YAMAHA MT44D MULTITRACK RECORDER Cassette Stereo 4 Track Vintage WORK Good Look

YAMAHA MT44D MULTITRACK RECORDER Cassette Stereo 4 Track Vintage WORK Good Look

Yamaha MT44D Recording System

by Ian Gilby

To bring it inline with 1985's Hi-Tech image, Yamaha's MT44-based Personal Studio System receives a much warranted visual restyle. Gone too are the inadequacies of the old MM30 mixer to be replaced by the laudable facilities of a new 6 into 2 recording mixer—the RM602. The revamped MT44D also sports additional features such as a real-time digital counter whilst the new rack frame and patchbay, the RB35B, offer greater interfacing flexibility—including a sync-to-tape facility. Ian Gilby visited the Yamaha factory recently to discover whether these latest devices really are a powerful combination.

The words 'stylish' and 'impressive' best sum up the look and facilities offered by the new Yamaha MT44D Recording System. Their previous MT44 package suffered from too late an entry into the home recording field coupled with an astounding lack of insight as to the features required of a recorder/mixer combination aimed at this sector of the market. Those on offer at the time were simply too basic, displaying an ignorance of just how advanced the home recordist had become courtesy of Teac's Portastudio (which had already been upgraded by the time the MT44 first appeared) and Fostex's 250 Multitracker.

Mechanically speaking, there was very little wrong with the original MT44 apart from a sluggish tape transport and it is in Yamaha's defence that the latest offering has undergone a purely cosmetic redesign, merely to bring it in line with their Hi-Tech eighties image. And very appealing it is too. The decision to retain the modular concept - where each unit can be purchased separately when needed - is also a sound one; now it really is conceivable that somebody will buy the mixer on its own. Now for an appraisal of the new models themselves, beginning with the multitrack cassette recorder.

MT44D Recorder

Much the same size as the previous model, the new MT44D is tastefully finished in black plastic. Operationally, it still runs at the standard cassette speed of 1⅞ ips and offers both Dolby B and the more upmarket Dolby C noise reduction facilities. Although designated a 4-track recorder, the unit still allows compatibility with conventional stereo cassette machines in that a stereo recording can be made on a regular machine then replayed on the MT44D on Tracks 1(L) and 2(R). Additional material can then be recorded on Tracks 3 and 4 of the MT44D - but remember that recording on Tracks 3 and 4 will erase whatever was on Side B of your original stereo cassette as in 4-track recording, the full width of the tape is used running in one direction only.

This has an added benefit for fans of musique concrète techniques as turning a 4-track cassette over reverses all recorded sounds, giving you an instant 'backward' effect when replayed. It's a good trick for making a boring drum machine sound more appealing as well. Record the drums on Track 1, and turn the cassette over. The drums now appear playing backwards on Track 4 and you've got three more tracks to fill up with conventional sounds.