overdubbing question, volume question, 4 track (tascam 424mk3)

skweeks

New member
After researching a lot and checking out random stores i decided that the best possible recording multitrack for my price range and needs was the tascam 424. i'm generally happy with my purchase but i'm having trouble with 2 things that i'm not sure about, and i'm not even sure they can be fixed or are problems at all..
1. when recording basically anything (beit vocals direct using the built in mic preamp, mic'd guitar amp, line in from a guitar amp, or just straight guitar) the volume always seems to be really low when i play back... i'm recording with the volume in the "shaded range" (7-8 on the fader) and using the trim control to get the sound to average around 0 without much going over 6... this isn't a major problem cause when i mix stuff down it'll turn out okay but still i was wondering plus its leading up to..
#2. i'm having problems with overdubbing. i can record the first track fine (say guitar) at a resonable volume and be fine but when i wanna do track 2 (say vocals) i have problems. when i'm in play/record mode the vocals that come in completely drown out the guitar that has been previously recorded. this causes a lot of trouble with keeping things in sync with each other. i tried tweaking volumes and all the combinations of knobs and dials that looked like it would possibly help but i'm stuck. maybe i'm just missing something obvious. please help.

thanks
-steve
 
Sounds to me as if the monitoring level (the level you hear thru your headphones) for each track is too low. If the MkIII is the same as the MkII and I'm guessing they are, then all you need to do is make sure that the EFFECT 2 switch is in the MON position and then you just crank up the EFFECT 2 knob until each track is at the right level in your headphones - this should solve the problem of not hearing the other tracks when you overdub.

Good Luck
 
Yo Squeeky one:

When you record a track on your machine do you switch that track over to CUE when you do the next overdub track? You need to switch recorded tracks to CUE as you overdub or all of your sound will get gummed up. I used to record on a couple of 488's but have moved to the Yamaha MD-8. No more tape rewinding - better sounds. But, the digital MD-8 also requires that I switch each recorded track over to the CUE or I'll lose data or strange things will happen.

Then, when you're ready to mix down all the tracks, you have to take them off CUE and then set your levels. When you go to CUE, your faders do not control the volume; that's how you tell the difference between CUE and Playback. Playback volume can be controlled by the faders but not the CUE section.

Hope this helps,

Green Hornet
 
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