Now discontinued, this cracking little pre-amp will add a very discernable analog almost metallic presence & edgy sound to your mic recordings. Also has a built-in compressor & enhancer. Seek one out on Ebay because they are very very good indeed!

Modelled on the classic API 312 but using cheaper components, this Texas made little beauty offers a quality 'vintage' sounding mic pre on a really good price at under £400 british pounds.

At just €467 Euros you can buy a brand new Focusrite pre with Lundahl LL1538 Input Transformer as used in the classic Red modules.

2003? Bit of a hidden gem this one, but FMR with their 'Really Nice' products line are extremely well respected and offer great quality for less money. £499 GBP on release.

Add's warmth, smooth top end & a defined upper midrange, seeking as it does to emulate the classic Neve 1073 but on a budget this highly rated little pre-amp could be what you're looking for at under €300 Euros!

The Golden Age Project PRE73 Jr is the little brother to their big seller, the PRE73, a reproduction of the classic Neve 1073 Pre-amp but without any extras on this baby model. It uses the same discrete (no IC’s) signal path with a transformer balanced in and output as its larger sibling. The smaller format makes it possible to mount four units in our 19 inch rack kit, the UNITE MKII. €239 Euros

Another Neve 1073 emulation offering sweet warm & smooth pre-amplification at a super budget price.

For 2 decades the TEC Award nominated ART Tube MP has been the biggest selling budget pre-amp world-wide. Featuring a hand-selected 12AX7a tube, phantom power and phase reverse, the Tube MP offers up to 70dB of gain over Mic, line and instrument sources. A cheap solution for a decent tube equipped pre-amp. Pictured is the original MP version with the current MP model being version 3 and now featuring output limiting and selectable tube modes.

The SPL GoldMike appeared at the end of the 1990's and was one of the first commercial low cost but 'quality' pre-amps which sold in large numbers across both budget, home and higher end studio setups. German company SPL had established a firm reputation in the early 90's with their Vitalizer enhancer/Eq unit used by countless pro producers and studios. The GoldMike is a tube/solid-state hybrid dual pre-amp delivering up to 72dB of gain in a two stage process, with the valve second coming last and adding a modest 6dB or so of that overall gain applied. The unit also features a button for each channel labelled 'Flair' which switches in an broad frequency 6kHz centred enhancer shift, adding upper harmonic 'Air' to signals without also bringing in undue sibilance. The Goldmike is still sold today with the added 9844 numerical suffix, but only at German hyper-store Thomann for £399 GBP or €489 Euros. SPL's website neither lists the GoldMike as current product or in it's legacy section, so how long this will continue is an unknown. Perhaps SPL build and sell only to Thomann now? Anyways, these are not hard to find in the free-ads and well worth a look for a quality pre at a budget price, or get one new from Thomann.

If you use a 500 Series rack and have some money to spend these are always on the list. The API 512c is a mic / line / instrument preamp, world famous for its ability to provide a low noise and unusually good sounding front end for all types of audio applications. Sonically, it delivers the distinct API sound at an affordable price in the scalable API 500 Series format. Offering an impressive 65 dB of gain, the 512c includes phantom power, switchable polarity, -20 dB pad and Mic or Instrument/Line selector. The API 512c remains faithful to the circuit designs of API's founder Saul Walker. Artfully combining those circuits with API's proprietary transformers and the incomparable 2520 op-amp, the 512c is a highly musical and rich-sounding analog mic pre, equally at home in commercial recording spaces as it is in smaller home studios. Fully featured and still hand assembled, the 512c exhibits the reliability, long life, and uniformity which are characteristic of all API products.

Released around 1997 for £1056 GBP, this is the dual Mic pre-amp from the first generation of Rupert Neve designed AMEK stand-alone units. There were other units in the 9098 range, and these dual mic pre's without the added eq section are rare secondhand, but could be a great deal to get a pair of real hi-end Neve designed Pre-amp on the cheap if you can find one priced well.

The unit has two channels each with a Microphone XRL or balanced/unbalanced 1/4" DI input which deliver up to 72dB of gain, and these channels can function in dual mono or stereo mode where you can then employ Mid/Side processing and there is a width control which goes from full wide to Mono.

Each channel also has a switchable 120Hz Hi-pass filter, Phantom power & Phase reverse. Due to the design, channel crosstalk exceeds 100dB at all frequencies which is super low & helps deliver the most pristine stereo recordings.

Released in the mid 1990's, Focusrite's Red series were much acclaimed products with the entire range finally discontinued in 2010. This is the Red 8 stereo mic pre-amp. The blurb says:

‍The Red 8 provides 2 perfectly matched channels of excellent microphone pre-amplification. The design employs the same topology as the acclaimed ISA 215 preamps. The result is probably the most revealing yet forgiving mic amp in history. With extremely low noise and distortion, it delivers a smooth, detailed sound across a very wide bandwidth.
‍
They can be found secondhand for around £1000 GBP, so a higher end secondhand classic if you really want to push the boat out.

The Red 8 features ultra high quality pre-amps utilising custom-wound input transformers which deliver a 66dB gain range. Each channel has switchable Phantom power & Phase reverse. All inputs & outputs are on balanced XLR connectors.

Released around 2005 for £1385 GBP, the Rupert Neve Designs Portico range of processors were widely acclaimed & sold extremely well. The 5012 is generally described as being pristine, clear & non-hyping but there's a second sound the 5012 can deliver by switching it into SILK mode & then it becomes more 'characterful' and upfront, with a slight increase in harmonic distortion around 1kHz combined with a more pronounced increase in 2nd order harmonics at 20Hz, giving a more ballsy 'warmth' & 'presence' sound reminiscent of the old classic Neve 1073. So you get two pre-amps in one basically with the Portico 5012... both a modern & vintage sound.

