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Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:33 pm
by Heat Vision
Hey

Ive been thinking of buying a tape recorder to record my beats onto but im not sure if there's one that's worth recommending or if any old tape recorder would be good.

Could someone give me advice on this buy?

Thank in advance

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:56 pm
by ellaguru
yamaha mt120 4 tracks, cool and easy.
look at tascams and fostex too.

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:49 am
by * warrika *
My personal favorites are JVC, Panasonic and Sony boom boxes, also Fostex and Tascam can be good, but the problem is with used stuff is that the tape mechanism breaks.

One boom box I bought the tape mechanism broke the next day, I bought it used from a shop with no real warranty. It was cheap and has a working SW receiver, but still.

My first 4-track also busted, same with a bunch of walkmen.

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 8:17 pm
by Daniel James
I was eyeing up and old Coomber recorder on ebay the other week, we use to use them in primary school. There abit bulky and ugly though, but at the same time had this old retro cool look to them. By the looks of things the majority of peeps round here use the Tascam Portastudios.

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 3:06 am
by Heat Vision
Thanks for the advice guys. Im going to look into your suggestions. :D

Re: Follow up on Tape Recorder buy

Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:44 pm
by Heat Vision
Hey guys i was searching for some recommendations and came across a few tape recorders like these

GE 35027 AC/DC

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Panasonic RQ-2102
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RCA RP3503
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i dont plan on doing any tracking. My goal is to be able to record my pattern sequences to tape.

But i have 2 questions before i even consider a recorder like the ones pictured.

first is a 2 part question

1a.The only inputs on these recorders are a small mic input. So would i just use a y cable connecting the line out of my SP to the Mic Input of the recorder?

1b. Would the sound be in stereo?

2. Ive read that some recorders dont have a very good frequency range so im wondering if these are even capable of capturing acceptable sound quality.

Im turned on to these since they are small, simple, cheap, and available for me to buy. But id like to get some feedback on the potential decision.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:38 pm
by ellaguru

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 7:53 pm
by Heat Vision
hey thanks again for the advice :D

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:58 pm
by Ill Green
Just get a brand new tape deck and make use of the RCA inputs. I think a tape recorder would be of low quality compared to a tape deck, plus you can connect an EQ to it to gain even more control.

Just a thought.

Re: Follow up on Tape Recorder buy

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:29 pm
by kel
Heat Vision wrote:Hey guys i was searching for some recommendations and came across a few tape recorders like these

GE 35027 AC/DC

Image

Panasonic RQ-2102
Image

RCA RP3503
Image

i dont plan on doing any tracking. My goal is to be able to record my pattern sequences to tape.

But i have 2 questions before i even consider a recorder like the ones pictured.

first is a 2 part question

1a.The only inputs on these recorders are a small mic input. So would i just use a y cable connecting the line out of my SP to the Mic Input of the recorder?

1b. Would the sound be in stereo?

2. Ive read that some recorders dont have a very good frequency range so im wondering if these are even capable of capturing acceptable sound quality.

Im turned on to these since they are small, simple, cheap, and available for me to buy. But id like to get some feedback on the potential decision.

Thanks in advance.


i call those things shoebox recorders. they are cool but you're not going to get enough low frequencies out of them. also no stereo. i'd suggest a minidisc recorder if you want to go portable. they are cheap nowadays and you can get them at pawnshops. oops but then of course you want to record on tape. a camcorder would work too

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:15 pm
by Heat Vision
Thanks for the suggestions/feedback/advice guys.

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:18 pm
by E.Simon
i bought this one last weekend

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now waiting for yhe right tapes!

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:04 am
by cartesia
Have you got a VCR?

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:32 am
by admbmb
cartesia wrote:Have you got a VCR?


I tried the VCR route. The problem is that you wont get that "head bump" like you would from reel to reel. It writes the data in strips instead of length-wise. I didnt get favorable tape warmth at all.

I did scoop up a Tascam 424 and its pretty cool. The big thing is the fact it has a lot frequency range down to 20 Hz. I also have a tascam porta 02 and it only goes as low as 50 Hz! Huge difference!

Re: Can you recommend me a Tape Recorder?

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:08 pm
by KOMSAT
My favorite portable recorder is the Walkman WM-D6C Pro.

Image

It's got Dolby noise reduction and the sound qual is on par with higher end (NAKAMICHI) tape decks of the 80's. Dudes used to em for field recordings and such. Real pro. If you can find a nice condition expect to pay around $100 for it. It's probably possible to find them in thrift stores and charity shops if you live out in the sticks, otherwise ebay is a good bet.