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 Steve Krampf was the first TASCAM rep in the US and still carries a torch |
 Originally published in Pro Sound News February 2003 |
Dave Frederick caught the heat and has made significant contributions to MIDI-based and DAW production |
Seiji Murai is the Audio "Samurai" - accept no substitutes |
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The personal recording revolution was
started 30 "years ago today" and was led by someone who is probably
unknown to you. For the first time, individual musicians and
producers had the capability to control their careers to a much
greater extent than the artists before them. Without affordable,
tape-based recording and mixing gear (and a high level training
effort that was part of the initiative), a skilled user community
would not have been in place to consume the succeeding generations
of technology that brought us MIDI (the 80s) and practical digital
audio (the 90s).
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Without Dr. Abe's contributions and the efforts of Tascam/Teac and Fostex on education, a skilled user community would not have been in place to consume the succeeding generations of technology |
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So now, on to the story of Dr. Abe (pronounced "ahbay"): Conventional thinking says that anything the U.S. designs, Japan refines. While that's clearly an oversimplification of the relationship between the two technology powerhouses, there are many social and cultural factors that come into play here. The U.S. is notoriously independent, while Japan relies on consensus; the U.S. drives to be first, Japan strives for perfection; the U.S. praises individual achievement, Japan celebrates the team. But for every trend, there is the exception. In this case that exception is Dr. Abe, the lead founder of TASCAM (TEAC Audio Systems Company of America) "The first hint began with quadraphonic (a failed consumer multi-track format of the 70s)," Dr. Abe explains. "Surprisingly, the TEAC A-3340 [1/4", 4-track analog reel recorder] continued to sell even after the demise of quadraphonic. Musicians were using them to make overdub recordings. This was the first hint that we should make a recording system that musicians could afford." |
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At the time, a multi-track tape recorder or mixing console was an expensive proposition. Musicians that wanted access to the gear, either had to come up with $40,000 for a tape machine or more for a mixer or hire one by the hour at a recording studio including the engineer to operate it. Dr. Abe explains, "TEAC produced tape recorders for both professional use in Japan and hi-fi use worldwide. The major difference was input/output impedance/level and track width. That is to say, XLR plugs on the professional models, and RCA or phono plugs on the hi-fi units." This trade-off (when engineered to minimize noise) had a dramatic downward effect on the price of both recorders and mixers thus allowing for even amateur musicians the luxury, and in retrospect, the necessity of multi-track recording. Dr. Abe's team was now set on the path of providing high-quality multi-track recording systems for musicians at affordable prices. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." -Albert Einstein |
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"Regarding recorders, our next concern was the number of tracks in relation to the size of the tape," Abe explains. A significant cost reduction could be achieved by increasing the number of tracks. Being able to record twice as many tracks on tape that cost less than half as much, brought the price of multi-track recording into the realm of even casual musicians. Little did they know at the time, but they were significantly expanding the base of the market pyramid. While in some cases it paved the way for the demise of multi-track recorder powerhouses like Ampex and MCI/Sony, those were replaced by next-generation high-end companies like Studer and Otari. Later, digital companies like Digidesign, Steinberg, Yamaha, and Roland provided the de-facto standards.
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But back to the next chapter of our story: Most would be content to relax a bit with their success but Dr. Abe pushed the envelope even further. In 1979, Abe-san added full mobility to music production when TASCAM released the 144 Portastudio. The Portastudio was the world's first 4-track cassette tape recorder and integrated mixer. It addressed the requirements of musicians by providing them with a creative environment that was available whenever inspiration struck for about the same price as a single studio session. "TASCAM products had become quite popular, but they were not well understood by the home company in Japan," Abe recalls. His drive to create even more competitive products and a change in management at TEAC, prompted Abe-san to leave and join forces with the Japanese loudspeaker manufacturer Foster Electric to create the Multitrack Division, called Fostex, where he took his work to the next level. "At Fostex we made three important advancements, 1/4" 8-track and 1/2" 16-track formats, and a battery-powered 4-track cassette." But Fostex's success wasn't due to just innovative products. "We leveraged the market we had built at TASCAM," Dr. Abe says, "then relied on talented people to quickly produce excellent products that dealers could easily sell." Indeed, those products have become highly regarded by both customers and dealers, and by extension, Dr. Abe himself. He considers his greatest achievement to be the appreciation of end-users and dealers. Dr. Abe says, "I've come to be known as 'Mr. TASCAM,' 'Mr. Fostex,' and 'The Father of the Garage Studio.' This is great!" He is also pleased that the technology he's helped create has created new markets and new opportunities for businesses. Competition in the audio and musical instrument market is fierce and that's good for technology and good for consumers. Dr. Abe remarks, "A lot of brands are fighting desperately for business. Ultimately, price competition is good for end-users, but sometimes I feel they may be a little embarrassed to be able to buy such great products at such a low price." As for the future, Dr. Abe is optimistic and excited about the continuing combination of digital audio technology with personal computing devices. "Our relationship with the personal computer will deepen," Abe predicts, "and I am very interested in how personal computing will change. I expect the birth of new music due to the synergy of audio hardware development, digital technology, and personal computing." When asked whether he realized that he was changing the way musicians would create their work, Dr. Abe demurs, "All we did was focus on musicians. We took particular care to create machines that combined smooth operation with affordable prices." Clearly, there are untold musicians that may not even realize that it was the innovation of Dr. Abe that made it possible. "Don't be afraid of failure. But recognize it, learn from it, and rely on the help from others." - Dr. Abe |
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