tracks more problems

[@davewestner]

@@travisraab Indeedy!

[@stiffyBlicky]

would love to see more of these dude, good stuff. love the drums, something about that kick really does it for me.

[@travisraab]

Allen I hear ya. I'm running a whole bunch of tests and I'm looking forward to sharing these with you. Stay tuned thanks for following along!

[@shakeydave6391]

I bought a Tascam 388 a year ago in mint condition when I retired - it works perfectly, no repairs needed - it's been a year and I haven't done much with it yet but still hoping to get my motivation back - so I love seeing what other musicians do with their 388s - your jam sounds great to me - and it's giving me some inspiration to tear apart my basement music studio and do some recording on my 388 as well - thanks for the inspiration!

[@travisraab]

Shakey Dave wow that's a really nice retirement gift. Did you get a good deal? This thing is definitely fun! Thanks for watching :)

[@shayneoneill1506]

Creative blocks a beast of a thing. But just give it time. Actually I've found sometimes just rearanging the studio can be enough to get it all back.

[@vegardyrnes1793]

Hey! This is sooo inspiring and cool. And reminds me of how much I miss my Portastudio and 338! Cheers✌

[@samfowles4276]

Your channel is excellent Travis! -An inspiring, curiosity-based approach to Cassette recording. -Laugh out loud snark! -Great editing- I’m on the edge of my seat with the John Doolittle saga. How are you not terrified in there after dark now!? Thanks for the great content.

[@travisraab]

Sam thanks I'm really glad you're enjoying it! Yeah walking around at night can definitely be weird. I'll keep you posted on John I developed some footage I found...

[@lukegardener4185]

holy fuccc! that bass tone is amazing

[@travisraab]

luke thanks - in case you're curious, it's just a charvel bass plugged straight into the channel with fader and trimmed maxed out, and highs rolled completely off on the built in 388 eq

[@lukegardener4185]

@@travisraab Amazing thanks so much! Picked up a Tascam Teac 3 the other day. Might see if I can get a similar tone out of it !

[@travisraab]

@@lukegardener4185 that's rad keep me posted

[@timithomann]

the holy grail of homerecording ;) it sounds wonderfull

[@travisraab]

Yeah I think it imparts a bit of a flavor! Thanks for watching mick

[@BluesBrethrenofPolishPeoplesR]

Wonderful, very nice quality and pleasant to listen to. 👏

[@travisraab]

Many thanks!

[@ondogsmusic]

i can’t wait to get my hands on one of these, great track !

[@travisraab]

Thanks :)

[@SPOD_ZONE]

So sick

[@travisraab]

Thank you Spod!

[@CrossbeatsMusicProduction]

Love the song !!!

[@travisraab]

Thank you 😊

[@kurikokaleidoscope]

We have recorded all of our material over a 25 year period on the same YAMAHA MD-8 purchased in 1997.

[@travisraab]

whoa! minidisc?

[@TheStuderman]

Very good.

[@travisraab]

Thank you!

[@TheStuderman]

@@travisraab Are you still liking you m30?

[@travisraab]

@@TheStuderman practically speaking, it's just handy to have this many preamp with the routing etc for $75. It also adds character to digital recordings and also i need it when using my Yamaha MT44 so definitely handy

[@spooktasticaparanormal]

Hi Travis, thanks for sharing this great video with the world. Your playing is really great too. I use the Tascam 488MK1 and I just love the sound you can get from tape. Keep up the good work my friend, I've just subscribed. Regards. Paul.

[@travisraab]

Paul thanks that's kind of you! The 488 is a cool machine I'd love to mess around with one, one day, especially the grey one

[@cleuenberg]

Yeah, that's so good! God, I really need to get mine fixed, I guess … 😅 Btw. 2 mics on the drum is legit, I used this on my current album too, recorded with the 688, and went for Glyn Johns technique (the "classic" one, without a kick mic). 😎 Keep it up!

[@travisraab]

Christian thanks man! Ah the glyn johns that's awesome. How do you like the 688?

[@cleuenberg]

@@travisraab I was pretty surprised by the mixing unit and also the sound of the cassette tape recording. I did not expect this, to be honest. If you have the chance to get one of these machines, grab it! :-)

[@travisraab]

@@cleuenberg really? Wow somebody else was just telling me it sounds too clean. We have a little of different opinions on this 688! I thought it was the same as a 238 which is supposed to be one of the best

[@cleuenberg]

@@travisraab I think 238 and 688 are using the same tape deck, yes. If you want to give my little production a spin: leuenberg.bandcamp.com/album/nine-by-one (Recorded nearly everything just with the AKG D-190C. The raw tracks were mixed and mastered in Cubase at a friend's studio).

