8track
I rebuilt the Tascam Portastudio 488, an 8-track cassette recorder, in the browser. Open the studio and press play. The tape is “Back to the Start” by Sunrain, my brother. You can mix it, record over it with a mic, and download the mix.
What it does
It works the way the owner's manual says: transport, two locate memos and repeat, pitch control, four group buses, and a mixer with EQ, pan and effect sends. You can record on any track and punch in and out. A mic, a browser tab or an audio file plugs into any input. Tapes are saved in your browser and can be exported. The mix downloads as a WAV.
History
I started a browser mockup of the 488 in 2015 and reworked it in 2017. That version was about 6,000 lines of jQuery and ran only in Chrome. In 2026 I rebuilt it in React with a small typed Web Audio engine. The knobs and faders work from the keyboard, and recorded takes are shifted by the mic's measured latency so they land in time.
