Testing My Repaired Portastudio | TASCAM Porta Two

sometimes equipment gets super broken and you have to send it to a professional. This is what happens when you get your portastudio back from repair.
Michael Terrile:
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[@Barry101er]

Wonderful!. I am dragging out the Porta One this weekend-I have not run it since 2001. Bought in 1987-so I would probably fix it if it needs fixing-which I am sure it will! Sentimental value :)

[@MadeOnTape]

have fun! happy exploring!

[@ericvannielsen]

I stopped by Mike’s recently and he mentioned your unit was there 😎 Glad the serendipity of the new metal bracket worked so well for you! I got to take a look at one of them while he touched up my 246 - pretty amazing machining. 🤞🏻 Here’s to many more years of your PortaTwo in action 🤞🏻 📼 💥

[@MadeOnTape]

thank you so much! Mike is the best

[@deebaker4671]

I have to get one now. It sounds nice and thick !

[@dracul74]

Nice! I got a refurb 414 last year. I was a little on the fence on buying one (I had owned a 424 many years ago). Anyway, it’s been one of the best gear purchases I’ve made in recent times. Mostly used for sending mixes through or sampling. Tape forever, lol!

[@MadeOnTape]

amazing!

[@jocknarn3225]

Do eeet brother; i love Portastudios. I havva 246.

[@MadeOnTape]

welcome to the channel!

[@jesseaguilar5967]

Thanks for the video. Your videos are always inspiring.

[@MadeOnTape]

thank you 🙏🏻 great to hear that

[@erikj425]

When you say this part will "be available soon" is there a particular list we can be put on for pre-order or general updates? Also, I saw mentioned below: 3D Printing... If there is a cad file of the part that could be shared, that would be awesome so I could print it off at home. Love the channel; keep it up!

[@djseanp]

Yes! Where can I order this part!? I need one for my Porta Two as well. Thanks for the video!

[@fromthestreets00]

have you find a cad file?

[@ROOKTABULA]

I had one of those! Bought it used, a few months old, for $1100 back in 92. Did my first EP on it and demo'd our first album on it. Reallly wish I hadn't sold it a few years later... I would love to pop my masters in and back them up.

[@MadeOnTape]

hopefully you can find someone in your area to help with those masters!

[@ROOKTABULA]

@@MadeOnTape LoLerz! Dude: I'm in a mystical part of the world that is always _the_ furthest place on earth from anything of artistic or cultural value. Hella backwoods.

[@wwgalloway]

Great video! Is there anyway to contact the machinist guy who made your part?

[@MadeOnTape]

i've been trying to keep a list of these requests on my IG...he's going to be making more soon, methinks. Hit me up on IG or email me ... [e-mail]

[@electrosonicnebula]

That groove was very cool, and highly reminiscent of Talking Heads for some reason. I didn't get how you used that 5th track for the Reverb control though, I'll have to look that up. And it seems those "tape cue" dials are to create a monitor mix but why exactly would you need that as opposed to simply mixing the tracks playing back at the right level?

[@MadeOnTape]

excellent questions! 1) I used the "effect out" to send TO the reverb, and you would normally go into the "effect return" and call it done. However, if you take the signal out of your reverb and go into channels 5 & 6, you have more "control" over the sound. For instance, notice my EQ settings. Annnnnd, I can use the faders to increase or decrease the reverb volume, although you can also do that with the effect return. ALSO ALSO, using this method, you can experiment with feeding back the effect back into itself for some crazy results, depending on your effects chain.... 2) I never use tape cue or it's dials. I'm always recording and mixing in "remix" mode because it's closer to what the final track will sound like. The only scenario i can dream of to use tape cues is if you have a mix dialed in that you like that includes panning, and you want to record something and not mess with your mix. I personally wouldn't do this, but I'm sure there's other better use-case scenarios that i'm not aware of. thanks for the questions!

[@electrosonicnebula]

@@MadeOnTape Thanks for the reply, I since saw another video that you made that explained it, very well put together, thanks so much. You have my vote for the hypothetical video of making an example using the most complex setup possible using all of the Tascam's routing features. I'm guessing I'll be on Reverb looking for a 4-track cassette recorder soon.

[@MadeOnTape]

don't sleep on ebay and Facebook marketplace! @@electrosonicnebula

[@electrosonicnebula]

@@MadeOnTape Ok Great stuff. We've also got a few physical and online places here in Barcelona and more generally Spain and France where I will look when I'm ready. Thanks for all the tips

[@wehappyfewmusic]

Hey, great to see your Porta Two is back in action! I’ve currently got my 688 in a service centre at the mo (in the UK), nervous times. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@MadeOnTape]

🤞 i know how you feel! hope it comes back better than ever!

[@wehappyfewmusic]

@@MadeOnTape Thanks, man!

[@ClaydenLee]

Hello, fellow limey here. Where in the UK is it being repaired? I have a sad, broken tascam

[@wehappyfewmusic]

@@ClaydenLee Hey, it’s called Electrofix and has a store in Bristol and Wales. I think they have a bit of a backlog of repairs at the mo though.

[@ClaydenLee]

Legend! Thanks@@wehappyfewmusic

[@guitarhick]

hey i love it. where can i get one of these aluminum headbase parts? please my porta one has been down since 2007. thank you very much

[@MadeOnTape]

send me a message on my IG or email me…the builder isn’t making them now but i have a list of people who need one for when he starts again

[@italiad1013]

Ill say this again…I graduated recording engineering degree in the very first Full Sail school class way back 92…my luv of the studio was in high school n for xmas i got a Porta one…still have it and another MINT and wo doubt its STILL is my best education into recording moreso than Full Sail (yes obviously i learned high tech digital and modern recording but nothin beat my time on my portastudio!) Try linking portastudios TOGETHER….works!!