The 5012 offers a generous maximum gain of 72dB, with the main gain control delivering up to 66dB in 6dB switching steps, followed by a ±6dB continually variable pot for final tuning of the input, and can be used with all microphone types including hard to please ribbons. Additionally each channel has a Phantom power, Phase reverse & Mute button, plus a 12 dB/octave Hi-pass filter, which is continually variable from 20Hz to 250Hz. Finally each channel has an 8 segment LED output meter & the Bus buttons, allowing multiple 5012 units to be run or 'bussed' together into a stereo mix bus via the rear 1/4" connectors so you can daisy-chain multiple 5012's to form a mini mixer if required.. very clever stuff!

Original 'blackface' 5012's are very rare secondhand which tells you something about user satisfaction, but the revised 5012 sporting a silver appearance is still in production costing around £1700 GBP.

Costing a budget price of only £420 GBP, the ART Pro MPA II suddenly jumped to prominence on the radar when in 2012 it came out in the number-1 slot when SoS magazine did a Pre-amp blind listening test shoot-out.

The magazine provided high quality 24-bit audio files of 8 Mic Pre-amps recording different instruments with a variety of high-end microphones, asking readers to rank them in a blind listening test. To everyones complete shock the cheaper ART Pro MPA II beat the likes of Neve, API, Masalec & SSL in many of the tests.

If you're looking to bring your recordings up to the level, there's nothing like introducing a quality preamplifier. With ART's Pro MPA-II you'll have more than enough sonic range to dial in nearly any sound imaginable - no matter what kind of microphones you have in your mic locker right now, or the microphones you add to it in the future. That's because, on each channel you have selectable phantom power for your condensers. Plus, there's plenty of gain onboard for bringing your ribbon microphone signals up into usable levels.

Beyond that, variable input impedance lets you draw out a rich range of tones from each of your microphones - use it to match the preamplifier to your microphones, or creatively mismatch tones for a unique sound. Plus, you can operate the ART Pro MPA-II at high or normal plate voltage, for an even wider range of sounds. There's also a per-channel low-cut filter to squelch issues with rumble.

Your pre amplification needs will vary depending on what you want to do and what you're recording - but, luckily, ART equipped the Pro MPA-II with the flexibility to meet your changing needs. You can operate the preamplifier in dual-mono or stereo, to suit what you're recording. There's even selectable support for mid/side microphone setups.

At the time of it's release in the 90's the TB-1 was a super value distribution box costing very little. Now they are sought after and you probably pay more than the original price. The TB-1 allows the user to switch any of the 8 MIDI THRU sockets to receive it's signal from either of the 2 different MIDI input sources.

Another big seller from the 1990's you can find in the free-ads. The Yamaha YME8 allows either of two MIDI inputs to be routed to any of the 2 banks of 4 MIDI outputs.

Philip Rees carved a niche for themselves back in the day making every sort of MIDI and CV/clock type units. The V10 like all the V Series sold by the truckload and they are easy to find in the free-ads. The V10 has one MIDI input which is passed THRU to 10 dedicated MIDI out sockets.

Another big seller from the V Series range. The V3 is a star distribution box passing MIDI from it's input to three separate MIDI OUT sockets. The V3 can be both battery or AC adapter mains powered.

Another big seller from the V Series range. The V4 is a star distribution box passing MIDI from it's input to four separate MIDI OUT sockets. The V4 can be both battery or AC adapter mains powered.

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

From 1977. One of the worlds first sequencers, the MC-8 is a CV/Gate sequencer from before MIDI was introduced. 8 channels of CV/Gate sequencing with a 1200 note memory for a ball breaking cost of around £4000 GBP when released!

1980 the MC-4 debuts. It is designed to control monophonic synths via CV/Gate & was punted with the Roland Jupiter 8.
MTR-1000 cassette storage, OP-8 CV interface. Designed for use with the Roland Jupiter 8. In essence it's a cut down MC-8 with only four channels.

Debuting in 1984 for an eye watering £850 GBP, the MSQ-700 was released at the same time as the TR-909, marketed as a complimentary sequencer to program accompanying midi synths working with the TR drums. 6500 event memory & 8 tracks which can playback together or individually allowing the user to switch between them on the fly. Up to seven tracks can also be bounced down to the one other free track & this track based arrangement means you can easily playback and overdub new parts to new tracks, but the MSQ-700 has no real edit facility, so it's quite an early primitive sequencer in many ways, albeit arriving at the time with tape read/write sync & midi sync etc. Backups are done to cassette tape as was standard at the time for sequencers.

1984.
Another of the few budget old Roland synths that won't break the bank. Needs a CV-clock to run the sequencer or you can play it live from the keys. Lots of realtime controls with this affordable classic.

Released in 1985 & the cheapest of the cheap. The QX 21 & QX7 were both simple 2-track affairs with a single record track, after which the data is mixed with the main storage track. Channels can be retrieved to the buffer track for editing then sent back to the main storage track again. Both units offered limited total note storage, but were enough to make good basic dance tunes at the time.

1985 & Korg release their first MIDI sequencer for £599 GBP which unlike almost all of the competition came with a built-in 2.8" disk drive (located under the right hand side cover). NO resorting to cassette to backup & save songs therefore, or having to purchase an accompanying disk storage unit. The SQD-1 had a 15,00 note memory & the superbly laid out front panel X/Y button grid showing menu choices made learning the button press functions easy. Step or real time recording with two tracks (Main & Sub) allowing overdubs, auditioning, & then merging to one track to free up the record track again ready to add another layer or part.

Released in 1986 for £489 GBP, the QX5 is the powerhouse but still quite budget sequencer of the Yamaha QX line which can only be bettered by the follow up QX5 FD model with built in 3.5" floppy disk. The QX5 offers 8 tracks & Macros which are basically phrases or patterns which can be called to repeat as often and wherever you like. Editing of notes/data is also comprehensive & easy once you get the hang of it.

