Portastudio

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The TASCAM Portastudio was the world's first 4 track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape. When it made its debut in 1979, the Portastudio was a revolutionary creative tool. It allowed musicians the ability to record any number of instrumental and vocal parts on different tracks of the built-in 4 track recorder and later blend all the parts together while transferring them to another standard 2-channel stereo tape deck (remix and mixdown) 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. Some newer models record to hard disk, allowing for digital effects and up to 24 tracks of audio.

The highest-selling of these was the 424 model, 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.

[edit] Trivia

Bruce Springsteen recorded his album Nebraska on a Portastudio[1].

John Vanderslice, an analog recording enthusiast, made Life and Death of an American Fourtracker, a concept album about home recording, including the song "Me and My 424".