tascam analog portastudio
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Posted on May 16, 2008 12:19 am
blackorwhyte
Member Since: May 16, 2008
so i have a tascam mk4 III which records to casette tapes, and i am wondering if anyone else has one like this that we could discuss tips and such.
i have one question that might not just apply to my machine. when i record all the levels are in the right place and in the headphones the sound is loud, but when i play it back on the cassette the audio is very quiet and it is almost impossible to hear it while recording another track. does this have anything to do with the type of cassette i am using?
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LokiCone PokerMember
Since: Apr 07, 2002
May 16, 2008 08:10 pm I think the majority of us started on one of those. In fact, I've still got mine that I use pretty regularly.
It may indeed be the cassete that you're using as far as the sound levels go. Have you tried a brand new tape? Also, what are you using for monitors during playback?
BTW Welcome to HRC!
Tim NUh, at least one more time . . .Member
Since: Feb 07, 2007
May 19, 2008 06:59 pm You need to record the signal hot--by that I mean the bargraph meters should be up in the +6 range. I had this problem as well; I was always worried that I would over-saturate the tape, but it didn't seem to happen. Monitoring might be a problem too, though after I bought a used mixing desk I would send the tracks out through the individual tape outs on the back of the machine. Even with low level signals I merely boosted the gain on the desk and used its far better routing and monitoring abilities to listen to what I'd recorded. Of course, you should be using Type II hi-bias cassettes.
Which leads naturally to me asking why you are using this particular piece of equipment. Mine is collecting dust, and though I may someday use it again, I'll probably reach for the Br-532 digital, which I paid the same amount for (about $400.00). It sounds better, is much easier to operate, and definitely it allows you to get much better sound with far less dicking around.
If the MarkIII is all you can afford, or you really want to continue with it for whatever reason, buy a small mixer like the Behringer UB 1202. It has 4 mic level (adjustable gain) inputs, as well as four stereo inputs (8 mono) and AUX sends on all 8 channels, with phantom power to boot. (Something the Tascam, alas, does not have.) You can bypass the Tascam's mixer section (and EQ and gain, for that matter) and learn to use a mixer in a more natural way; that is, like you would in a studio environment. The tape machine merely records and plays back, while you, the engineer, twiddle the knobs on the separate mixer.
Others will no doubt reply that its a good thing to learn on the Tascam about things like bouncing tracks and mixing with limited resources (4 tracks). I disagree, but you can decide on your own. If you have any more questions about the Tascam, I will certainly answer them with good cheer, as I'm sure will others here.
P.S.: That Behringer mixer costs about $99.00.