Released in 1986 by Yamaha as a storage device for various synths & their hardware sequencers like the QX5. Costing around £325 GBP on release, the MDF1 (MIDI Data Filer 1) utilised 2.8" Quick Disks. Yamaha released further models, the MDF2 & MDF3 until 3.5" drives started to be added to  sequencers as standard.

Released in 1987 the QX3 has 16 tracks and a capacity of 48,000 notes. Songs can be chained together for successive playback, 3.5" DS/DD disk drive, 2 line 40 character backlit LCD, system exclusive bulk dumps, resolution to 96 clocks per quarter note, multiple time signatures per song, and sync to tape. Files from the QX1 can be loaded via midi as well.

Released in 1987 to accompany their new HR-16 drum machine, the Alesis MMT-8 wowed that years NAMM show with it's low price of £299 GBP. The MMT-8 has 8 tracks which can be muted/un-muted via the front 8 track buttons. 100 songs, 100 patterns, with a total memory of 10,000 notes. Patterns can be looped & muted/un-muted via the track buttons making it very good for live dance music production gigs & these mutes can be stored as part of the song. Tracks can be merged & split by MIDI channel which is the usual hardware sequencer method with 8 different quantises or the unit can be used with quantise Off yielding a fine resolution of 1/384th note. Round the back is traditional MIDI In, Out & Thru sockets, plus a Tape sync In/Out, a Click Out & a Start/Stop foot-switch socket.

1988, and if the ASQ10 look familiar that's because it's related to the Linn designed MPC-60 collaboration with Akai. This was basically the sequencer of the MPC-60 without the sampling pads bit costing a eye watering £1599 GBP on release. Four MIDI outs are fitted to the back & you can assign channels to different outs as required to suit your rig. Reads & writes SMPTE via it's two rear ports. Two MIDI Inputs are also featured, one of which is labelled 'Sync' for the machine to sync to MTC (MIDI Time Code) & the unit also handles MIDI clock with song position pointers

Released in 1988 for £489 GBP, the QX5 is the powerhouse but still quite budget sequencer of the Yamaha QX line which can only be bettered by the follow up QX5 FD model with built in 3.5" floppy disk. The QX5 offers 8 tracks & Macros which are basically phrases or patterns which can be called to repeat as often and wherever you like. Editing of notes/data is also comprehensive & easy once you get the hang of it.

1986

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

1990, Roland release the MC-50 which is a budget version of the MC-500 loaded with the Super-MRC and Super-MRP software of the MC500 MkII. 8 'Phrase' tracks (allowing continuous recording) plus a tempo track & dedicated pattern based 'Rhythm' track which can hold up to 240 one-bar patterns, all with around a 40,000 note memory. All the operating software is stored on ROM for instant boot & use. The MC-50 has a 3.5" disk drive on the side which can save approx 150,000 notes. When playing back a song you can manually mute/un-mute any of the 10 tracks on the fly for performance based 'dub' style production, ideal for dance music (or dub etc)

Debuting in 1985 for £295 GBP, the Casio SZ-1 is a four note poly, four track scratchpad style sequencer with a rear slot which accepted Casio RA5 RAM cartridges for saving work. Also round the back is two MIDI In/Out sockets and a Touch Data On/Off switch forcing the unit to ignore any potential incoming MIDI aftertouch data to save memory. You can record to the 4 tracks to build compositions or use pattern mode which then allows copying and pasting of patterns along a track length, with Copy, Insert or Delete commands available to build patterns in a linear progression. Total memory is 1800 notes (recorded in real time) or 3600 notes recorded in Step Time. Adding an expansion RAM cart bumps that total to 7200 notes. The SZ-1 can runs off battery or DC power.

Introduced in 1966 this machine in many ways kicked it all off. Used at Abbey road studios, the M-23 was the first commercial, mass produced 8-track.

1967, and Ampex introduces the world's first commercial 16-track. The MM-1000 could be configured as a 1" 8-track or a 2" 16 or 24 track by changing the tape guides and head assembly. The MM-1000  featured tape motion sensing, allowing the user to switch from say rewind to play with no need to stop first & with no risk of tape breakage or mangling. Pictured is the 16-track version, for 24-track operation, the additional 8 amplifier units were housed in either a separate vertical rack 'sidecar' or Ampex also sold a 3 rack-unit wide cabinet which housed the transport horizontally, but the 24-track configuration was so rare there's no pictures of one to be found anywhere other than a basic line image from the training manual of the time.

1970. Studer released their range of A80 machines starting in 1970. They went on to release the Studer A800 in 1978, which was first microprocessor-controlled recorder. In 1985 Studer released the A820.
This is George Harrison's A80 MK2 24 track, currently for sale at Bonham's auction house with an estimate of around £5000 to £7000 GBP. The machine has a Dolby M Series NR fitted in the top rack above the i/o modules. The A80's usually feature a grey steel chassis but Harrison had his machine chassis painted green to match his studio. Studer A80 & the follow-up A800 machines were one of the main big players in 24 track format tape multi-tracks in the 1970's and on into the 1980's.

Released in 1971 or 1972 (the manual lists a first print of 1971), the 3M Series 79 (or M-79 as they are known) was the first 24-track commercial multi-track recorder. It quickly became a studio standard and was used on numerous Motown recordings, the Rolling Stones mobile studio, Paramount studios in LA & The Power Station to name a few & has recorded an endless list of classic songs including the Thriller album. Like all these big machines of the era the M-79 could be run in either 1" 8-track or 2" 16 or 24 track configurations.

Introduced in 1978 as the world's first micro-processer controlled tape machine, the A800 was another of the handful of big multi-track machines which defined the 24-track tape era (approx 1970 to the early 1990's when Pro Tools appeared & digital recording started to take over). The A800 Mark II version appeared in 1983 & the final A800 Mark II transformerless version appeared in 1986 with production ceasing in 1988. The A800 recorded at both 15 & 30 IPS (inches per second). In the image above the machine on the left is set in an 8-track 1" configuration, while the one on the right is set for 2" 24-track (can also be 16-track).

