I have the Tascam 644 I bought it over the summer off of Craiglist for 75$. I think the only one thing I noticed wrong with it is the rewind button doesn't work 90% of the time, but I have got it to work at other times? Anybody know what that's all about? I love it so far. I have the manual. I've successfully recorded two tapes so far, using my Ensoniq AsR-X sampler/drum machine, and Korg Triton LE. I've made a few hip hop beats from the ASR-X by sampling all from either vinyl or mp3...and making something organic n grimey 90's/80's hip hop sounding thru it, along with adding outerspace snyth noises n piano passages with the Korg Triton LE. I have a MIDI cord, but haven't figured out yet, how to record using the MIDI capabilities of this machine. If anyone wants to guide me, thanks in advance. I also play electric guitar, n bass, n want to record a full band with real drums etc, so I've investing in condenser mics, n a analog pre amp. Any recomendation on which kind to get exactly? My BIGGEST QUESTION is this: What do I go out and get to clean my Tascam 644, where do I get it, and how do I properly maintain it? I want it to last my lifetime and longer if possible. Even if something goes out on it, I want to repair it if that happens. I've only recorded down to one track on the tapes. I haven't even really used all 4 tracks at once yet, but I'd like to figure out MIDI before I do that idealistically. I need to get a case for it to keep dust out. Sometimes when I record, it sounds a little distorted, but I believe it's only because of my levels not set properly. Otherwise it sounds phat, thick, clear and analog I want to use this machine to record with when I get a Akai MPC 60 very soon for the combination of 12 bit analog with tape analog recording. The EQ's seem decent..I don't have any basis of comparison to anything tho. Please someone let me know how to optimally clean, care for and maintain the Tascam 644. I really want to get into tape recording RIGHT, and have no problems. I want thks machine to run smoothly, and last Thanks in advance guys.
Congrats with your Tascam Midistudio 644!
i've bought is about à week ago - its sounds amazing!
altough i do have à manual i still find
it has à very steep learning curve-
cause ALL orerations/routings have to be sat in the matrix screen or using factory presets...
its not very intuitive or selfexpanatory.. after à week strugling i've finally menaged to record 4 tracks and playback 4 tracks trought 4 individual outputs...
Since i've posted a Tascam 644 Newbe tread few days ago and didnt get much responce yet...
i am guessing that there arent many 644 users on this board?
now that there are 2 of us - there is à Hope
I am recording with DBX on and playing back with DBX on - sounds Great. but when I turn DBX off during playback it sounds horrible - is this normal?
thanks in advance
yes
DBX is a BRILLIANT noise reduction and dynamic range enhancement tool, but it makes your tapes incompatible wtih any other machine. what you record with dbx must be played back with dbx.
WAY better than dolby C though, and dolby S was just starting to get into similar territory (and is virtually impossible to find now).
Thanks VintageFreak! Yes there's at least 2 of us now. So I will have my eye on this thread/site. I will share anything I learn about the Tascam644. As of today I'm just really conserned with figuring out the proper way to cleaning n maintaining the recorder. I don't want it to break down on me. It's such a sweet machine!
Thanks VintageFreak! Yes there's at least 2 of us now. So I will have my eye on this thread/site. I will share anything I learn about the Tascam644. As of today I'm just really conserned with figuring out the proper way to cleaning n maintaining the recorder. I don't want it to break down on me. It's such a sweet machine!
yes , I second that - it's a really sweet mashine!
would like to open it up and clean as well, would like to learn this peace of gear throughout soon
will keep you posted on the 644 Newbe tread
DBX is a BRILLIANT noise reduction and dynamic range enhancement tool, but it makes your tapes incompatible wtih any other machine. what you record with dbx must be played back with dbx.
WAY better than dolby C though, and dolby S was just starting to get into similar territory (and is virtually impossible to find now).
ah ha, now it's clear to me - thanks for explaning it nicely
cause the manual tells you to turn it off while Playing back a recorded tape- doesnt make sense?
