Portastudio Buyer's Guide - Part 2 | Myths & Expectations

This video is a follow-up to a video I made where I broke down the choices of 4 track and 8 track multitrackers into 5 key factors, you can watch that video here;-
• Portastudio buyers gui...
In this second part i discuss more of the issues surroudning the purchase of a portastudio or other multitrack cassette recorder - myths surrounding sound and build quality, and realistic expectations interms of price, maintenance and due dilligance when vetting your seller.
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TETRAKAN - Fix & Use Tape Recorders
Overviews; tear-downs; repair vlogs; techniques; tutorials; demo recordings...
...covering every cassette multitrack recorder ever made!*
*(eventually)
/ tetrakan
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DONATIONS are gratefully accepted via my BLOG, which also features written articles and FREE DOWNLOADS OF SERVICE MANUALS;-
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I prefer to answer questions in the youtube comments where my answers can help more than one person, but if you need to share photos etc, you can message me via facebook.
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[@Dan-it6pb]

Really appreciate these videos. I was able to fix up a broken $50 488 and a couple smaller Tascam 4 tracks for my home studio using your tutorials. Having the extra context outside of repairs like you provide in this video is helpful as well.

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks Dan, fifty bucks for a 488 is a great deal!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Awesome video as always!

[@rOhmz]

Exceptional tips mate! Thanks for all the info you are providing to the Cassette community, it really is a HUGE asset especially with the ages of some of these machines. It's a great feeling fixing something, using it and saving it from the landfill!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks fro your words of encouragement!

[@francismcfadden3305]

So glad I found your channel man. This information is almost impossible to find on the net.

[@jean-fabricevernet8947]

Nice and helpful. I see that 388 in the background but wonder what you think of 8-track recorders on standard cassette size as opposed to 4-track. In particular if they sound similar and if they tend to be more prone to breaking down for whatever reason. I had a four track back in the days. I miss the workflow and limitations basically and have been thinking about getting one again but not sure if I should try to find an 8-track or a 4-track

[@wehappyfewmusic]

Great advice here! I’ve certainly found my Tascam 688 and 488’s sound pretty similar, and I doubt I could hear the difference with my Yamaha MT8X 11 in a blind test. It’s a shame there aren’t more people like you around with the skills to fix them. I’ve had 3 units sat waiting to be looked at in a service centre for the last 6 months.

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks, I hope you get those units back soon

[@WotanSkyFather]

I'm shocked you even found a place willing to service them!

[@wehappyfewmusic]

@@WotanSkyFather it took some searching (although they’re still there).

[@Tetrakan]

I service these in Scotland, I know a few techs here and in the US of you want me to put you in touch.

[@jordaneslick6816]

Do you know any techs in LA?@@Tetrakan

[@tommymess]

So many aspects to consider with these machines! Absolute truth!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks Marco

[@negentropyrecords]

You made me bring my tascam portastudio 488 out of the wardrobe. How many hundreds of hours of music were recorded on that machine in the past ? Many, many... I'm afraid it's a bit rusty, the buttons are cracking. I haven't tested everything but at a glance, my portastudio needs a good technical check up! What a pleasure to play with it again... Thanks for the inspiration!

[@Tetrakan]

That’s great, have fun!

[@kcrymble]

I know feck all about these, but good to listen to you again dude!

[@Tetrakan]

Ha! Thanks for watching, bless.

[@ManCalledMif]

Got a 424mkII on eBay. Very glad I found your channel. Hope it’s ‘working’ as listed.

[@xisotopex]

reverb is bad about letting people list things as "good" but then in the written description, they will comment that they have no idea, and that it is sold "as-is".... dont know why reverb allows this.

[@Tetrakan]

I dont think there are many human employees moderating these platforms unfortunately

[@eduugr]

It's great to have you here on youtube Tetrakan, I'm really enjoying your videos and been learning and fixing two portastudios now, so thank you very much!! I was wondering about the Tascam Porta 02/05/07 series. Those are much cheaper than other series that are sold as "more professional". Can you tell if there's a big difference in recording quality? Maybe the porta 0X series don't record in high speed? Thanks for your content!!!

[@speedunknown]

Brilliant & thank you. I would trust in buying one of these refurbished Mini cassette recorders from You. I’ve followed your videos for a while now. Kindly let me know if you have an eBay store or Reverb.

[@huntergalloway3944]

Lol I bought a second 688 just to have a backup motor! I love my 688.

[@TheSoulSynthesis]

I'm really happy that my 688 works at all even if it's noisier than I'd like it to be and the input levels don't really match the recorded levels on the meter bridge. But there will be the time where I have to open it up and plan a recap and look into the meters. But I knew that when I bought it and I'll be forever glad that your channel exists because you helped me out a lot with your knowledge. Good tips on buying and some PSA about what one might get into Cheers!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! I’m pretty sure you could go a long way to addressing those level mismatching levels and meters issues without actually recapping the unit….a couple of dozen trimpots need adjusting, whereas there must be hundreds and hundreds of electrolytic capacitors in a 688- that’s a long stint in cap replacement purgatory!

[@TheSoulSynthesis]

@@Tetrakan yes you're absolutely right. That would be the sanest option. I would need to find a test tape for that to have a baseline for adjusting, right?

