Tascam 388 - Getting Started With The Basics 

The sound you get reminds me of the late 70s and early 80s punk/new wave band productions....raw....and that's refreshing.

Man you gotta do more of these 388 vids! I’m tracking one down

I own one of these and have got to get back in the groove of using it.. It's an awesome piece of equipment. Great Video!

Thank you for taking your time to record and share this video. I notice it’s been online for a few years but it’s still serving it’s purpose. Hello from Tennessee!

Thanks for all ! I just got a 388 and it’s really helpfull ;)

Very cool. Good job Matthew.

This makes us wish we had one! Still using the Tascam 424 and a ZoomR16.

Nice intro! Very cool machine. Thanks for the explanation.

Got one! Tried to record drums, with no luck..will review this tomorrow and giver again. Thanks Chum!

Great video! I have the 688 and love it. Always on the lookout for the 388 though. Cheers!

Tascam 388 looks like a great machine

Would love more videos like this!

Are you going to cover the internal routing of the 388? I can use it well enough, but I want a deeper understanding of what the heck is going on sometimes and it took me a while to figure out some things. Like where the red L-R buttons route too and how they differ from the track assign buttons. And what specifically pushes things into the monitor section. Monitor Out vs Stereo Out, where are they routed from exactly. And covering that the Tape out on each channel is off tape but pre EQ vs PGM OUT which is post EQ for mixing. What's the difference between PGM BUSS in & Line In? That kinda stuff will really help new users, and for me to remember how the heck it works after 6 months of not getting to record on it. Good stuff!

great job

very informative!

Very very good my friend

The way to read a VU meter is that when the needle hovers around 0, your signal is at the nominal level of the channel and the operating level of the board itself. And if you calibrated your tape machine right, you are also at the highest fidelity operating level of the tape (which assumes a certain % of harmonic distortion, which the tape mfg will specify). Beyond that and the distortion goes up, sure, but in practical terms, it is still just "volume" you are adding as the needle goes higher - and also reducing the mix buss's headroom. 0VU is nominally where you want to be because that's where mix buss headroom is spec'ed at, and all your faders will hover around 0 come mix time, which is also where the highest resolution of the fader's precision exists.

Good Job,

Hi, thanks for the vid! What kind of tape do you use and how to check when to replace the tape? Best, Rob

Informative

Dsp and time based fx on inserts. Aux for strapping comp or reverb.

Also, I had 2 of these Synced together to make 16 tracks

0dB on a VU meter (0dBVU) is a good ballpark for "full volume/gain" as it should correspond to +4dBu (ie professional line level) but it gets a bit more complicated. To keep it simple, many tape machines and mixers, as well as audio interface inputs have additional headroom, depending on circuit design, calibration and nominal operating levels vs voltage handling capabilities of op amps used. Also, 0dBVU = - 6dBFS meaning there is 6dBFS of additional headroom before DAW inputs will clip. Also, most op amps (TL07x, 553x) will handle up to +18dBu @ 1k before distorting. To complicate matters further, the 388 is a pretty unique piece blending some consumer line level unbalanced i/o (-10dBu) with some professional balanced line level i/o (+4dBu).....and a tape machine, with tape bias calibration and junk, which is a whole seperate world of different types of levels and flux which vary depending on tape formulation and blah, blah... In short, 0dB on the VU is a good ballpark for max level, but realistically, you shouldn't start hitting distortion unless you go well above it (assuming your mixer is calibrated correctly and tape heads biased correctly for whatever formulation you're using). You may find you get a fatter, fuller sound and better SNR by pushing the inputs harder....of course you also risk clipping. If that's a problem, try inserting a comp/limiter. Even shorter, just do what sounds good. Just remember to monitor from the tape playback/repro head so you're hearing what's actually being committed to tape, not just post fader from the mixer section. Also, the aux busses are one of the most useful things on any mixer. You should definitely consider using them, not just for effects, but for headphone mixes. Anyhow, this is a really great overview and much appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to make it! Aloha!

would you possibly do a review yamaha yc 30

Youre a fucking killer man ive been looking at a few of these and this is a sick breakdown

Can you show us how to do a tape load? Thank you.

make more of these please

I believe my 388 is "All Access". 👍😎🇨🇦

I have the Tascam Studio 8. Need to get it out of storage….. Really enjoying your latest album. Very intricate style there… Reminds me of Kansas, then Deep Purple, then Beautiful Day…..Really enjoying this album….. was it all done on 388?….. If so, excellent

Hell ya brother. The 388 is all superior

Could you explain the monitor section for us? When/why would you use it?

Excellent video 👌..I just pick this beautiful piece of gear up..Any tips on keeping the hiss and noise down on playback?Any idea of a trick or good gate to buy?

kewl!

hi this is a back breaker it's very very heavy my mate got one i am the one who got it for him he still loves it i am a tascam 38 32 (32 has 4 track heads)the old one's the wear was to bad teac x7 x10 i used sounds ace with them your deck runs at 7 1/2 can been changed if you know you tec

This is a mk2 388. The mk2s have the vents on the shoulder above the psu. 😁

between the clothing, hair, the fonts, and the condition of that machine, I can't tell what decade I'm in

I think when you get up to 0dB you need some overhead, so I roll back about 3dB. 😎🇨🇦

@11:45 and demagnetizing the heads once in a while.

what is the camera

Love this series you’re doing! Do you calibrate the machine yourself? It would be excellent to have a step by step tutorial on that. I have a Teac 80-8, and i’ve done what I can to calibrate that, but I’m (allegedly) getting a 388 soon and I want to make sure it’s running well. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Make sure you're using isopropyl alcohol to clean tape heads, not just any kind of rubbing alcohol!!!

what does mic ATT mean?

Hi there, awesome videos! thank you : ) quick question, I would like to try an external preamp going into the tascam 388, but i'm scared to hurt it. where can I plug the external preamp into the Tascam 388 so i don't hurt it?

Love mine, just wish I used it more...

what version of dbx is on the 388 ?

Nice straightforward tutorial from the dad from the Brady Bunch!!??🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I’ve been wanting one for awhile. Maybe for our next record.

Wow, off of ebay. Those days are gone...

I predict one day this will all be done on computers.. but not by dream machine of course. #Analog4Life