DBX sounds really good waaay beter than a Dolby on my Techics double cassette deck.
wonder if any other older or earlier Tascam 4 tracks sound as good as 644/688 Midistudio?
i've had my 644 since the late 90's & just got done with a belt replacement, which i guess makes me a guru.
my machine has got rewind/ff problems as well. i just got done with a belt replacement as it was not playing at all a couple weeks ago & it's back up in running now. (found belts on ebay for $5). while inside, i noticed there are multiple motors to the tape deck. the main one is belt driven for play & rewind. i believe the others control shuffle & fast forward. i'd have to take another look to be sure though.
i air dusted mine & swabbed the heads with electronics grade alcohol.
it currently sounds pretty good. i have yet to put all the screws back in so i'm open to poke around inside & answer questions if i can help.
i did a ton of recordings with the machine in the 90's & like to keep it around for when a tape i want to salvage shows up. i've never used or needed the accessory, sync, remote control, or midi functions on the 644.
i've had my 644 since the late 90's & just got done with a belt replacement, which i guess makes me a guru.
my machine has got rewind/ff problems as well. i just got done with a belt replacement as it was not playing at all a couple weeks ago & it's back up in running now. (found belts on ebay for $5). while inside, i noticed there are multiple motors to the tape deck. the main one is belt driven for play & rewind. i believe the others control shuffle & fast forward. i'd have to take another look to be sure though.
i air dusted mine & swabbed the heads with electronics grade alcohol.
it currently sounds pretty good. i have yet to put all the screws back in so i'm open to poke around inside & answer questions if i can help.
i did a ton of recordings with the machine in the 90's & like to keep it around for when a tape i want to salvage shows up. i've never used or needed the accessory, sync, remote control, or midi functions on the 644.
great, now there are 3 of us Midistudio 644 users on the board!
really uppreciate you sharing the knowledge with us ... Total newbees.
my machine has got rewind/ff problems as well. i just got done with a belt replacement
Not sure what sort of problems you guys are referring to with the fast modes, but I remember some of the older units having an additional rubber part in that area that sometimes gets overlooked. There might be an idler tire buried in there somewhere between the reel tables. I've replaced it on a couple (Porta Two and maybe a stereo Tascam deck). IIRC, it wasn't easy to get to.
George
PS- This guy was really helpful on belts and stuff back then. I dealt with a guy named Frank. He keeps a decent list of cross references for belts sizes and stuff. There also used to be a downloadable pdf chart or something for tire dimensions.
There might be an idler tire buried in there somewhere between the reel tables. I've replaced it on a couple (Porta Two and maybe a stereo Tascam deck). IIRC, it wasn't easy to get to.
i did notice a 'tire' that connects to rewind-fast forward gears. it switches left & right depending on direction. i'll give it another look. thanks for the tips!
Congrats with your Tascam Midistudio 644!
i've bought is about à week ago - its sounds amazing!
altough i do have à manual i still find
it has à very steep learning curve-
cause ALL orerations/routings have to be sat in the matrix screen or using factory presets...
its not very intuitive or selfexpanatory.. after à week strugling i've finally menaged to record 4 tracks and playback 4 tracks trought 4 individual outputs...
Since i've posted a Tascam 644 Newbe tread few days ago and didnt get much responce yet...
i am guessing that there arent many 644 users on this board?
now that there are 2 of us - there is à Hope
+1 on that. Ive got one that I've had for about 7 years now. You're correct about the steep learning curve, but with the manual, it's not too hard to get accustomed to. The routing is very flexible as it was one of the first recording consoles that featured electronic matrixing/signal routing. Excellent versatile studio and live mixer. Glad to see a few fellow users posting in live threads. Feel free to PM with any questions. How are you utilizing it in your setups?
