424 MKIII - What else do I need?

[sackbutcharlie]

I am hoping for some guidance. I used to be a musician but have not been in a recording studio in 20 years. I am interested in recording a family member who sings and plays acoustic guitar. I am thinking about getting a 4-track cassette. My questions are: #1 - Can I run a mike right into this or do need any type of pre amp? #2 - It looks like the board is built in, am I correct that no other mixer is required? #3 - Can the built-in board also be used to mix output to a 2-track master (or cassette or CD or whatever)?

What I have read makes it sound like all I need s the 424, a couple of good mikes, and a tape or CD recorder to mix down to (plus monitors, headphones, etc.). Is that right?

Thanks!

[ronsmith]

thats all you need. I own a424 and it has built in preamps. its a complete studio. Just plug in your mike and start recording. Then mix your tracks down to stereo on a cassette deck. Have fun!

[Mark7]

If you have any condenser mics you'll need a Phantom Power source as the Tascam Portastudios don't provide it. But you should be able to find one easily enough.

[HeyHeyMyMy]

This is exactly the question I wanted to ask, excellent. I do have one more little thing to ask: should I use some sort of compressor on my signal going in to the MKIII, more specifically, on vocals? I am planning on recording an acoustic album, with just my voice and my guitar. I have an old Ibanez Compressor/Limiter that I used to use for electric guitar, any chance I could use that? It only has quarter inch inputs and outputs, much the same as all stomp boxes. Any advice would be great, thanks a lot!

[Zeekle]

Hey Hey... Some sort of compressor is always a good idea, but try recording with and then without it. If the difference is to your liking, use the set up you like.. I don't tend to use my compressor with my acuostic, but do use it for vocals. Get a reverb unit too, for both the guitar and vocals, add a little and you can't go to far wrong.
Zeek

[HeyHeyMyMy]

Hey Zeekle, sounds good, I will look into a 'verb unit. As for compressors, I would assume I can't use an effects loop on mixdown to compress vox right? From what I've read I have to use it on my initial signal going in to the mkIII. If so, does anyone have any recommendations as to cheap compressor units I could get for the vocals? Thanks a lot.

[Zeekle]

I use a digital recorder so I record some sources 'dry' then bounce them onto another track and add the Fx then via the Fx loop (aux sends, returns) (reverb, compression, whatever) I can then remix it if I wish.
Theres a thread on The Rack.. on this BBS .. all about compressors etc, good reading.. go have a look..
Zeek

[HeyHeyMyMy]

beautiful, thanks.

[radiorickm]

technically, you can use the loop. it's not the best way to go. but you can plug a mike into ch1, and use the efx sent to put the signal out. go to the compressor and return it into one of the stereo returns 5/6 or 7/8.

not the best way to do it but you can

[chessparov]

Used Ashly compressors can run under $100 and are quality gear.

Chris

[DigitalSmigital]

Originally Posted by radiorickm

technically, you can use the loop. it's not the best way to go. but you can plug a mike into ch1, and use the efx sent to put the signal out. go to the compressor and return it into one of the stereo returns 5/6 or 7/8.

not the best way to do it but you can

The reason you should not use the fx loop to compress a signal (or to EQ)when mixing down on the 424 is:

the effects send is post fader, meaning that the signal coming from the channel strip goes to the main mix and the fx loop. It does you little good to eq and/or compress a portion of the signal.

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by DigitalSmigital

The reason you should not use the fx loop to compress a signal (or to EQ)when mixing down on the 424 is:

the effects send is post fader, meaning that the signal coming from the channel strip goes to the main mix and the fx loop. It does you little good to eq and/or compress a portion of the signal.

Excellent point, DS.

Or to put into layman's terms, it's like trying to shoot a puck with a swizzle stick.

Cheers!

[DigitalSmigital]

Ha! Canadian layman's terms always have something to do with hockey!

For those of you who don't know what a puck is, he means "it's like trying to steal second in a pair of Doc Martins".