Tascam Porta 07 - R.I.P.
Nostalgia over a slab of electronic hardware is a tad sentimental. Still, happening upon a picture of my Tascam Porta-07 made me think back with vague fondness to the days of “rewinding” the “tape” to record the next of 4 tracks (7 if you “bump” tracks 1-3 onto track 4).
The Tascam company history offers only this understated description: “The TASCAM PORTA-07 was a 4-input, 4-track cassette recorder.” Barely a nod within an otherwise exhaustive 6000+ word catalog of all the company’s product releases from 1969 to 2002. I always thought the Porta-07 was a break-through of sorts; the iPod of the pre-digital era. I figured - as buyers of new-fangled gadgets are prone to - that everyone knew about this product and either owned or wanted to own one. My estimate may have been off, I now realize. (Porta-07 owners, be heard!)
You can still find used Porta-07s for sale on eBay.com or craigslist.org. Though, in an era of non-linear editing for dummies (Garageband offers 100x the functionality, and comes bundled with Apple’s iLife suite), the notion of actually using such an antiquated beast as even a musical sketchpad for beginners seems quaint.
Ah, but it sure was fun once.
Rest in peace Tascam Porta-07, you nutty 4-input, 4-track cassette recorder.
Sphere: Related Contentguitarblog @ June 21, 2007