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I'm looking into getting some sort of stand alone unit to start doing demos/necro ass black metal with. I'm interested in going analog and getting a cassette recorder, but I wouldn't mind something digital if it was incredibly easy to use. I'm also not looking to spend more than one hundred bucks, either.

Does anyone use anything like this here? What kinds do you use? What would you suggest to a neophyte like me?

WeHuntKings wrote:I'm looking into getting some sort of stand alone unit to start doing demos/necro ass black metal with. I'm interested in going analog and getting a cassette recorder, but I wouldn't mind something digital if it was incredibly easy to use. I'm also not looking to spend more than one hundred bucks, either.

Does anyone use anything like this here? What kinds do you use? What would you suggest to a neophyte like me?

try to find a good condition tascam 4 track. i've used a 424 mkI since the early 90s that I still use all the time, just keep it maintained. there was another compact 4 track that was less expensive than the 424 that I also used to use...i used to work in a guitar shop back then and we sold tascam so I got to play around with all the models....you should be able to find one on ebay etc. but, it seems to be a trend that more and more people are getting back into tape recording with 4 tracks....so the prices might be climbing on those old units. they are very intuitive to use and sound great. tape is still easy to find and cheap.

i have a tascam 8 track (i think it's the DP01fx, or something like that). it's digital, but it functions a lot like a cassette four track, so dummies like myself can use it. although, it also has some built in effects & handy stuff like a USB out.
the main thing i dislike about it is the limitation of only being able to record 2 tracks at a time. it's perfect for solo stuff, but nearly useless with a band, except for recording practices.
all-in-all, i'd recommend it. i'm kind of a fan of dealing with the eccentricities of whatever i have rather than trying to find the ever elusive 'perfect' tool...so i've been able to make it work with this thing for a decade.

Older Tascam stuff may or may not be reliable after the 20+ years old some of it now is. Some easily fixable, some, paperweight.

I'd avoid the 2-input only models and look for stuff that records on all 4 tracks at once as an option - 414, 424, 464, 488 (if you want the 8 track option and can deal with the tape requirements it has, if they're even still available).

Avoid anything *not* Tascam on cassette multitrackers, the Fostex of the time were the models you ran screaming from if you didn't want a wall of unavoidable tape hiss and terrible mixers.

And not in a good lo-fi way...but just flat out cheap nasty.

For $100 I'd just get a current digital 4 track and learn to use it.

There's going to be a learning curve on *any* of these models. And it'll be steeper than simply arming tracks and going for mixdown even on a cassette

zoom r8 is a dope digital one.

gives u more tactile controls and is still pretty compact. runs on battery or usb so u can portable it too

i'm a fan of zoom in general as far as recording goes. i record most of my solo stuff with an h4n
but you probably want an r8 like Dr Sherm said, or the r16 for full band 8 tracks at once