Tascam MSR 16 and Soundcaft fx16ii

D

Dreadie

New member
My home recording experience up until this point was a Tascam 4 track. I wanted to take it up a notch so being a fan of analog I picked up a Tascam MSR 16 and a Soundcraft FX16ii.
Now if only I could get them to talk to each other! Oh I can get some stuff to tape, but then I have to rewire everything to listen to the playback!
:(I'm sure I'm screwing this up badly and it is messing with my creative flow!
Anybody familiar with these to pieces of gear?
Help!
 
Familiar with the msr16 , but not the mixer.
Does it not have a 16 channel monitor section?
Sounds like you are tracking, then repatching to hear playback of whats on tape. Correct?
 
Dreadie said:
umm monito?
Click to expand...

I have an msr16 and a tascam m520 board

Its is set up like this,;

16 input channels are going directly to the tape machine inputs via direct outs.
The 16 tape outputs are patched in to the m520 s monitor section. I am listening to what is on tape already or what is going to tape.
The input channels are left alone until it is mixdown time.
At that point I flip the switch from mic/line to tape.

Sounds like your board doesn't have a dedicated monitor section allowing you to hear what you have recorded without repatching

Check your manual and see what it is capable of.
Or, ditch it and get another board more up to the task.

I like the m520. Been using it for years.
:D
 
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Ugh! Okay thanks I'll check the manual again.
I know theres got to be a way, just seems rediculous to have to repatch everytime!
 
Hope you work it out.
I went back in the threads and realized we've had this conversation before.:-)
I hope in your haste you didnt get the wrong mixer for your purpose. :-)
 
The mixer you have looks like it's really designed as a PA mixer rather than a studio mixer.

You would be better served with a Soundcraft Spirit Studio or Soundcraft Ghost or similar.

Al
 
I called a tech at Soundcraft the other day and explained the situation. He said to get some RCA to XLR cables to go out from the deck and into the XLR on the board. So far, it has solved all my issues!
 
Dreadie said:
My home recording experience up until this point was a Tascam 4 track. I wanted to take it up a notch so being a fan of analog I picked up a Tascam MSR 16 and a Soundcraft FX16ii.
Now if only I could get them to talk to each other! Oh I can get some stuff to tape, but then I have to rewire everything to listen to the playback!
:(I'm sure I'm screwing this up badly and it is messing with my creative flow!
Anybody familiar with these to pieces of gear?
Help!
Click to expand...


I just looked at that unit and it doesn't seem to have anything akin to a tape return section. You need a more comprehensive mixer or to go outboard to a 16 X 2 line level mixer for raw playbacks.
 
It's easy to use a mixer like yours with a tape machine but it requires a certain amount of patching. I had a 8-track Tascam connected to a Mackie VLZ Pro. I connected the recorder's outputs to the Mackie's channel inserts. On a patchbay, if you normal the tape machine's outputs to the mixer's insert "receives" you can still patch in other things like compressors, etc. The signal level may be a bit quieter than if you used the line inputs but I find it actually provides much better headroom when mixing.

When recording, use outboard preamps if possible to bypass the mixer entirely, i.e. sound source > outboard preamp > tape. This will make recording with your mixer much easier.

Edit: I just realized, you're using a +4 balanced mixer with a -10db tape machine. I suggest googling to see if this board can be converted to -10db line levels. If not, you can still patch the recorder's outputs to the mixer's inserts. You'll have to boost the levels a lot during mixing though, using either the group faders or the master fader.
 
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I think that one of the OP's concerns was physical size and weight.

However, at 75 lbs, the MSR -16 us not a compact machine. You pretty much set and leave it in place.

Being an owner of one, and a full size board, I gotta say he's selling himself short for the sake if a compact board.

Nothing replaces the ease of a full 16 channel monitor section. No patch, unpatch, just turn on the equipment and go to work.
:D
 
Whole new issue!
My rollers suddenly got very sticky! Gummy actually. I've learned that its from old tape, so I'm sourcing out some new stuff. Any suggestions on the right Bias?
 
RMGI SM911, or any other +6 tape, is the modern equivalent of what your machine was designed to use.
 
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