- Portastudio
) to form a stereo recording.
These machines are typically used by artists to record demos, although they are also often used in
Lo-fi recording. The analog portastudios by TASCAM and similar units by Fostex, Akai, Yamaha, Sansui, Marantz, and others generally recorded on high bias cassette tapes. Most of these machines were 4 track but there were also a couple of 6 track and a few 8 track units. Some newer digital models record to ahard disk , allowing for digital effects and up to 24 tracks of audio.The highest-selling of these was the TASCAM 424 (in three versions), which offered a great deal of flexibility while still remaining inexpensive to use. For bands prior to the advent of digital recording, the 424 was one of the easiest and affordable ways to record demos or even commercial albums.
Trivia
*
John Frusciante recorded his two first solo albums "Niandra Lades & Usually Just A T-Shirt" and "Smile From The Streets You Hold" on a 424 Portastudio. (source: VPRO 94 interview)*
Bruce Springsteen recorded his album "Nebraska" on a Portastudio 144 [http://www.recording-engineer.net/portastudio.html] .*
John Vanderslice , an analog recording enthusiast, madeLife and Death of an American Fourtracker , a concept album about home recording, including the song "Me and My 424".*
Marilyn Manson recorded The Family Jams on a four-track Portastudio*
Alan Wilder recorded his first solo album "1+2 " under nick-name Recoil on a four-track Portastudio*
Ween recorded their second album "The Pod " on a Tascam 4-Track*
"Weird Al" Yankovic recorded half of his songs on his debut album with a portastudio in his drummer's garage before signing up for a proper studio.Books
"Using Your Portable Studio" by
Peter McIan (1996, Amsco Publications)External links
* [http://www.tascam.com/details;8,17,7.html A current cassette-based Tascam Portastudio]
* [http://www.tascam.com/i-747-232-128-0-198A0A0F.pdf Manual] for the original Porta 02.
* [http://www.tascam.com/catalogue;47,17.html The current line of Portastudios] from the [http://www.tascam.com Tascam website] .
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