[@travisraab]

@@cleuenberg Beautiful stuff! thanks for sharing!

[@samuelandrade3117]

Omg !!! Incrível. Um sonho ter um desse.

[@travisraab]

You can still find these for cheap! I did. Where do you live?

[@samuelandrade3117]

I'm from Brazil

[@travisraab]

@@samuelandrade3117 thats rad

[@samuelandrade3117]

i found one , a tascam m308, on a site like the ebay here(called mercado livre)...its about 1200BRL( 200USD)...sounds interesting rsrs

[@samuelandrade3117]

Around Here, these things its a litle bit expensive

[@NDULEENTERTAINMENT]

Just came to check out your work. Well done :)

[@travisraab]

Thank you!!

[@hrorm]

Like this one Raab ! /Orm

[@travisraab]

Gotcha

[@Mark_Bayer]

Do more videos about the 388

[@travisraab]

mark I can do that!

[@travisraab]

Just posted one for you dude!

[@Mark_Bayer]

Travis Raab Guitar 🎸🙏🎶

[@frankcoffey]

OMG I wanted one of those things so bad back in the day. By the time I could afford one the Alesis ADAT was out so I got those because I was afraid reel to reel tape would be hard to find and the ADAT was digital so no tape noise. I made the right decision but that 388 is still the coolest. Really fun video.

[@travisraab]

i'd like to mess around with one of those alesis ADATs. Do they still make tapes for them? It's hard to remember what life was like back in the days of tape

[@frankcoffey]

@@travisraab ADATs use regular S-VHS tapes so they should still be available. The 16bit (black) ones were just OK but the 20bit silver faced ones were really good. They are 8 track (digital) and you can link them together to create as many tracks as you need. I had three of the 20bit ones for 24 tracks. But that did mean it takes 3 tapes in a set to get 24 tracks. Sync was perfect. Most of the songs on my channel "Frank Coffey Songs" were tracked on ADAT and later mixed on the computer.

[@travisraab]

@@frankcoffey that is fascinating. Can you use a regular vhs tape for that alesis? like a used vhs tape.

[@frankcoffey]

@@travisraab Yes, just format it like you would a floppy disc and it's ready to record. That lays down the time code too. It's best to use the S-VHS high quality tape.

[@travisraab]

@@frankcoffey that is amazing i need one

[@EJsGuitars]

Nothing beats old school tape. Have you seen the movie Sound City? Great tribute to the sound of tape. Very cool dude!

[@travisraab]

No i've never seen it! Maybe I should.

[@shayneoneill1506]

Theres a definate sound to these things. I'll assume you'e heard the Brothers Nylon jams on the 388s (If you haven't, stop now, and look it up, those guys are really really good). Its just warm as hell with a mellow saturation that just sounds crunchy and nice. Theres nothing 'accurate' about them, its coloured as hell, and thats actually a good thing, because the colouration is so organic sounding and just a little bit funky. I deeply want one of these. But so goddam hard to find.

[@travisraab]

man I hear you! these cassette machines sound great too and you can almost get them for free! yes I love the brothers nylon :)

[@ThePinkLadyAppleHouse]

I use two mics on drums too, I am lazy too. Seems to me to sound slightly more natural. I mean if your at a show or listening to a friend play the drums you hear the whole kit as one. You don’t have your ear up to every drum and cymbal. Very cool though it all sounds good and like it should 🤙

[@travisraab]

you are SO right. I wish more sound(people) would ONLY mic kic and snare. Most shows my ears are killing me. I have no need to hear extra crash and hi hat, those cut through no matter what. When it comes to recording, the two mic thing solves a lot of problems, and I still hear plenty of cymbals. Brothers Nylon do it really well. The only thing I miss is the stereo image, or like if I do a cool fill on the tom and it doesn't come through. But whatever small sacrifice. anyhow I totally agree with you!

[@winnyjstew]

How are you over dubbing? Is this a product of integrating your interface into the analog workflow? Or were you able to over dub entirely on the tape machine? Just for some context, I have a Tascam Portastudio 246, its really similar to the 388, but the cassette deck doesn't work, So my plan was to bypass the cassette function and just use the board as the bridge between the instruments and the 2 track Reel to reel deck that I have. I am wondering how I'd be able to overdub with a system like this. Are you on Instagram?

[@travisraab]

Hi that might be possible. Yes if you have more specific questions you can book time with me on my website

[@winnyjstew]

@@travisraab I’ll do that! Thanks

[@DenysZhuravel]

That's the dream!) Do you keep your Tascam m30 mixer? Or may be you would like to sell it?)

[@travisraab]

This thing is fun have you used one? Yeah i still have the m30! I'll probably end up selling all this stuff i am a minimalist!

