Tascam M-700 (1989–1993)
The M-700 was Tascam's flagship in-line production console at the end of the 1980s. It was a serious try at putting a large-format, automation-ready desk within reach of project rooms and mid-tier professional rooms. Studio Sound (August 1989, p.63) introduced it as Tascam's new top-of-range console, a sophisticated, automation-ready in-line design built for demanding production work "without costing the earth." That was the whole pitch. The M-700 sat well below the Neve and SSL consoles that defined the era's reference sound, but it carried much of the same architecture.
The core spec was a 40-channel, 32-group output in-line console with quad panning and two stereo plus eight mono auxiliary send busses per channel. Each input-output module carried two signal paths, giving 40 in-line monitors and 80 inputs at the desk. The four-band equalization could be assigned to either the channel or the monitor path. Tascam's own advertising of the period (circa 1990) pushed the routing flexibility - full parametric EQ, 12 auxiliary sends, 32 subgroupings, and quad outputs - and set the M-700 against the consoles that "defined great sound." Suggested retail was around $70,000. A hard-wire patch bay and channel/monitor FLIP switches rounded out the features.
Automation was the other half of the story. Tascam offered the MFA-700, a moving-fader automation package with 12-bit resolution motorized faders and sub-grouping of faders, mutes, and solos. There was also an M7-MFA retrofit kit for existing M-700 consoles. By 1991 Tascam was advertising the M-700 as a 32-buss production console series configurable up to 128 input channels, built with a minimal number of active components for a clean, transparent signal path. So the series grew past the original 40-channel frame.
Some real installations show up in the trade press. Tascam placed an M-700 in Soundtrek's Studio A in Kansas City, and Omega Sound in Fort Smith, Arkansas, bought an M-700 alongside an ATR 80/24 analog recorder. Mix (May 1993, p.92) was still running Tascam's "Big Easy" copy for the M700 series, which suggests the line stayed on the market for several years.
Documentation for the M-700 is thinner than you'd expect for a console this expensive. Tascam's own ads and the occasional studio-update listing are most of what survives. The basics are well established, but the fine details of the various frame sizes and the MFA automation system are harder to pin down.
Known specifications
- In-line production console, 40-channel / 32-group standard configuration (series later advertised up to 128 inputs)
- Two signal paths per input-output module; 40 in-line monitors, 80 inputs
- Quad panning; 2 stereo + 8 mono aux send busses per channel
- 4-band EQ, assignable to channel or monitor path
- Channel/monitor FLIP switches; hard-wire patch bay
- MFA-700 moving-fader automation (12-bit motorized faders); M7-MFA retrofit kit
- Suggested retail around $70,000 (U.S.)
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