Tascam DA78hr advice please

[mosrite]

Hi Guys,

Advice needed on this multitrack. Ive got the oppurtunity to get one pretty cheap (I suppose these tape based devices are seriously on their way out). I do have a few issues though:

1. If it needs servicing in a few years will there be anyone out there to do it and if so will it be expensive?

2. Apparantly it only has 15hours on the tape heads (which seems very low). Could this be fabricated in any way?

3. The only modern HD system equivelent I have come across (that isnt way over budget) is the Alesis HD24 but it only accepts ADAT (I only output AES/EBU, SPDIF and TOSLINK). The Tascam ticks all the right boxes (word clock / the right dig inputs / right number of tracks etc) but is there a modern HD alternative that can also cater for all this?

4. Do the Tascams need servicing a lot? How reliable are they?

The dilemma i have is paying a lot less than a new HD based system for something that, as far as I can tell, will do the job well but Im worried about the "obselete" nature of tape based systems at the moment.

Any advice, as always, much appreciated

[Beauarts]

There's a couple of buttons you can hold down when starting up, it'll then tell you the hours on the head. Check the manual.

It's a good unit. I put a lot more hours on it's predicesor, the DA38 and it was solid. I bet you it get's used a lot more than you think and probably more reliable than many portable HD recorders.

It's older technology, but by the same token, a tech can get in there and work on it. When it need something, it should be easy to diagnose.

Last time i checked, it was like $4-5 a tape for 60-90 minutes of 8 track. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a hard drive for each project.

You wont have to mess with upgrades. With occasional maintenance and moderate use, you should get many, many years out of it.

[Remoteness]

I have purchased a few DA78HRs off of eBay at pretty decent prices. These machines are on the way out but, I’m hanging in there with them until the media is not available anymore. The reason is this – They are pretty rock solid when good maintenance is kept.

1: You may need servicing the moment you get the deck. Consider it part of the final price. Tascam still repairs these puppies. We send them out to Tascam’s CA repair facility. Also Eddie Ciletti from Tangible Technology is a great source for repair and modifications. Expensive is a relative word. What is expensive to you?

2. It can be fabricated in a sense. You can reset the digital counters.

3. Many folks love the Alesis HD24. Why not consider a third party box that will convert the Lightpipe to what you need. On the modern HD alternatives, RADAR and Genex make slamming HD recorders. New units maybe out of your price range but there are used RADARs out there at a decent price. RADAR also will do you right on the service side of things. They want to keep all their customers happy, even the second hand consumers.

4. In my experience, the Tascam units don’t need a lot of servicing. Regular maintenance is the key to their reliability.

We still use the DA98HR / DA78HR as our main or backup device to any HD recording system. I believe in them and will continue to use them until the media is not on hand anymore.

Look at it this way, tape based systems ARE obsolete, but that hasn’t stopped me from using them. I believe in them because they have worked well for me. And with proper storage, I know the media will work ten years down the line. With that said, any way you look at it, your clients will (9 out of 10 times) ask for a HD solution over digital tape. It’s what it is I’m afraid.

[mosrite]

They are pretty rock solid when good maintenance is kept.

Remoteness, what do you mean by maintenance? Are there user servicable parts or do you just mean general cleaning / looking after?

Expensive is a relative word. What is expensive to you

I suppose "expensive" would be if the cost of the unit and a service almost adds up to an HD based device. If I got the device for about £300 then I wouldnt want to spend the same on a service. Wouldnt make much sense to me. Just out of interest what costs have you incurred with yours?

Why not consider a third party box that will convert the Lightpipe to what you need

Because the ones Ive seen are really expensive (£200). Are there any that are much cheaper than that that you know of?

Thanks

[Remoteness]

Yes, I meant general cleaning, looking after and such.

I could not imagine it being as expensive as a HD rig unless you need to replace the heads. That could be a very expensive circumstance.

IMHO, £300 sounds a bit high for those machines. Are we’re talking, 300.00 GBP which is about $547.71 USD? You can find them going for around $400.00 USD on eBay. I would not spend north of $500.00 USD unless it was in perfect condition. $500.00 USD is a bit high – it better be in near mint condition to spend that kind of bread on it.

I had a few of these serviced and I they didn’t cost more than $150.00 or so each which included parts and labor.

I don’t know £200 sounds like a good price. That’s about $365.00 USD.

[mosrite]

Thanks Remoteness, that helps a lot. Sorry you had to do the currency conversions! I might go for it...

[mosrite]

Well it turns out the fella selling it has a disturbingly high expectation of its worth and is expecting around £1000 !

This is bad for me as it means I still have this equipment hole to fill. The problem I have is obviously my low budget although I am still suprised at the lack of mid-range HD devices out there. The Alesis HD24 would be perfect for me if only it had other digital inputs other than ADAT. I suppose thats what the higher end stuff gives you (along with better ADC's) is better connectivity. Having said that is there a machine out there that has slipped under my nose? My criteria is:

AES / SPDIF or Toslink inputs
Half decent ADC's for the analogue inputs
More than 8 tracks
Word Clock
Preferably HD based.

The problem with the older HD based machines is that they are 16bit only. The problem with the Alesis HD24 is that I would need to buy a digital convertor which would bring it beyond my paltry budget. The problem with RADAR and Genex is the price.

Any suggestions guys?

Thanks again

[Remoteness]

I say, hang in there another DA78HR will apprear at the price you want. Give it time this person will come back when they realize they cannot sell it at the price they originally wanted.

Best of luck to you.

[mosrite]

I say, hang in there another DA78HR will apprear at the price you want. Give it time this person will come back when they realize they cannot sell it at the price they originally wanted.

Thanks Remoteness. The problem is that I have landed a couple of fairly big jobs that are set to kick off next month. If he doesnt get back to me or no other machine turns up at the right price then I might have to spend a small fortune hiring something (a weeks hire on a machine that would do the job comes in at around £300!). I was hoping to buy something as I felt it would make more financial sense. I had considered building a DAW to do the job but noise, monitor, stabilty all prove too much of an issue.

[Jim vanBergen]

I gotta agree with Steve. I have a rack of six DA-88s & 38s that cost me quite a bit when I got them, and are worth so little these days that I am better off keeping them for 16-bit backups. You'll find someone who will part with their machines for a reasonable amount. The cost for maintainance is another harsh reality, though.

If you are really considering options for your immediate work, you might want to look for an older (I hate to even say this) Mackie HDR 24/96 which has I/O card slots; you can get AES or TDIF cards, as well as the machines, pretty cheaply and they sound decent. I've been using these since they came out...they have been very robust and transfer well into PT for mixing, but they are getting long in the tooth by today's standards.

Best of luck!!

[mosrite]

If you are really considering options for your immediate work, you might want to look for an older (I hate to even say this) Mackie HDR 24/96 which has I/O card slots; you can get AES or TDIF cards, as well as the machines, pretty cheaply and they sound decent. I've been using these since they came out...they have been very robust and transfer well into PT for mixing, but they are getting long in the tooth by today's standards.

Good tip. I cant find any though! I guess it might just be a case of waiting until something like the Tascam or Mackie turn up on the used market. Unfortunately thats time I dont have. Is there any cheap ADAT to SPDIF or AES convertors out there that anyone knows of? At least that would open my options up a bit