Can a portastudio board be used as a board?

[sackbutcharlie]

Since the portastudios such as the 424 or 488 have built-in boards, is it feasible to use that board like aregular mixer into another tape machine? Thatis, can I start with a 424 and then later if I find a really good deal on an open real like a 34b, can I use the 424 as a mixer?

(Yes, I am a cheapskate) :-)

[The Ghost of FM]

You might have to do a bit of re-patching but, yeah, in a pinch you should be able to plug in a mic or an instrument and route that out to an external recorder and patch the outputs of that outside machine back into the Portastudio to do a mix-down.

Of course, having a dedicated mixer, designed for the task of tracking and mixing is always the better way to go but, I do understand the need to work within a budget.

Cheers!

[sackbutcharlie]

Sounds great.

So maybe I can start with a portasudio. Then if I can find a reasonable open-reel later i can use that with the portastudio mixer. Then later I may have enough $ for a mixer.

I want to make sure I save enough for high quality mics and cables.

Thanks for the help!!!!