DOWNLOAD: Fostex_1981_Catalog
Models covered in great detail include: Fostex A-8, A-4, A-2 1/4″ tape machines; Fostex 250 cassette four-track; and the Fostex 350 8x4x2 mixer.
I’ve uploaded a ton of information on these machines before (see here, here, and here), so dig back if you want more commentary… otherwise i’ll let the catalog speak for itself…
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In the mid-80s I recorded a bunch of stuff on a 350....what an advance from ping-ponging between two 4-track open reel decks (I had read about Sgt Pepper being recorded on a couple of TEAC 4 tracks and concluded the 70s trying to achieve the same kind of sonic excellence.....ha!), and thought I hit the jackpot the day a complete and new A8 system - - 8 track deck, board, and 2-track mastering deck - was offered to me for some bargain price as it was phased out in the later 80s. Tremendously versatile, somewhat noisy in use, more cumbersome than the 350, but the recordings were so much better. Sold everything to a guy in FL about a decade ago, I hope it's still being used.
I added a Fostex B-16, synced to my 8-track Tascam in the mid-1980's. Also acquired at a reasonable price. Used the Tascam for rhythm tracks, and the Fostex for leads and sweetening. Fun stuff, but after Pro Tools, I never looked back. Cleaning tracks on a multi-track analog machine was sheer torture.
PS - RE: Sgt Pepper's ... it was a pair of Studer J37 four-track machines running 1" tape. Quite a difference from a TEAC (or even TASCAM) machine.