1979 & Ampex introduced their most advanced 24-track recorder, the ATR-124. Ampex was the other big player of the big multi-track era & previously to this model they released their main MM-1100 & MM-1200 24-track machines in 1974 & 1976. This ATR-124 was their final big 24-track hurrah & was considered by many to be the finest machine of its type. The ATR-124 was  ruggedly constructed and had outstanding audio specifications which nearly rivalled the first digital recording machines. However, sales of the ATR-124 were slow due to the machine's very high price tag of $62,500. Only 62 of the ATR-124 machines were sold. Ampex withdrew from the professional audio tape recorder market entirely in 1983.

1980. Soundcraft Magnetics release the Series 760 which was a competitively priced multi-track but with enough quality to hopefully compete with the market leaders like Otari. It could be configured for either 16 or 24 track on 2" tape.

Developed from the 380 series specially for the more demanding 2" tapes, the 760 series arrived in 1980. It retained the modular construction and was offered primarily for 16- or 24-track operation. There was even a short lived 32-track version in 1987. Seen here in its final form as the 24-track Mk.III, with its advanced remote control unit, the 760 series proved a serious competitor to the market leaders, Otari, Ampex, Sony-MCI and Studer, and proved to be a best seller for Soundcraft Magnetics, selling in its hundreds to singer song-writers, producers and studios, world wide.

By the time American company MCI (Music Center Incorporated) released the JH-24 series of multi-tracks they'd been bought by Sony in 1980 & the JH-24 series ran from 1980 until 1988.
The 2" inch 24-track JH-24 become a standard workhorse machine across the United States & could be found in hundreds of studios all over the world, recording a long list of hit records. The JH-24 came with a stand-alone auto-locator & transport unit as standard, featuring 10 memory locate points & featured quick change heads for rapid conversion between 1" & 2" tape, allowing studios to easily change machine format in around 20 minutes to cover a wider clientele base. Three head assemblies were available: the HA-24-8 for 1" 8-track use, the HA-24-16 for 2" 16-track function & the HA-24-24 for 2" 24-track operation, while the meter section can be arranged with 1, 2 or 3 rows of eight VU meters to suit the format the machine is arranged in. Track amplifier i/o modules live in the cabinet below the transport. The JH-24 ran at 15 or 30 IPS.

The MTR-90 MkII released in 1983 became the standard studio workhorse machine of the 1980s, selling in huge quantities. 
Offering super reliable Japanese engineering, you can think of the MTR-90 MKII as the Toyota or Mazda pickup truck of the tape multitrack world. The machine could be configured as either an 8 track (using 1" tape) or a 16 or 24 track machine (using 2" tape) depending on which head assembly was fitted & the total amount of audio cards fitted into the cabinet slots below the tape transport deck. The optional transport remote control & memory locator units could be fitted to the separate trolly for easy location next to the working position by the console. These machines hauled like a train with massive torque when spooling (the manual warns: do NOT get long hair or clothing near the transport!), & were easy to maintain with the adjusters for record/play & Bias fitted to a single card per-channel, while a 3-way Bias switch allowed the entire machine once calibrated to be easily switched to suit different tapes.

Released in 1986, the Saturn was the last hurrah of the British tape multitrack industry, and it was a serious machine designed to compete with the likes of the Otari MTR-90 & rated as the finest British multitrack ever produced.

Initial development which led to the the 824 started with the British Soundcraft company (Soundcraft Electronics), but they ran into financial difficulties and finally closed in March 1988. Soundcraft Magnetics, the tape recorder division of Soundcraft, was declared 'technically insolvent', and promptly closed, with the parent company, Soundcraft Electronics, being sold off to the Harman International group. This also sounded the death knell for the fabulous Brennel Mini-8 1" 8-track with Brennel being owned by Soundcraft.

As Soundcraft Magnetics was being wound down, certain assets and rights to the 'Saturn' were bought by a management team who formed Saturn Research. The surviving work-in-progress SCM 760s and Saturns were assembled by the new company as they concentrated on the 'Saturn 824' (24 track) and a budget '624'. While the company now lacked much of the extensive technical knowledge and R&D facilities of Soundcraft Magnetics engineers, with much of their precision engineering work now being out-sourced, they survived in the face of digital technology until 1992. Their decks were used at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The Saturn 824 had a computer controlled 'Calculated Open Loop Tension' transport system controlling the twin high- torque motors & adjustable spooling speed, with the 'intelligent' sensing maintaining perfect tape tension even at the exceptionally fast highest spooling speed setting of 600 inches per second - "The best spooling performance of any multitrack" - according to Saturn Research promo literature of the time.

Head durability was also heavily promoted as another key feature, with the 824 heads being constructed using 'Recovac' high Nickel content heat treated composite Nickel/Iron alloy. (Recovac was a trademark of Vacuumschmelze GmbH, filed in 1975). Other features included include Auto Alignment as standard, a parallel interface for synchronisation and a noise reduction interface for the latest pro spec Dolby SR, resulting in a sonic performance close to or as good as the current newly emerging digital machines of the 1980's.

Unlike most analogue tape recorders the 824 had an automatic audio line up facility, enabling the machine line up to be conducted from the remote control. The 824 had a flat frequency range up to 27kHz resulting in improved transient response.

June 1982 & Mitsubishi began delivering its X-800 digital 32-track machine. All the Mitsubishi machines were based on ProDigi technology developed by the company & the transport of the subsequent 1985 X-850 was taken from the Otari MTR-90 MKII, with the Otari DTR-900 tape recorders also being available which was technically very similar to the Mitsubishi X-850.