[@Tetrakan]

Ideally yes you'd use a full width calibration tape to set playback amp fain but there are workarounds the reel to reel police would chastise me for mentioning...like, you could use any prerecorded tape to get a rough level for the playback amps on tracks 1 2 7 & 8 then use a signal generator with a pull down resistor if necessary plugged into the head sockets to match the AC voltage from tape outs 3 4 5& 6 to what youre seeing from tracks 1 2 7 & 8 using a meter. Then proceed to set record amp gain as normal. The resulting gain structure would likely be a little suboptimal but at least the performance of all the tracks would be even.

[@TheSoulSynthesis]

@@Tetrakan haha the reel to reel police can stay in their gentlemen's club. I appreciate workarounds that do the trick and it's ok to not have the perfect outcome. I would not deal with these things if I'm after as high fidelity as I can get. I'll look into your suggestion and will dig into the service manual a bit to understand the whole thing a bit better. My smooth brain had the idea to record some white noise at unity on every channel and see if I can then just match them and the meters / playback Thanks for the insight!

[@Tetrakan]

Yeah what youre saying with white noise is pretty much the procedure described for record amp calibration in the service manual, only they suggest using 1khz sine wave I think (at least thats what I use). But if you don't take steps to even out the response of the playback amps and meters first, the impression you get from your test recordings can be quite misleading, and it's possible to end up with high noise floor or saturation on adjacent tracks even though the output on the meters looks the same, does that make sense?

[@Sean-uo5ef]

Really great content. Thank you for posting!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks for watching!

[@robertcrystals]

4 track god

[@Tetrakan]

Bless, I merely an obsessed amateur, but thank you

[@concretewave8]

Amazing throat tattoo!!! i have one similar on my arm... The content was super useful!! Big Up!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! The central bit needs shaded, three hours in I was shaking so much my guy wasn't sure he could colour inside the lines lol

[@soyginna]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skill!

[@Tetrakan]

Glad it was helpful!

[@osi9567]

Awesome work on these videos man

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks for watching!

[@ProjetHomeStudio]

I feel I heard something in one of your videos but I can't find it anymore : between the various brands & models of portastudio-like cassette recorders, are there some that we should avoid due to poor reparability ? (i.e. custom parts that can't be replaced anymore) Thanks

[@Tetrakan]

Not a fan of the Teac 144 and Fostex 250 because the reel mechanisms in these very early designs are overengineered and if the parts on there wear out you can't get replacements from the manufacturer and theyre bricked until someond starts 3 d printing replacements. Everything from about 1984 forward with the 244 is pretty viable. 644, 688 and 234 are pigs to work on due to access but no less repairable than their contemporaries.

[@ProjetHomeStudio]

@@Tetrakan ok, thanks a lot for the detailed answer. What about the yamahas, repairable too ?

[@SPOD_ZONE]

I spy the 388 back there, have you done any videos on them?

[@richiedagger733]

I found a 488 mkii that I'm seriously considering picking up, what should I be checking for before handing over the cash?

[@vikingbeard]

Thank you for great advices!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks for watching!

[@jayteelee]

Hi, I have an idea but don't know if it's worth it but anyway - would it be possible anyhow to rebuild the Porta One ministudio to TWO SPEED model..?

[@Tetrakan]

Not with the original motor, unless it's the HS (high speed) variant. If youve got a motor that'll do 3200 rpm you could probably mount the switch and resistors necessary for the two speed switch in the battery compartment, there's not much space anywhere else.

[@jayteelee]

@@Tetrakan Oh great man, thanx for advice. And how can I recognize if the motor is HS..? Is it in numeric code on my Sankyo motor?

[@KenJiLP08]

@@jayteelee look for the HS marking on the unit itself, right below the cassette compartment.

[@jayteelee]

@@KenJiLP08 thanx for advice. I had no idea that exists a second version of the PortaTwo, now I know :)

[@johntammaro]

I have just bought new belts for my 414. Is there more calibration I should be looking to do ? I've cleaned up some of the electronics, re-soldered some joints, cleaned pots. Is this everything? Your channel is an amazing resource btw. Thank you

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! Sounds like you've done a pretty throrough job. Reassemble it and test it, see if there are any niggles, and if there are, whether those niggle actually stop you from making music the way you want to. If you can make music on it, you're golden!

[@ProjetHomeStudio]

Great channel :) !

[@Tetrakan]

Why thank you!

[@kainen1279]

The 4track recorder to DIY tech pipeline is real

[@waterdrinker8554]

What are your thoughts about the Yamaha mt4x?

[@Tetrakan]

It’s been a while since I used one but it made a good impression with me. I seem to remember it was a slightly less feature rich competitor to the a 424 mk II? Like, dual speed , three band eq, backlit screen, 4 channel mixer… the slight advantage of the tascam being parametric mids and better access to the input sockets... though someone who currently owns a MT4x may step in and correct me here? In a perfect world I’d personally rather have a Tascam 246, 424 mk III or 464, but if you can get an MT4X at a good price, go for it.

[@waterdrinker8554]

Nice I have one and it’s been serviced! It was 450 total. Came in the original box and got the manual for it as well. I was just wondering your thoughts on it. Love your videos. I also got super lucky and found a working 424 mk III for 50 bucks at a swapmeet! I’m sure it needs some service but everything works great on it!

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! Not a bad price for the serviced Yamaha but an amazing deal on the Tascam, have fun recording on them :)

[@oinkooink]

I sold a 414. Full regret.

[@catojrgensen8912]

Can I please buy a portastudio from you. Then I know what Im getting :)

[@Tetrakan]

Maybe, contact me via Facebook or instagram to discuss