[@DenysZhuravel]

​@@travisraab No, I haven't. That's why it is a dream) But most of my favourite artists did) I like all this old musical stuff that has it's own vibe. I have a Tascam 688 8-channel mixer/cassette deck. It can write 8 tracks on a 1/8 inch cassette) I think it is next generation of 388 drom 90s. But it is too hifi 😅 Preamps don't have any color. Very transparent. I was lucky to find it on a used market in my country (something like this is extremely rare here) for cheap. But I had to repair it. Now it's working. But after I saw your video about tascam m30 mixer, I've been visiting ebay almost every day) Those preamps sound great. BTW you can make a comparison video now. Tascam 388 vs Tascam m30. That would be interesting.

[@travisraab]

@@DenysZhuravel That's rad I hear you need a pilot's license to operate the 688! very cool looking machine. that's interesting you don't like it man cause i heard it was similar the 238 and people rave about it. now i'm curious what it sounds like! yeah the m30 is pretty neat, there was actually someone selling an m35 near me for like 50$ - i can let you know if i see something around. i've seen some rare pieces in europe. yeah that's a good idea i'll have to compare the 388 to m30. we should compare it with your 688 as well! that would interesting to hear.

[@DenysZhuravel]

@@travisraab Lol, that's true XD Exactly how I felt, when I turned it on for a first time) Dude, I sent you a subscription request on instagram. Add me, please @hobo_street

[@travisraab]

@@DenysZhuravel ok cool!

[@mf966]

"I saw someone else doing this so"

[@travisraab]

Words i live by

[@thaexception3406]

I was rollin at that lol

[@travisraab]

@@thaexception3406 😂😂

[@frankmarsh1159]

Pretty fat bass for quarter-inch eight track. How did you record it? Amp? Direct? Sansamp?

[@travisraab]

Direct. Passive pickups. I had to turn everything to max to get enough signal. I used a pedal yesterday and that seemed better.

[@utkuersin]

ı like this so much. ı wait your video a lot of.

[@travisraab]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it Huseyin

[@Mark761966]

Sounds good, doesn't it :D

[@travisraab]

thank you mark!

[@umbertofurlan501]

wow

[@travisraab]

👍👍👍

[@GoLongboardBroseph]

very nice, how many mics on the drums

[@travisraab]

Just two microphones! That big Shure kic mic and a 57 on the snare.

[@samfowles4276]

What hi hats do you use? They’re great, so smooth, not harsh at all. Good left foot action on em too!

[@travisraab]

HI sam these are Ks I believe. I'll double check later this week.

[@Mark761966]

What was wrong with it? How did you fix it? And why didn't you make a video?

[@travisraab]

transport issues, ff rw were didn't work, counter didn't work, channel one didn't work, scratchy pots, etc.. yes i am going to make that video just haven't gotten the chance yet!

[@dannylu1141]

how about space echo on gtr? is it added after tape in daw ?

[@travisraab]

There's no echo. You might be hearing reverb which came from the vibrolux reverb

[@dannylu1141]

@@travisraab cool . just feels like spring reverb from old roland space echo

[@RC_Obsession]

Is there anyway I can record this to something digital? Avoiding tapes?

[@travisraab]

Hi! Is there a way to record what exactly to something digital?

[@RC_Obsession]

@@travisraab so, I clearly have no clue what I’m doing. I just found a free tascam and thought I should pick it up. How can I use this to have guitar/piano/drum parts sent to my computer to play back. I have never messed with tapes before.

[@travisraab]

@@RC_Obsession you don't want to record to tape?

[@herrvarta]

hey! what kind of tape do u use? thanks;-)

[@travisraab]

Lpr35

[@herrvarta]

@@travisraab wow, that was quick. thanks a lot. really like the sound u r making!!!

[@robertmacias6331]

Don’t show this to Pond they might want it for Christmas

[@travisraab]

What's Pond

[@topa1798]

Dear Tascam,dont you want to put this back into production?

[@travisraab]

My theory is that they are putting them onto Reverb.com and charging 4k. That would explain a lot.

[@topa1798]

@@travisraab hahah!! i will check reverb.com daily!!

[@travisraab]

@@topa1798 looking at reverb is an addiction i am in recovery

[@topa1798]

@@travisraab i thank poverty for helping me limit my addiction

[@WotanSkyFather]

I'm gonna find one...somehow

[@travisraab]

I'm gonna sell this one

[@WotanSkyFather]

@@travisraab not using it as much as you thought you would?

[@travisraab]

@@WotanSkyFather no I love it and use it for work. I'm a minimalist. Don't need it to live.

[@vask8ers1]

I'm willing to buy this.... could we make a deal?

[@travisraab]

Yeah man I'll let you know when I'm ready to sell it! Not anytime too soon