+1 on that. Ive got one that I've had for about 7 years now. You're correct about the steep learning curve, but with the manual, it's not too hard to get accustomed to. The routing is very flexible as it was one of the first recording consoles that featured electronic matrixing/signal routing. Excellent versatile studio and live mixer. Glad to see a few fellow users posting in live threads. Feel free to PM with any questions. How are you utilizing it in your setups?
Great to hear that Pseudoswede - happy to hear that Tascam 644 is still rocking
i am getting accustomed to the electronic routing matrix , very cool.
though few things seem strange or need getting used to:
like that i have to use one routing assignment for 4 track recording and than have to reroute the outputs again for playback and mixing.... sure i can save each routing as a preset ... but its a bit awkward and prone to mistakes during live recording to push the right buttons.
But the sound and the EQ's on the mixer are great , no doubt!
here is my little test recording during a gig last night
As Tascam 644 quite large and heavy , wonder if there is any smaller size 4 tracker with DBX and sweet EQ's that sounds as good as Tascam Midistudio 644 to take with me on the plane for abroad gigs .... any thoughts ?
I used a Fostex 160 4-track as my first multi-track device.
This thing is great! Runs at double speed so the sound quality is great. Really well built with nice knobs and the tape Play / Rewind / FF buttons are really nice to use - solid, not clanky. I think I used to use TDK SA-60s exclusively.
I've got some recordings somewhere, I'll see if I can dig them out.
More recently I used to play records through an old FX box with massive reverb, record it to the Fostex and then play the tape back on my normal Hi Fi. It plays at half speed and it sounded amazing!?!
Half speed tape is so much nicer than half speed digital.
I have a draw full of 644 multitrack tape. Started using it in I think late 80's/ early 90's and was still fooling with it up until 2003 when I went digital...(man was I old fashioned)
Learned a lot about recording with it, most important was making decisions as you tracked and building a sound as you went along. A lot to be said of that for musical sounding recordings! I loved the 644, once i really dug in, the track routing and assignments were incredibly useful and flexible. Always have loved TASCAM products because of this.
I discovered VHS HI FI, and used that deck to bounce and build mixes. I would track 4 sources on the 644 Using DBX, and mix down to two channels stereo to the Hi FI. I would then bounce the 2 channel stereo back from the HI FI to the 644. Note that I always worked with stereo bounces, as I was with each pass adding to and building the stereo mix!
The Hi FI deck had very liitle/no tape noise, nothing I could hear on my good old KLH speakers so the generational loss and noise build up was much better than going cassette to casette! Warm, warm, warm
At that point I had two more tracks open for overdubs on the 644, and then after filling those, I would repeat bouncing a stereo mix to the Hi Fi and then back. The most tracks I collected was probably 10-12 which meant like 4-5 bounces! I "mastered" on the Hi Fi, which gave me the highest quality sound for enjoying playback. I would record a cassette off the Hi FI master if I wanted to play in the car or to hand out as demos or share with friends. I burned a few CD's too from the high fi, having afriend who had a new fangled CD recorder that took an analog source!
I have a draw full of 644 multitrack tape. Started using it in I think late 80's/ early 90's and was still fooling with it up until 2003 when I went digital...(man was I old fashioned)
Learned a lot about recording with it, most important was making decisions as you tracked and building a sound as you went along. A lot to be said of that for musical sounding recordings! I loved the 644, once i really dug in, the track routing and assignments were incredibly useful and flexible. Always have loved TASCAM products because of this.
I discovered VHS HI FI, and used that deck to bounce and build mixes. I would track 4 sources on the 644 Using DBX, and mix down to two channels stereo to the Hi FI. I would then bounce the 2 channel stereo back from the HI FI to the 644. Note that I always worked with stereo bounces, as I was with each pass adding to and building the stereo mix!
