Tascam 34b owners please help. How to use 4 tracks?

C

Cmrib

New member
After cleaning and after some motherboard resoldering I got my Tascam 34B up and running.

I tried to record some stuff. First I used track 1 and 3. Then, at the end I flipped the tape and used 1 and 3 again to make "side B" recording.

After that I played track 1 and 3 again and I notice some bleeding from the other tracks.
Especially at track 3 there's audible bleeding or overlapping from tracks 2 or 4 (reversed sound)
I have to make more experiments to understand if the overlapping in from track 2 or 4.

This are my first experiments with a 4 tracker.

Question: what's causing this?

Can I use the Tascam as a normal domestic stereo recorder or Ido i have to always record in one direction, using first 1 and 3, rewind and record again 2 and 4?
This way I lose compatibility with my Akai 630D...

Please help
 
The 34B was designed to record all 4 tracks in one direction, no tape flipping. That said, it is still technically possible to use it the way you suggest but this may require a realignment of the transport's heads, guides and reel table height to get it exactly centered vertically on the tape surface. If its skewed up or down currently, that would completely explain the bleed-through situation you're currently experiencing.

As far as compatibility with your Akai 630D, does that also run at 15 ips? That would also be something to be mindful of and ensure you're only recording at 7.5 ips on the 34B to retain the speed compatibility.

Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
The 34B was designed to record all 4 tracks in one direction, no tape flipping. That said, it is still technically possible to use it the way you suggest but this may require a realignment of the transport's heads, guides and reel table height to get it exactly centered vertically on the tape surface. If its skewed up or down currently, that would completely explain the bleed-through situation you're currently experiencing.
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Has I suspected. Another reason is that the record volume I used is high on "side A" so it's more noticeable playing the "side B"
One problem I noticed in my old Tascam is that rewinding or forward produces some ugly misalignment of the tape, that's another reason why I prefered the "flipping" method. At play speeds that,doesn't happen.

As far as compatibility with your Akai 630D, does that also run at 15 ips? That would also be something to be mindful of and ensure you're only recording at 7.5 ips on the 34B to retain the speed compatibility.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

I recorded at 7.5 Ips, so no problem there :)

Regarding sound quality
Does a Dbx module make a huge difference? Should I get one?
I plan to record vinyl and maybe some stream music.

Regards
Carlos
 
dbx will make a huge difference in the audible tape hiss and the adjacent channel cross talk, (the bleed through you were describing), but its not a backward compatible noise reduction system, so every deck you play a dbx encoded tape must be decoded with the corresponding dbx system.

To add further complications to that, dbx comes in two different formats, Pro (type I) and Consumer, (type II). These are not compatible with each other because they operate in different frequency bandwidths.

About recording levels, it's best to keep the levels, "normal", meaning peaks of around +3 on the meters with the dbx off. With the dbx on, levels should peak at 0 Vu with average program content around -7 on the meters.

Cheers! :)
 
Cmrib said:
Your reply was very insightful. Probably I dont need a dbx decoder it only will make my recordings less compatible with other machines, am i right?
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To clarify what Ghost is saying, you would use the dbx processor during recording to AND during playback from the 34. It reduces the amount of audible tape hiss heard on playback because of what it does during recording (and then the subsequent decoding during playback), so there isn't a compatibility issue with other machines. I'd recommend you consider getting a dbx unit. And you want the Type I for your machine. A Tascam DX-4D or two dbx 150X units will provide 4 channels of Type I encoding/decoding for your 34. And mind what Ghost said about levels.
 
sweetbeats said:
To clarify what Ghost is saying, you would use the dbx processor during recording to AND during playback from the 34. It reduces the amount of audible tape hiss heard on playback because of what it does during recording (and then the subsequent decoding during playback), so there isn't a compatibility issue with other machines. I'd recommend you consider getting a dbx unit. And you want the Type I for your machine. A Tascam DX-4D or two dbx 150X units will provide 4 channels of Type I encoding/decoding for your 34. And mind what Ghost said about levels.
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I agree that incompatible is a strong word. But probably engaging the dbx on the recording and them play the tape in another machine, for instance my Akai 630d, will probably induce more hiss.

Carlos
 
You wouldn't want to record tapes on your 34 and reproduce on your Akai regardless...I think the track width and spacing of the head cores may be different between the two machines' headstacks.
 
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