Tascam M512 Monitor Help

[hawgpen]

Yes, I am a novice trying to learn over a lifetime of trial and error. I am setup on a M512 mixing board and TSR 8 reel to reel. My tracks come out smooth as silk and then I mixe drums, ryhthm and bass to 2 tracks so I have more room for lead and vocals. While monitoring the sound before recording it is great! Then replaying the mix it sounds very muddled, when I select the option to monitor just the tape, the tracks are still clean but coming through the board individually they suck. What I am doing wrong? I have checked all connections and everything is right. Do I trust the tape monitor or is something not right?

Thanks for any input given!

[snipeguy]

Originally Posted by hawgpen

the tracks are still clean but coming through the board individually they suck.

Could you clarify this part. Which tracks .......the old ones ......the new bounces? Also what do you mean by muddled. Distorted, No highs, Low level, try to be as specific as you can and we'll be able to help you better.

Just quickly, are your heads really clean and de-maged?

[hawgpen]

Originally Posted by snipeguy

Could you clarify this part. Which tracks .......the old ones ......the new bounces? Also what do you mean by muddled. Distorted, No highs, Low level, try to be as specific as you can and we'll be able to help you better.

Just quickly, are your heads really clean and de-maged?

Thanks - Yes - heads are REALLY clean and demaged, beore each session. The original tracks were recorded on 6 tracks - good range of highs, lows and mids - very clean. Then when I mix (bounce) those down they sound good while monitoring the mix down of six tracks to 2 (i'm using tracks 5&6 for this and I have made sure no two tracks are next to each other: i.e. bounce track 7 to 5 instead of 6 and track 4 to 6). After the bounce/mixdown I replay it with channels 5 and 6 monitored only and the tracks have lost all the dynamic sound - eq doesn't help and it sounds very flat and bassy - similar to the sound you get when you dump directly to cassette. Then I select channels 5 and 6 bypass the monitor section and play the sound directly off the tape and oddly enough it sounds exactly like what I want it to. I know tracks 5 and 6 are good because I have other songs that I am working with and all of the above still applies EXCEPT track numbers - I have original tracks on 3-8 and then mix/bounce to 1 and 2 - same results. I am really stumped!

Thanks for any thoughts you have and I appreciate everyones help!

[acorec]

Originally Posted by hawgpen

Thanks - Yes - heads are REALLY clean and demaged, beore each session. The original tracks were recorded on 6 tracks - good range of highs, lows and mids - very clean. Then when I mix (bounce) those down they sound good while monitoring the mix down of six tracks to 2 (i'm using tracks 5&6 for this and I have made sure no two tracks are next to each other: i.e. bounce track 7 to 5 instead of 6 and track 4 to 6). After the bounce/mixdown I replay it with channels 5 and 6 monitored only and the tracks have lost all the dynamic sound - eq doesn't help and it sounds very flat and bassy - similar to the sound you get when you dump directly to cassette. Then I select channels 5 and 6 bypass the monitor section and play the sound directly off the tape and oddly enough it sounds exactly like what I want it to. I know tracks 5 and 6 are good because I have other songs that I am working with and all of the above still applies EXCEPT track numbers - I have original tracks on 3-8 and then mix/bounce to 1 and 2 - same results. I am really stumped!

Thanks for any thoughts you have and I appreciate everyones help!

Playback all the tracks you want to bounce down into your mixing board and set all tracks to mono/middle. See if you have tha same effect in your monitors. If so, then you have some tracks that have been recorded out-of-phase.