Mitsubishi's ProDigi & Sony's DASH digital systems both used stationary heads (S-DAT) rather than the video format rotating heads (R-DAT) of earlier prototype machines, and the industry for a short while fell into two camps, with Studer & Tascam supporting the Sony system while Otari and AEG supported the Mitsubishi system. By the end of the 1980's Sony's DASH had become the preferred system & Mitsubishi ceased any further production, but many Mitsubishi machines continued working in some of the worlds finest studios until the arrival of full fledged Pro-Tools and other hard disk systems finally took over.

The PCM-3324 DASH (Digital Audio Stationary Head) 24 track digital multi-track recorder debuted in 1982 & started mass production in 1984. Priced at about $150,000 at the time, this was truly a professional device. Recording on ½ inch width magnetic tape

1970. Pictured is George Harrison's A80 8-track, currently (1/3/2021) coming up for sale at Bonhams auctioneers. Usually the chassis is steel grey, but Harrison had all his multitrack chassis painted green to match his studio decor. Studer A80 series machines were manufactured from 1970 to 1988. This 8 track A80 would be something of a rarity & considered high-end both in quality & price.

The 3340 was released around 1970. It was actually designed for 4 track quadraphonic recording, but when this format flopped the recorder was re-marketed as a 4 track for musicians with the unique feature that it could record to one track while playing back previously recorded tracks in sync (Simul-Sync) by using an add-on Simul-Sync box which you plugged into the rear inputs. The 3340 was quickly followed up by the 3340S in 1972 with the Sync switches fitted to the tape head cover & the updated & refined 3440 soon followed, replacing the complexed multiple Sync switching system with one simple Sync switch for all tracks. Just so you can understand the TEAC/Tascam connection, the release of the 3340 coincided with TEAC forming the company TASCAM. In 1956 the Kani brothers formed the Tokyo Electronic Acoustic Company (TEAC) and focused on making tape recorder which sold well, and widely penetrated the US market (TEAC even did work for the US Space program). In 1965 the US govt passed a rule requiring electronic companies to have a US located service base & so the TASC (TEAC Audio Systems Corp) company was formed & in 1971 this became TASCAM (TASC America Corp).

Soundcraft 1" 8 track launched in 1979. The front control panel was detachable and featured a zero return, tape counter, track arm & monitor buttons & the transport. Used famously by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Released in the late 1970's after Brennel had been bought up by Soundcraft, the Mini 8 was the 1" eight track that launched a 1000 backstreet studios costing just £3500 GBP on release. Eventually went out of production in the mid 80's when the new Fostex & Tascam budget machines surfaced.

Released in 1975, the MX7300 series offered a 2-track (on 1/4" tape) a 4-track (on 1/2" tape) and this 1" 8-track model which ran at 15 or 30 IPS utilising a direct drive motor system with motion sensing logic to prevent tape stress & damage. Incredible sound from these machines which like all 1" 8-tracks offer a wider tape-width per track than a 2" inch 24 track machine. The MX7300 is an absolute beast, built like a tank with the plinth section alone weighing it at around 50lbs. Bass guitar recorded on one of these machines with no Noise Reduction delivers a full & deep sound with an analog edge to it that cannot be matched by digital systems today. Probably the finest 1" eight track ever made.

Released in 1976 the budget TEAC 80-8 running on 10" NAB 1/2" tape reduced costs even further by offering semi-pro -10dB connections utilising Phono sockets & delivered what was the first budget 8-track.  Runs at 15IPS, yielding a dynamic range of around 65dB. Legendary hit records from the 70s, including Boston and Kansas were recorded with the 80-8. This recorder is also famous for having been used on the original Star Wars movie for special effect sounds including the sounds of R2-D2 & C3-PO, & from that point Tascam HEAVILY featured Star Wars imagery in their advertising for a while; they even gave away special Star Wars tapes for a while with any purchased TEAC tape machine which featured music, sound effects & narration from the film & these were never sold and today are extremely rare Star Wars items of memorabilia. Tascam also released a separate DBX DX-8 noise reduction unit.

Released in 1983 as part of Tascam's new 30 Series which included the 4 track model 34 & the 2-track stereo Model 32. The model 38 was the updated 80-8 & soon became a big seller, offering improved features over their previous 80-8 machine but still in the familiar & affordable 1/2" 8 track package costing around US$3000 on release. The Tascam 38 uses 10.5" NAB reels, runs at a fixed 15 IPS & Tascam's usual choice of DBX noise reduction could be added as an optional stand-alone unit. Further optional extras were a Punch in/out foot-switch (RC-30P) and a cable attachable transport remote control unit (RC-71). This new updated 8 track now offered +/- 12% Pitch control, an updated digital tape counter with a new Zero Locate function & featured a full microprocessor controlled transport logic. Additionally you could rack mount the 38 with an optional rack-ears kit. At the time of release the Tascam 38 was the most advanced semi-pro 8 track you could buy.

Tascam's budget but totally professional 1" 16 track from 1985.

Released in 1985 the 388 was, in essence, a gigantic reel to reel format Portastudio, using 7" reel tape running at 7.5 IPS and weighing in at a backbreaking 38kg!! It was therefore 'portable' to people like the UK bodybuilder Dave Prowse who played Darth Vader or Lou Ferrigno who played The Hulk in popular entertainment of the time. Basically it's a 1/4" 8 track reel to reel living under a smoked perspex hinged cover on the right, welded to a mixer section on the left & all together delivering a personal 8 track studio without the need to wire a separate mixer & stand-alone budget tape machine together. The price on release was £2700 GBP, about 500-700 more than you'd pay for a Fostex 1/4" 8 track & compatible 8 bus mixer package at the time (albeit you'd also have to buy all the cables to connect the two). As a bonus you could add an optional SMPTE unit to a rear accessory port as well as an optional Tascam remote, but they would simply add to the price. Noise reduction is supplied by DBX and the unit had a quoted frequency response of around 30Hz to 16kHz with a S/N ration of about 90dB with the DBX switched in. Anyways, it's added for posterity cos it was such a loony product. As used by Gerry Garcia & The Grateful Dead no less! His personal 388 was sold at Bonhams auction house in 2019 for US$ 2,550.