The Hi FI deck had very liitle/no tape noise, nothing I could hear on my good old KLH speakers so the generational loss and noise build up was much better than going cassette to casette! Warm, warm, warm
At that point I had two more tracks open for overdubs on the 644, and then after filling those, I would repeat bouncing a stereo mix to the Hi Fi and then back. The most tracks I collected was probably 10-12 which meant like 4-5 bounces! I "mastered" on the Hi Fi, which gave me the highest quality sound for enjoying playback. I would record a cassette off the Hi FI master if I wanted to play in the car or to hand out as demos or share with friends. I burned a few CD's too from the high fi, having afriend who had a new fangled CD recorder that took an analog source!
Whoa, way too much old man info!!!!!
not "old man" info at all, good stuff never becomes old:
wat did you use as Hi-Fi .. do you mean à video VHS cassette
or something else, sorry for my ignorance.
i do have à Tascam 644 and still learning
it.
not "old man" info at all, good stuff never becomes old:
wat did you use as Hi-Fi .. do you mean à video VHS cassette
or something else, sorry for my ignorance.
i do have à Tascam 644 and still learning
it.
It was a Mitsubishi HI FI VHS VCR. This cool technology recorded audio signal across the width of the tape diagonally along with the video. Very quiet, "Hi Fi" quality. (Equivilant to CD quality) It also had pots for the inputs to those channels and a display for signal strength (so you wouldnt overdrive the channel)
You can get Hi FI vcr's for less than $100 on Ebay. Look for "pro" versions, like a Sony or JVC
The "Dual" button on my Tascam 644 doesn't work right anymore. I now have to hold it JUST right in the middle between all the way pressed down and unpressed. Hope that makes sense. I basically record like usual...and can hear everything loud and clear that's running thru the Tascam, but during playback of the tape, I have to apply just the right pressure to the "Dual" button to hear sound during playback of the tape. This sucks! lol. Everything else seems to work fine on this machine.
Can anybody tell me what I should do to fix this? I was considering opening up the casing to see if I could see what's the matter with the little plastic push button...maybe it needs to be cleaned? Replaced?
I'm taking a electronics class in college. Starts this week, this will be my first year of college ever. My goal is to learn electronic circuits and things inside out so I can fix and repair musical instruments/recorders etc!!
Another question I have is about hooking up a microphone to the Tascam 644. I've only recorded my ASR-10 sampling keyboard thru the Tascam, and my electric guitar/amp thru the amps ""phones record out output" of a little Line 6 practice amp(not big fan of this amp but it gets job done for time being).
My friend brought over his condenser microphones, that he uses to record with thru his modern digital Tascam...and I couldn't get any sound at all. I know I need a good pre-amp to use mics with the 644 properly, but I thought I'd get at least a little bit of sound? Maybe I'm not supposed to...or maybe I have to press a few buttons to make it work before getting sound from a mic?
What's a great analog pre-amp for mics into the Tascam. I want the phattest analog sounds! What's some great mics? I'm thinking of picking up a Shure sm57 first.
For years, I had the Fostex X-28H. My best anecdote would be the time I was moving to another town. Shortly after leaving town, the box the 4-track was in flew out of the back of the truck. It hit the road, the 4-track sliding out of the box, and sending the 4-track flying along the road at the same speed as the truck. All the feet were ground down, there was a big crack on one corner, the tape lid wouldn't stay open, and all the fader knobs and a few other knobs were gone.
As soon as I got home, I fired it up, and it ran with no problems; no weird mechanical sounds, worked perfectly.
Man, I miss those days! I grew up on a 450 mixer paired with their 1/4" eight track, and still to this day think that was one of the coolest styles ever conceived. I'm sure the sound quality of my 450 wasn't all that great (I need to go back and play with one now), but the look of those low profile rounded knobs, the colors they chose, the bargraph LEDs, even the buttons were beautiful. Faders I guess were the only cheesy looking part. Makes me want to build a nice EQ or something using Fostex pieces.
