DM4800 - discontinued

[Gravity Jim]

I have a real studio. With a DM3200 in the middle of it.

 

[captdan]

And - there it is.

CaptDan

 

[cmaffia]

It appears the DM4800 is discontinued? If not it's been out of stock for a while now. I was trying to price after several failed negotiations for another DM3200 to cascade with as well a failed Dm4800 trade plus cash. No one is carrying it except eBay.. yuck

 

[Gravity Jim]

I had heard second hand (from a Tascam rep via Full Compass) that the 4800 was going to be discontinued while the 3200 would remain in production. I noticed I a few weeks ago that the supply seemed to be drying up.

 

[Drumstruck]

Hmmm ..... so would this make it a good or bad time to sell ones' DM-4800?

Interesting supply and demand postulation.

Then... what would one replace a DM-4800 with?

 

[goodflow]

No one is carrying it except eBay.. yuck

It looks like B&H still has it in stock ($3,499 w/free shipping), but all of the other dealers linked from the Tascam home page show it as out of stock or discontinued- including Amazon, which was selling the 4800 direct from Tascam. http://tascam.com/product/dm-4800/buy_now/

 

[cmaffia]

I sure hope there is a successor to the existing DM line. If not, then it would appear that Tascam's flagship products are diminishing and soon they will end up like Akai. Not a direction I'd like them to go (Thanks Gibson?) If this is the trend, then in a few years the only products Tascam will be producing will be plastic iPad junk accessories, guitar trainers and portastudios. For decades Tascam bridged the gap between what wasn't affordable in the professional recording studios by creating quality products that had the functionality of very expensive gear at affordable prices. If the DM series didn't exist today our choices would be 2 to 3 times the cost and some of those alternatives don't even close to what our beloved DM's offer.

I believe most Tascam customers feel the same way. IMO Tascam is in the wrong hands. I felt like this from the moment I heard of the acquisition. Gibson are you listening? Don't destroy this company! I don't want to go back to the days where I can't afford the amenities of a professional recording studio in my home!!.....Maffia out! (microphone tossed aside)

 

[captdan]

Wasn't it 'MusiekShur' who suggested that Gibson isn't particularly interested in Tascam's pro recording line, but the potential to build 'geetar-0-matic' widgets? A category including sub-miniature digital recorders small enough to inject under players' skin; ultra-hi-tech tuners that not only tune gtrz but also play the Beatles' 'BlackBird' in all keys. Gtr pick cases with a compartment to hide a .25 semi auto. You know - stuff everybody needs.

Then again, ignoring a product line could be just as bad - letting stellar goods like the DMs rot on the vine. Like you, I certainly hope not. Still, I'm not going to worry about it. The DM24 has been out of production for 10 years, and yet it's still supported as a 'legacy.' I see no reason why the DM consoles wouldn't be too. Besides, I've suspected for a few years now that 'mid-range' quality project studio gear - particularly consoles - are 'boutique' goods - with a limited market and plenty of resale potential, creating a competing, secondary lifespan into perpetuity.

Or something like that.

CaptDan

 

[Gravity Jim]

Gibson hasn't had time to create this situation, if it exists. There's been talk of discontinuing the 4800 for some time (which led to those "the DM line is being discontinued" rumors), and if they are, I think it's probably just because it doesn't sell as well as the 3200. And if they discontinued both consoles tomorrow, they would still support them for years to come. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm running OSX 10.9.

I think it was me that said Gibson just wanted Tascam for digital tech they could build into guitars... The kind of consumer-level iPad kinda stuff cmaffia talks about. The DMs are way past their development I costs now, every one you sell is pure gravy... I think we'll be seeing support for some time.

 

[Drumstruck]

I hate to say it, but it appears that ITB is killing off everything below the top pro-level equipment, and even those niche products are under threat. e.g. are samples replacing real musicians, iPad control surface emulations replacing hardware control surfaces, plugs replacing outboard FX etc.

It's not a trend that I like, but I also like dinosaurs and they're extinct......

 

[TascMan]

A bit late from me, but, WELL SAID! Charlie. I totally agree. Tascam has always been in that niche, even from the 70's. Don't cheese it up now!

That said, I have been really impressed with the current level of VST development. The sounds of some of these new plugs warrant thinking twice about multi-thousand dollar gear. I think that it is also contributing to the ITB revolution, along with greater computing power.

 

[Jarno]

iPad control surface emulations replacing hardware control surfaces

This is so sad. Nowadays it's just touch this, touch that, make some gestures. Well .. when it comes to gestures there's only one describing my opinion on touch-screen interfaces on music production.

 

[cmaffia]

LOL and I assume that gesture involves the middle finger! Some things still need faders and knobs!

 

[goodflow]

Even as an automated DAW controller alone there's really nothing competitive with the DM that doesn't cost twice as much (or more)... when I got mine I looked at the preamps and interface as a sort of "icing on the cake", not realizing how much a bargain I was truly getting.

 

[captdan]

"There IS going to be a new mixer.."

And I'm betting it looks nothing like the DM.

CaptDan

 

[Arjan P]

I hope they dedicate a little more time picking the display for the next mixer. And then pick the next one up for $50 more.

 

[cmaffia]

They should use the display that they use on their Dp24 and Dp32 models. touch screen please

 

[cmaffia]

This great news of a new mixer and after purchasing a DA-30000 today, my faith in Tascam has been restored!

 

[Gravity Jim]

As far as I can see, Tascam isn't long on bullshit marketing talk to keep people happy. As a rule, nobody is, because it usually ends up making people unhappy. Still, word from a rep on what's going to happen a over a year from now... I dunno if plans that far out are need-to-know for the sales guys. I'd be leery.

 

[captdan]

It'll be interesting to see how many members of this forum dump their DMs when/if the alleged new model arrives. Seems a few of us can't wait.

It's always a solid bet that technology is continually being replaced, changed, or updated. But it's not a good wager, in my opinion, to always expect an outcome similar to what you pre-suppose. That's a recipe for disappointment.


YMMV

CaptDan