1982 & Fostex delivered a new range of budget tape decks starting with this, their first 1/4" eight track machine which cost a staggeringly low £1170 GBP, delivering 8 track recording for the masses at a budget price. Fostex was helmed by Yoshiharu Abe, previously a director and chief audio engineer at Teac/Tascam, and both Tascam & Fostex machines dominated budget & home studio recording in both reel to reel and cassette PortaStudio formats until the ADAT from Alesis arrived in the early 1990's. The R8 runs at 15 IPS & has switchable Dolby C noise reduction. The A8 can only record to 4 tracks maximum at a time & you switch between tracks 1-4 or 5-8.

Released at the end of 1985 the Fostex Model 80 was an upgrade on the original A8. The new Model 80 (or M80) now allowed 8 simultaneous track recording, but cleverly normalised inputs 1-4 to inputs 5-8 so that if you only had a 4 bus mixer plugged into inputs 1-4, switching to record on tracks 5-8 would route inputs 1-4 to the next 4 tracks (5-8) with no re-patching. If you had an 8 bus mixer with all 8 outs plugged into all 8 M80 inputs then the normalising was broken allowing 8 simultaneous tracks to be recorded all together. The M80 also added two cue memory locations as well as a 0 (zero) start location & a function to shuttle between those two cue positions. Although the RRP on release for the machine was just under £1600 GBP, you'd find many larger dealers selling the M80 with the SECK 18-8-2 mixer as a bundle deal for 2 grand & they sold like hot cakes, revolutionising home recording.

Released in 1988, the Fostex R8 was Fostex's last 1/4" 8 track & added a removable front panel so that all the transport, meters & locator functions could be moved away from the main unit which could then be trolley mounted horizontally, or just to move the actual machine unit further away from the typical home studio mic record & button pressing area to reduce any fractional transport noise which might get onto the recording. The R8 offered a massively updated 10 locate points with a variety of admittedly cryptic functions one had to learn, but most importantly it was sold with the promise of MIDI sync and control ability if the user purchased the forthcoming MTC1 synchroniser which materialised in 1990, reading & writing SMPTE the MTC1 allowed the R8 transport to not only chase MTC but to be controlled via MIDI note events. So MIDI note C2 puts the R8 into Play, F2 Rewinds, A2 Fast Forwards the unit and C3 is Stop, plus other notes armed tracks, put tracks into monitor mode etc. But the main thing was the R8 would sync to your MIDI sequencer such as Cubase running on an Atari. The system also meant you could create a sequence of notes to punch in record, audition it, tweak the in/out points by moving the note positions and do your drop ins & audition loops etc automatically.

Released in 1983 Fostex created the revolutionary 'worlds first' 16 track machine on 1/2" tape, all for less than a typical 1/2" or 1" 8 track price at the time of just under £3000 GBP. There were 2 versions, one using belt drive which ran at 15 IPS and a direct drive version with extra features which could run at 30 IPS. Both versions included switchable Dolby C noise reduction. All inputs & outputs are -10dB using Phono connectors.

Released in 1986 at an RRP of £4999 GBP, this was the follow up to the original B16. Now sporting an all black colour scheme, a faster more responsive transport & multi-pin rear connectors on the rear to add on the new Fostex 4030 Synchroniser & 4050 Auto-locator units. The rear panel also houses a 3rd multi-pin connector for the meter unit which can be un-bolted and attached by a special cable for location away from the main unit (useful if you rack-mount the E16 flat/horizontally in a rack trolly). The E16 also added 2 new Auto-locate positions to augment the zero locate carried over from the previous model, plus an auto-play feature allowing the E16 to return to Locate 1 & auto-play & also auto-play shuffle between positions 1 & 2 including auto drop in/out for accurate drop-ins. The E16 also had a nifty feature whereby switching tracks 9-16 into record routes inputs 1-8 to those tracks (if inputs 9-16 ate NOT plugged in) which enabled the unit to be used with budget desks with only 8 groups without re-patching. All inputs & outputs are -10dB using Phono connectors.

Released in 1988 for an RRP of £4999 GBP matching the Fostex machines it was competing against, this was Tascam's first 1/2" 16 track machine. Like the Fostex E16, the MSR-16 has Zero locate plus locate positions 1 & 2 and it can shuttle play between locations 1 & 2. The MSR-16 also has an auto-punch in feature, with a 'Rehearse' feature to check the points before committing to a drop-in recording. Noise reduction for the MSR-16 is supplied via DBX Type 1 as opposed to the Type C of the Fostex machines. The MSR-16 runs at either 15IPS or 7.5 IPS & all connectors are phono. Tascam followed up this machine with the updated MSR-16S in 1991 which was fitted with the new Dolby S noise reduction.

Released in 1990 at an RRP of £4995 GBP, this was the follow up to the E16. Still running 1/2" tape format at 15 IPS, the G16 carries over from the E16 the usual rear panel jack connections to attach foot switches for Punch in/out & Play/Locate & a multi-pin 'accessory' socket to attach an external Model 4030 Synchroniser unit, but this new machine could also optionally use the new 8330 sync card which could be fitted internally & was also available for Fostex's G24S 24-track machine which followed a year later in 1991. The rear panel also houses a smaller DIN style multi-pin connector for the front panel transport, meter & locator unit which can be un-bolted from the main machine body and attached via a special cable for location away from the main unit (useful if you rack-mount the E16 flat/horizontally in a rack trolly). All inputs & outputs are -10dB using Phono connectors & the unit uses Dolby C noise reduction. The G16S model followed a year later in 1991 offering the new SR derived Dolby S noise reduction.

