The 144 had an integrated mixer with EQ, aux sends and a cue mixer, could punch-in silently, had Dobly B noise reduction and ran at 3.75 ips for better fidelity. And oh, what about that vari-speed motor for getting that weird piano in tune or creating those chipmunk and super low effects? Importantly, it sounded pretty good. My index finger went numb from constant punch-ins and I wore out many belts and capstans. It finally broke down and was replaced by another portastudio, and another. None of them were as good as the original.Springstein famously recorded "Nebraska" on one. My own productions were not nearly as spare — bounced tracks often numbered in the dozens.
Follow up post here.
I was given one of these recently!
ReplyDeleteI want use it but i have no idea how to use the thing and I can't find a manual anywhere.
How do I record on this thing?
What are the basics?
I've looked everywhere for a manual with no luck. I paid for a download of a .pdf version of the manual but got ripped off
You make it sound awesome and now I want to use it even more!
the manual link is posted in a comment below. good luck.
DeleteNew post to come on how to use the Tascam 144!
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a working 144, or may bet mine fixed (if possible, it's been stored in bad conditions for quite a few years. I want to transfer some music I made on it. Any other machines that run the same way, i.i. double speed, all 4 tracks the same direction?
ReplyDeleteA lot of the portastudios worked high speed. I had a Vestax MR44, a rack-mounted double speed four track that was really, really good. Very quiet. But playing back tapes from original portastudio 144 was troublesome because the noise reduction it used sounded weird on other machines with a different version of Dolby (b, c etc.). I'd get a machine identical to your old one. Try Rogue Music in NYC, I saw one there a few months ago. Ebay has them all the time too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blast from the past. I own a decrepit 464 and recently acquired a 424. They're both fun to just look at for inspiration whenever I want to fire up my puter and record some new things in Reaper. My heart musical/creative still belongs to that Portastudio 144 though, always.
ReplyDeletetuve un 144 en los 80 grabe varias cosas en ese pequeño mixer lo unico que no me gustaba que todo sonaba muy apretado si lo hubieran hecho con cinta de un 1 4 pulgada estaria todo mas separado equalizacion muy pobre envio de efectos pobre creo que habia mas fidelidad con 2 deks a caseete haciendo ping pon saludos desde chile guitarssergio
ReplyDeleteSí, es cierto. Pero me gustó el 144 porque el precio era bajo. Cualquier persona puede hacer un disco por primera vez en la historia de la música popular. Eso fue genial.
ReplyDeleteForgive my bad Spanish!
ReplyDeleteI have one and stil use it. It is awesome. However, I've been thinking of upgrading to an 8 or 24 track system. What is the value of the 144 and where would I find the best place to sell.
ReplyDeleteEbay.com is the place to sell it. The 144s are very rare in working condition so there are very few still available but once in a while you see one. How well is yours working? And what do you want for it? I might be willing to take it off your hands. If you are looking for more tracks on tape, you are going to be dealing with old machines in poor condition for the most part since everyone uses the digital versions or computer programs.
ReplyDeletecreo que era mejor el 244 pues tenia dbx y equalisazion parametrica los yamaha eran superiores al teac guitarssergio
ReplyDeleteThis machine is great to recorder 4 tracks.. I use it for a mix I did.. Awesome!! I used it in high school!! Didn't know how to your it at all.. It all comes to you.. 4 tracks enough said!!
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you ever want to sell / rent it - I have a collection of tapes I would like to get some old tracks off of.
DeleteThanks
As the post says, this thing broke down in the 80s. I'd actually like to do the same with my old tracks. A lot of portastudios worked at double spee like this one. Track alignment should be ok on another. I had success with a Vestax, as mentioned above. The only issue is the response of the Dolby noise reduction systems
DeleteI have worked on a 144 for a week now.
ReplyDeleteLook out world i am dangerous with a tape machine. Took it right down to the oil bearings and sprayed down the switches with butane iso and propane. As I have had everything out of the box, i found that a black wire from the mixer board was adding motor buzz and motor wouldn't stop when tape chassis touches main chasis. So off comes black wire. MY grundig mixer is lower noise, dah, 144 using 1458 chips. May add another motor drive to go up tp 20 ips, the comfort zone. Already have one sitting in the corner. These are nothing compared to my Saturn's rings spinning LEDs in sync with music. This is sucking every immune molecule out of me doin the Eiffel Tower model here with Saturn's rings on top.
Only a Canadaian would attempt this. Only a Canadian.
Hi,
DeleteI have a Porta Studio 144 but do not know how to operate it. Can you just give me the basics.
pneumeduf@gmail.com. Thanks
It's a little hard to explain in a comment. Here's a link to a site that has the manual as a download. When you click the link at the site, it's really slow and looks like nothing is happening, but it will download eventually. http://www.tascamvintage.com/tascamManual.htm Good luck
Delete