Just pick up a 488 mk II last month from a friend. I Don't even have room for it but I couldn't pass on it. I had to hook the SP1200 up with his long lost girl.
As for a small 4 track, I used to have a Yamaha MT-100--probably as small as one could be made and still record four tracks at once. Reminds me of my DP-008 come to think of it.
In the mid '90's I found an MT3X in a pawn shop for $100.00, so I bought that and sold off the MT-100. Now that I have better mics, I should pull that Yami out and give it a try.
It was a Mitsubishi HI FI VHS VCR. This cool technology recorded audio signal across the width of the tape diagonally along with the video. Very quiet, "Hi Fi" quality. (Equivilant to CD quality) It also had pots for the inputs to those channels and a display for signal strength (so you wouldnt overdrive the channel)
You can get Hi FI vcr's for less than $100 on Ebay. Look for "pro" versions, like a Sony or JVC
Yeah those VHS recordings I used to do sounded pretty damn good for what it was. Almost had some kind of limiter in there. We also used it as a two track recorder for live jams/parties- on EP we got 8 hours on one VHS tape!
Another question I have is about hooking up a microphone to the Tascam 644. I've only recorded my ASR-10 sampling keyboard thru the Tascam, and my electric guitar/amp thru the amps ""phones record out output" of a little Line 6 practice amp(not big fan of this amp but it gets job done for time being).
My friend brought over his condenser microphones, that he uses to record with thru his modern digital Tascam...and I couldn't get any sound at all. I know I need a good pre-amp to use mics with the 644 properly, but I thought I'd get at least a little bit of sound? Maybe I'm not supposed to...or maybe I have to press a few buttons to make it work before getting sound from a mic?
.
Most condensers need 48V phantom power provided through the XLR connector to work. Afaik, the 644 does not provide phantom power.
You'll need a preamp or a phantom power box.
__________________ Too many options kill creativity.
I have a Fostex 380s. I hadn't used it for a long time but recently went through about 50 tapes to transfer to digital.
This thing sounds really great. I think it's probably one of the best four track cassette machines. Lots of other inputs and outputs on this machine but the tape section really excells in quality for cassette.
I'm planning on selling it because I have a G36 valve reel to reel which I'll use for tape mojo. It was working perfectly but the transport motor was a bit noisy. I tried to fix but couldn't so I'm going to put a new motor in. It seems I can get one. It will come with around 50 Maxell tapes which all seem to be working fine. Most are XLIIS. This is important by the way. If you user cheaper tapes you won't get into decent sound territory. So assuming I can get the motor replaced (seems I can) it will be for sale.
I used a Mytek A/D for digital transfers which really captured all the tape effect. It actually required a high end convertor to completely capture the full quality of the tape mojo. Lovely saturations. Bass is particular had beautiful grunginess.
Here's a rough photo of my 380s. Motor was noisy. Couldn't fix that so new one is going in. That's why it's in bits. It is a really great machine. Will eventually be sold unless nobody gives me enough money then I keep. It'll be a bargain though. I don't think it gets better than this machine. I've heard other four track cassettes and this machine sounds really great.
I transferred 50 tapes without a hitch (except motor noise) so it works fine.
I'm not sure yet. It'll be cheap though. Obviously a fraction of new cost. I think I paid over £600 new for this thing. Seems absurd but it was the best money could buy at the time. The tapes will add a bit to the value. This is cool though because you'll have a ton of good tapes.
First I have to track down a motor. There is a place in the UK that says they can get it but their price is way too high. Does anybody know anywhere in Europe or even other places i.e. US that stocks things like this? The motor seems to still be made in the far east (China maybe) But I can't communicate with those people, obviously.