1990 & Tascam rocks the world with the first 1" 24 track machine at around £8300 GBP, opening up the possibility of fully fledged 24 track recording for the budget studio owner.
The MSR-24 ran at 15 IPS, was fitted with DBX noise reduction & you could get the optional RC-424 remote. Tascam released an updated version in 1991 called the MRS 24S featuring the new Dolby S noise reduction system.

1991 & Fostex respond to Tascam's 1" 24 track of the previous year, delivering their own new G24S 1" 24 track for an RRP of £8395 GBP. The 'S' designation stands for the Dolby Type S noise reduction which was added to updated models of both the Fostex E16S & a forthcoming Tascam MSR-24S, but was fitted to this machine from the get-go. The Dolby can be switched off for track 24 for writing/reading time code or switched off entirely across all tracks. A 10 position Auto-locator was included on the removable front control & meter panel which could be re-located away from the machine with an optional cable, while a 8330 sync card could be installed internally enabling the G24S to chase sync to other equipment. All audio connectors are -10dB Phono type & the G24S runs at 15 IPS

Notable rare machine 1 -- Released in 1986 but rarely seen, the E8 used the exact same chassis & motor system as the E16 but running 8 tracks on a 1/4" tape head assembly at 15 IPS. Audio connections are -10dB level on phono sockets. Think of it as a more beefy Fostex eight track. Noise reduction is implemented with the usual Fostex choice of Dolby C & like the other machines is switchable on/off.
The now established Fostex Locate zero plus 2 additional locate positions with shuttle & auto-play etc are all included as well as the usual foot-switch jack connections for Punch In/Out & Locate-1/Play. Additional multi-pin connectors on the rear allow for connection of Remote, Auto-locator & synchroniser accessory units.

Notable rare machine 2 -- Released in 1989 for an RRP of £1999 GBP & again, rarely seen, the TSR-8 was Tascam's new 1/2" semi-pro 8 track. One assumes the TSR-8 was marketed to take the reins from their previous classic - but now getting long in the tooth - 1970's Model 38 & TEAC 80-8 units & these TSR-8 machines are rare to see in real life because by this time Fostex were dominating 8-track sales. The TSR-8 was fitted with Tascam's usual choice of DBX Type 1 noise reduction, has -10dB Phono connections for all audio i/o and additional multi-pin sockets on the rear for accessories like a remote and synchroniser, as well as a jack socket for a punch-in foot-switch. The TSR-8 offers Zero locate plus two additional programmable Cue positions and has an auto punch in/out feature.

1992 & Alesis totally revolutionise budget & pro recording with the ADAT (Alesis Digital Audio Tape). Eight tracks of 48kHz 16-bit digital recording on S-VHS tape using a Panasonic VHS tape transport with a four head drum running at 3 times normal speed, delivered a frequency range, S/N ratio & dynamic range which easily rivalled the best 24 track recorders costing 10's of thousands of dollars, all with 'unmeasurable' wow & flutter & for a staggering low price of £3499.00 GBP.
The ADAT offered supreme upgradability too! Up to 16 ADAT recorders could be linked together for 128 tracks with no external synchroniser required and without sacrificing a track to timecode by simply daisy chaining machines via the 9-pin Sync connectors. The machine also ushered in the ADAT Optical Digital Interface transfer technology which went on to become an industry standard protocol. In many ways it was so logical given that the first studio digital recorders were actually Sony VHS machines with a 48k digital encode/decode audio track, but Alesis got their first. Over it's various iterations, the ADAT sold by the hundreds of thousands, offering a sound quality which was absolutely unheard of at the price for the home & hobby recordist and pro facilities alike. Alesis also released their BRC (Big Remote Control) as an extra over the basic LRC (Little Remote Control) which was included with the unit & with the BRC you could sync up to four machines to DAW & other equipment using SMPTE.
A serious game changer, the ADAT went on for years as a popular recorder choice even after the advent of commonly available HD recorder units. If purchasing one of these secondhand, pressing Set Locate & the STOP transport button reveals a readout of the total time the machine has been used on the LED display.

1996 & Alesis release their updated ADAT for around £2500 GBP. The ADAT XT was upgraded to 18‑bit, 128x oversampling A/D and 20‑bit, 8x oversampling D/A, with all new software, a four times faster transport , new internal electronics, plus a heavier 6lb die cast aluminium chassis & the new ability to switch between the original ADAT 48kHz sampling rate and a newly implemented 44.1kHz setting. The new XT model also added more locate points, 10 in total (0-9), upgrading the machine from the original unit's 2 locate positions + zero, with position 1 & 4 offering an auto-return shuffle, while positions 2 & 3 offer auto punch in/out function. The new XT also featured a super-fast wind function. The XT offers the same pro +4dBu EDAC connector but utilises -10 Phono connectors for the main audio i/o over the previous unit's 1/4" jack connectors. An onboard digital editor allows you to make flawless copy-paste digital edits between tracks on a single unit, or between multiple machines. As before, up to 16 ADAT XT recorders can be linked together for 128 tracks with no external synchroniser required and without sacrificing a track to timecode.

1998 & Alesis release their ADAT Type II specification machine for £2299 GBP which was the new version of the previous ADAT XT. Everything internally is the same as the older XT, but now fully 20-bit with 24-bit converters & a different paint job in a cream 'Akai-like' finish. As before, up to 16 ADAT XT20 recorders can be linked together for 128 tracks with no external synchroniser required and without sacrificing a track to timecode.

Also released in 1998 the ADAT LX20 was a budget ADAT Type II model costing £1699, with a simplified 4 position locator system & has all un-balanced -10dBv Phono connections only, so there's no EDAC +4dBu multi-pin connector socket on the rear panel of this one.

The 1987 Sony DTC1000ES was the first commercially available DAT machine & soon established itself as the studio standard. It could only sample at 48kHz but was released before SCMS became a thing on DAT recorders even though the debate over potential direct digital copy bootlegging was already underway.