[@MadeOnTape]

how can you synch the motors? doesn’t that present an issue? thanks for watching and the comment!

[@italiad1013]

@@MadeOnTape ionly use one cassette and just the boards of the connecting two…(3 linked)…takes lil tech know-how to setup but works great.

[@zachramsden9549]

​@italiad1013 so, you're essentially just using the other porta studios as mixers for additional inputs?

[@Fly-In-Music]

Ah la laaaa j'adooO🤩ore définitivement vos vidéos, .....rien que pour retrouver parfois ce doux son de TR505 lolll.. Donc, plutôt que jeter, vous faites réparez, combien vous avez raison!! Vous êtes un Green Music Planet Protector Compositor! ! Il m'est arrivé le même déboire avec mon vieux TASCAM464, il était tombé en panne, plus moyen de m'en servir, impossible d'entendre mes anciennes créations sur K7 4 pistes, leurs atmosphères, leurs inspirations, fini! L'HORREUR 😭 -*¤- - ` µ/ Heureusement nous avons ici aussi en France LE `chirurgien-musicien-magicien` [--->Enrique-Pointe de Lecture 💪] il a sauvé mes oreilles et ressuscité mes sons 🙏 Voilà en partie pourquoi à chaque fois je m'y retrouve dans vos TOUJOURS SUPERS VIDÉOS 👍+++ et je ne suis pas seul!

Hey man just discovered your channel and I'm absolutely loving the vibe and creativity in your videos ! What are, in your opinion, the differences and similarities, likes and don't likes, between the Tascam Porta Two and the Portastudio 464 ? You've maybe guessed it but i'm searching for my first tape recorder and wish to loop some stuff for studio and live situations :)

[@wallofsheep5645]

Happy to see that thing up and running. Seems to me this could also be a part that is 3D printed for easier access for folks

[@MadeOnTape]

i hope the 3d printing people are able to develop all kinds of repairs for older equipment 🙏🏻

[@xisotopex]

whats your fave multi track cassette recorder? what do you think of the tascam 246?

[@MadeOnTape]

i haven't gotten my hands on a 246! they look awesome, and I love my Porta Two... my studio partner's 464 is incredible, too

[@zippygogo3660]

When or where can we order the new replacement part ?

[@3rdisland477]

No need for a luminum part, I do it with the same plastic part with guarantee for 10 years for $0 part cost

[@tracyschnurr8685]

Awesome! Still over in Brooklyn? (Long Island fan here)

[@MadeOnTape]

cool! yes still in Brooklyn!

[@tracyschnurr8685]

Awesome! Hope you can start to get back to more videos again! Very informative...and entertaining channel! First multitrack cassette I had was a yamaha. I will try and keep sharing your channel... !

[@MadeOnTape]

@@tracyschnurr8685 very appreciated! I still haven't gotten my hands on a Yamaha but I'm sure I will eventually!

[@aSpeaker2BlocksAway]

I need this part Is it available? Greetings from Germany

[@HeavyPettySacto]

My Porta Two won’t play my tapes. The lower play mechanism parts move into place for a second then releases and it stops. The tape doesn’t even advance when hitting play. It will fast forward and rewind though. Any suggestions?

[@MadeOnTape]

i’m so bad at the tech side of things, but it sounds similar to my issue here in this video. do you have any techs near your location?

[@Stricknyne1]

Hello, thanks for the great and fun channel. I have found an identical recorder, but need to find an adapter for it. I don't know where to start as there is another similarly named Tascam recorder. Any help (from anyone) would be greatly appreciated.

[@MadeOnTape]

do you still need help? usually the pdf manual is easy to find and you can ascertain the voltage and polarity needed

[@Stricknyne1]

Thanks so much for getting back. Yes, I found the manual and got the information. I will keep watching your channel, and will tell others. More humans will be watching (lol). @@MadeOnTape

[@fitzjameswood5486]

Second! Great fix...great vid.

[@MadeOnTape]

thank you!

[@tonytrimbolijr]

Hey! I have a 244, and am getting a pumping or wavering in gain/level on playback, seemingly more so on one channel. Is this a maintenance issue or something to do with dbx…? Also wondering if I have to erase the tape or can I just record over old takes? Thanks!

[@MadeOnTape]

hmmmm. try using without DBX first... And... you can record over old takes! However, if the old recording was really "hot" there might be ghosting. Not usually an issue, tho!

[@tonytrimbolijr]

@@MadeOnTape thanks! I wasn’t aware dbx was an option on the 244… I thought it was always on. Is that wrong?

[@MadeOnTape]

@@tonytrimbolijr oh crap you are probably right. I have never used one of those so I'm less familiar with its intricacies. Have you checked out Tetrakan? 244s are his specialty

[@tonytrimbolijr]

@@MadeOnTape will do! Thanks very much.

[@mirage69]

So which machine do like better?

[@MadeOnTape]

great question! the 464 has so many features for mixing that i adore, but there really is something about the Porta Two that gets me in a creative headspace quicker. I hate to choose, but if i had to then the Porta Two

[@thecrossmethod6192]

First!

[@sK3LeTvM1]

And the Portastudio sound quality is... bad. Back in the days we had no alternative. But oh boy, were we glad the digital age brought us the quality we were waiting for ages with the fist Digidesign Sound Tools HD recorder...

[@MadeOnTape]

art is subjective! 😊

[@jezuzjuize]

yo man i was wondering if there was a way to contact you? email or instagram? thanks!

[@MadeOnTape]

yo! both are good. IG is @madeontape email is [e-mail]