As you can probably see from the photo I dismantled the motor housing to try to eliminate the noise by small lubrication but this wasn't entirely successful. I'll put a new motor in then it will literally be as good as new. Better in fact because I've cleaned and lubricated where needed. I noticed the tape mechanism has this function that frees the motor in case of tightness or rather was effected by any slightly tight tape. This was always too tight. It always worked with Maxell tapes but other makes of tape (e.g. TDK) didn't seem to have as smooth transport. The whole transport of the tape is smooth though. No wow and flutter or anything like that. I've seen lots of other four tracks have this issue.
All the extra stuff on the 380 - extra channels for example isn't anything special. Just standard cheap like you'd get on most machines like this. It's the sound of the tape that shines in this machine.
I'm not sure yet. It'll be cheap though. Obviously a fraction of new cost. I think I paid over £600 new for this thing. Seems absurd but it was the best money could buy at the time. The tapes will add a bit to the value. This is cool though because you'll have a ton of good tapes.
First I have to track down a motor. There is a place in the UK that says they can get it but their price is way too high. Does anybody know anywhere in Europe or even other places i.e. US that stocks things like this? The motor seems to still be made in the far east (China maybe) But I can't communicate with those people, obviously.
As you can probably see from the photo I dismantled the motor housing to try to eliminate the noise by small lubrication but this wasn't entirely successful. I'll put a new motor in then it will literally be as good as new. Better in fact because I've cleaned and lubricated where needed. I noticed the tape mechanism has this function that frees the motor in case of tightness or rather was effected by any slightly tight tape. This was always too tight. It always worked with Maxell tapes but other makes of tape (e.g. TDK) didn't seem to have as smooth transport. The whole transport of the tape is smooth though. No wow and flutter or anything like that. I've seen lots of other four tracks have this issue.
All the extra stuff on the 380 - extra channels for example isn't anything special. Just standard cheap like you'd get on most machines like this. It's the sound of the tape that shines in this machine.
Well when you decide on a cost, could you message me? I may be interested if it's within my budget.
Well when you decide on a cost, could you message me? I may be interested if it's within my budget.
Cheers.
I'll let you know. It will probably be a few weeks before I can do anything. It looks like the motor will have to be shipped from the far east no matter where I get it from. There is one on the German ebay. It's not new but I might message the seller - it's not advertised for sale in the UK. A new motor would obviously be better though.
I wish I could just fix the original motor but I can't. It's quiet when held with the spindle vertical but the minute it's horizontal, noise starts. It actually works perfectly. It's just the noise and the Fostex housing (as you can see from the photo) isn't exactly great for keeping things quiet. The cheap looking plastic housing makes this thing look cheaper than it is though.
New Reply 
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
I bought it over the summer off of Craiglist for 75$. I think the only one thing I noticed wrong with it is the rewind button doesn't work 90% of the time, but I have got it to work at other times? Anybody know what that's all about? I love it so far. I have the manual. I've successfully recorded two tapes so far, using my Ensoniq AsR-X sampler/drum machine, and Korg Triton LE. I've made a few hip hop beats from the ASR-X by sampling all from either vinyl or mp3...and making something organic n grimey 90's/80's hip hop sounding thru it, along with adding outerspace snyth noises n piano passages with the Korg Triton LE. I have a MIDI cord, but haven't figured out yet, how to record using the MIDI capabilities of this machine. If anyone wants to guide me, thanks in advance. I also play electric guitar, n bass, n want to record a full band with real drums etc, so I've investing in condenser mics, n a analog pre amp. Any recomendation on which kind to get exactly? My BIGGEST QUESTION is this: What do I go out and get to clean my Tascam 644, where do I get it, and how do I properly maintain it? I want it to last my lifetime and longer if possible. Even if something goes out on it, I want to repair it if that happens. I've only recorded down to one track on the tapes. I haven't even really used all 4 tracks at once yet, but I'd like to figure out MIDI before I do that idealistically. I need to get a case for it to keep dust out. Sometimes when I record, it sounds a little distorted, but I believe it's only because of my levels not set properly. Otherwise it sounds phat, thick, clear and analog