Pretty soon however HHB started modifying the unit for pro customers, changing the Timer switch under the main power button on the left for a two-way 44.1kHz / 48kHz selector switch & you'll see these modified units with an HHB logo sticker under the power switch.

Early 1990's machine from Denon, the company that pioneered Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) digital recording technology & this was the only DAT they ever made. The DTR2000G was a 20-bit DAT featuring Denon's Real 20-bit A.S.L.C. (Super Linear Converter) technology & was not only one of the best sounding DAT machines of the time, but utilised a Panasonic professional transport and had many advanced features such as digital Fade In/Out, manual after-recording of start ID's and skip ID's, a fine cue function, a super fast winding transport & more. Studio equipment suppliers often sourced these machines in Japan and imported a crate batch, selling them on to studio owners complete with a mains transformer pack to step down Japanese mains voltage where required (such as UK). The DTR2000G could only record at 48kHz via analog though. Connections are analog i/o on RCA connectors plus optical & RCA digital i/o. The DTR2000G was built like a tank with a heavy duty die-cast aluminium chassis, weighing in at 7.2 kg. The DTR2000 was available in black or 'gold' with the 'G' suffix.

Fostex released the D-20, their first digital recorder around 1990 and it was a serious beast, setting the standard Fostex would then continue with their subsequent DAT machines as being very much in the professional category. The D-20 was not cheap either at just shy of £5000 GBP (excluding tax!), and it offered a worlds first, in that this was the first DAT which could write & read/chase S.M.P.T.E having a central timecode track, yet tapes recorded on the D-20 could be played back on any other DAT machine without issues. The D-20 was a 4-head machine (which eventually become the 'Pro' standard), and despite the digital copyright issues being played out at the time, allowed either 44.1kHz or 48kHz recording from either analog or digital inputs. It also featured vari-speed & off-tape monitoring, both firsts again for a DAT, as well as punch in/out editing and timecode refresh. All analog inputs & outputs are balanced XLR, plus AES/EBU digital In/Out.

TEAC/Tascam's first DAT machine from 1989 which was released sporting either company badge, with the Tascam model also featuring rack ears for 19" rack mounting

Released in 1990 the Tascam DA30 soon challenged the Sony DTC1000ES for the title of studio default DAT with it's rack-mounting format & professional features such as electronically balanced +4dBm XRL in/out & 44.1kHz recording, all at a very competitive price of £1356 GBP.

Additional L/R analog inputs are provided on unbalanced -10dBV RCA phono connectors RCA phono In/Out & the DA30 also has an additional two pairs of unbalanced -10dBV RCA phono Outs, one pair of which are level controllable via the front panel volume control while the other pair are fixed output regardless of what monitoring level you happen to have set on the front.

Digital in/out is supplied in two formats with the DA30, which sports both AES/EBU i/o on Balanced XLRs and SPDIF i/o via gold-plated the usual RCA phono sockets.

The DA30 also came with a wired remote.

Casio's 3rd portable DAT machine released in 1991 for £649 GBP & this baby sold like hot cakes! Casio's two previous portable offerings, the DA-1 & DA-2, despite also selling well to studio owners were angled more as consumer machines, offering only 48kHz sampling, no digital In/Out & 15-bit operation, but the new DA-7 brought everything up to 'Pro' spec, now offering full 16-bit resolution as well as 44.1kHz sampling from both the analog & the now added digital inputs.

The DA-7 is powered by a long lasting Ni-Cad battery or via a wall-wart mains power supply, and came complete with a leatherette carrying case with shoulder strap for location work which was a handy free extra. Audio L/R inputs and outputs are on RCA phono connectors, left and right mic inputs are on quarter-inch jack connectors, and digital ins and outs are on gold-plated RCA phono.

The Casio DA-7 can basically lay claim to being the DAT machine that opened up digital stereo recording for the masses, with the street price seriously reducing to below £400 GBP within about a year of it's release, the DA-7 made DAT recording truly affordable for all & hence sold so well... As used by The British Library no less!

The classic acid bassline synth. Much imitated over the years with original units in good condition going for silly money.

A cheap, controllable, genuine Roland oldie which can be clocked with midi-CV. It has plenty of realtime controllers to mess with & a built-in pattern sequencer, sorta like an SH-101 without the keys.

The old fabled monosynth. First port of call for thumping solid basslines & much much more.

The famous Juno 106. Something of a legend in dance music production as it offers classic Roland analog oscilagtors with MIDI.

Another of the few budget old Roland synths that won't break the bank. Needs a CV-clock to run the sequencer or you can play it live from the keys. Lots of realtime controls with this affordable classic.

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

The classic acid bassline synth. Much imitated over the years with original units in good condition going for silly money.

A cheap, controllable, genuine Roland oldie which can be clocked with midi-CV. It has plenty of realtime controllers to mess with & a built-in pattern sequencer, sorta like an SH-101 without the keys.

The old fabled monosynth. First port of call for thumping solid basslines & much much more.

The famous Juno 106. Something of a legend in dance music production as it offers classic Roland analog oscilagtors with MIDI.

Another of the few budget old Roland synths that won't break the bank. Needs a CV-clock to run the sequencer or you can play it live from the keys. Lots of realtime controls with this affordable classic.

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

The classic acid bassline synth. Much imitated over the years with original units in good condition going for silly money.

A cheap, controllable, genuine Roland oldie which can be clocked with midi-CV. It has plenty of realtime controllers to mess with & a built-in pattern sequencer, sorta like an SH-101 without the keys.

The old fabled monosynth. First port of call for thumping solid basslines & much much more.

The famous Juno 106. Something of a legend in dance music production as it offers classic Roland analog oscilagtors with MIDI.

Another of the few budget old Roland synths that won't break the bank. Needs a CV-clock to run the sequencer or you can play it live from the keys. Lots of realtime controls with this affordable classic.

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.