Mixer for 38-8?

[MartyMcFly]

Hey Joe...
Can someone give me an idea about what type of mixer to use wit a Tascam 38-8? Tanks

[bloomboy]

I use an m-208, and it works well for me. Sweepable mids, wonderful, warm sound quality, and it's pretty quiet as well. I only use it to listen back/ mix, since I use dedicated preamps for recording, so the lack of phantom power has never been an issue for me. Definitely something to consider- if you're not going to need to record through your mixer as well, there's no point in shelling out the extra hundred or two for the more popular m-300 series, which do come with phantom power.

Regards,
Theo

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by MartyMcFly

Can someone give me an idea about what type of mixer to use wit a Tascam 38-8?

I'd recommend the TASCAM M30 and the TASCAM 200 / 300 series.

[Beck]

Lots of good choices out there, but I also love the TASCAM M-200 series. You get far more than one might expect from a “cost conscious” series. I bought my M-216 new about 1990. Lots of headroom; great sounding EQ and all in a compact easy to move and easy to modify (if you are so inclined) package. I bought an M-208 later to expand my inputs. They are 4-buss, but have two RCA outs for each buss. No patchbay or Y-cord needed to connect the 4 busses to the 8 inputs of the 38.

I also like the made in USA Mackies from the same era.

And of course the TASCAM M-300 series. If you really only need 8 channels the M-308 is a good bet. The M-312 would be a wise choice for a few extra inputs.

My studio is heavily MIDIized and very input hungry, so with my TSR-8 I still need 24 channels plus a line mixer or two. Make sure you don’t underestimate when assessing channel needs…leave room for effects returns and such.

[MartyMcFly]

Howdy,
I just got my 38-8. It looks very nice cosmetically. But being the idiot I am neglected to notice that there are NO Mic inputs and NO Headphone jacks. So I am assuming that one MUST use a mixer?
Then my next logical question is this...What do I need? Id like to check it out...Do I need one of those snakes to connect it? What?

[_DK]

Yes, you'll need one 16-channel, or 2 8-channel snakes.

[MartyMcFly]

Should i run to Guitar Center and pay their prices or should I order them from Musicians friend...
Also if I want to hook it up with my digi-002 and at least 1 rack of DX-4D Noise Reduction what cables do I need?
I need the 1-16 or 2-8 patchbaysnakes and do I need extra to hook up the NR?

[_DK]

8 channel snakes are more common in stores... Where to buy? Any Guitar Center should have them. I don't know if it's cheaper at Musiciansfriend, or if they have a wide variety. I have some old HOSA snakes, those work just fine.
Yes, you will need extra snakes for the NR unit, but do you need a Noise Reduction? Try recording without it first... 38 is a great machine. If the heads are clean and demagged, if you've got good tape, if the preamps on your mixer are fine, there shouldn't be too much hiss.

[_DK]

P.S.: I'm not sure about Digi-002.
If it has 8 ins & outs it should be fine.

[MartyMcFly]

So then I need 8 RCA's to 8 1/4" line for the output set...Then 8 RCA's to 8 1/4" lines for the input. Im just not sure how this digidesign will work for a standard mixer. They claim it can work as a standard mixer but will it work?
How much should I be spending on good Say Monster cables of those 2 snakes I need???

[_DK]

Originally Posted by MartyMcFly

So then I need 8 RCA's to 8 1/4" line for the output set...Then 8 RCA's to 8 1/4" lines for the input. Im just not sure how this digidesign will work for a standard mixer. They claim it can work as a standard mixer but will it work?
How much should I be spending on good Say Monster cables of those 2 snakes I need???

I haven't used Digidesign mixers, so I can't tell, sorry.
http://search.ebay.ca/search/search....ake&category0=

[bloomboy]

Monster cables are extremely expensive. They're also extremely good, but there is sereously no point at all in spending the money for them unless your whole signal chain is of amazing quality. Personally I've never been able to even hear the difference- I'd just stick with HOSA.

Peace,
Theo

[_DK]

I have both Monster and Hosa, but I still use Hosa... don't see any difference, Monster cables just look better...but you can still get them dirt cheap on ebay sometimes. A better brand would be Evidence Audio, but I've only used them a few times at my friend's place...an instrument cable (guitar -> combo), the sound was much louder than any other cable. But those are worth something like $100 a piece and I don't know if they make snakes.

[MartyMcFly]

How bout a M1-B
Will that work?

[MartyMcFly]

Opps...i posted that last one to the wrong topic...Nevermind...

[MartyMcFly]

So i probably want a mixer that has atleast 8 inputs/outputs and 12 busses for extra mixing. Is that pretty much all? What would be a decent newer mixer to match with the 38-8?

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by MartyMcFly

So i probably want a mixer that has atleast 8 inputs/outputs and 12 busses for extra mixing. Is that pretty much all? What would be a decent newer mixer to match with the 38-8?

You mean a 12 channel mixer with 8 recording busses, right?

Like a TASCAM M50 or an M512 or perhaps something newer like a Mackie, Soundcraft or Yamaha?

If you want something new, the Soundcraft are pretty sweet boards. But their only 8 buss mixer is the Ghost LE which is major bucks!

http://www.soundcraft.com/product_sh...product_id=144

Yamaha actually does make a 12 buss, large format mixer but may be more then you need?

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/...28100,00.html#

Cheers!

[MartyMcFly]

Are you Serious? I hope I dont need anything that big. Just incase you dont know my plans...
I plan on recording 8 tracks on the analog. Then I plan on shooting all 8 channels SEPERATELY into my digi-002 to edit and mix. Then I could mix that down and shoot it back as a rough mono mix and continue to add to it. At the end shoot it all back into Pro Tools and mix it there...
So I dont think I need too many extra options...
Just 8 channels and 12 busses I think. That way I should have 4 extra busses for submixes...
What type fits that???

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by MartyMcFly

Are you Serious? I hope I dont need anything that big. Just incase you dont know my plans...
I plan on recording 8 tracks on the analog. Then I plan on shooting all 8 channels SEPERATELY into my digi-002 to edit and mix. Then I could mix that down and shoot it back as a rough mono mix and continue to add to it. At the end shoot it all back into Pro Tools and mix it there...
So I dont think I need too many extra options...
Just 8 channels and 12 busses I think. That way I should have 4 extra busses for submixes...
What type fits that???

As I mentioned in my previous post, I think you're getting your terminology mixed up a bit.

A few key questions you need to answer before anyone can soundly advise you.

1 - How many track do you see yourself recording in one pass?

2 - When you record, will it be just yourself recording or you and a friend or you and an entire band?

I ask these questions because I need to know how many busses you truly need.

If it's just you in the room, a 4 buss mixer with direct outs will do the trick for what you've described with transferring the 38's recorded tracks to your PC. As an example a TASCAM M312B would do a wonderful job for you because it is a 12 channel board, with 12 direct outs as well as 4 separate recording busses as well as a stereo buss.

It sounds to me what you need to learn here is not just what mixer to get but you need to learn what mixers can do and are capable of and that's a completely different question then the one you innocently started this thread with.

Cheers!

[MartyMcFly]

Hi,
Of course I want a mixer that can compliment the analog sound of the 38. But I also wouldnt mind a new mixer if it does just what i need and nothing extra fancy.
To answer your questions...
1.
Mainly 1-2 with the most ever being 4-6 for drums. And there I can compromise if I had to.
2.
Mostly just me. But occasionally I will be with someone...

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by MartyMcFly

Hi,
Of course I want a mixer that can compliment the analog sound of the 38. But I also wouldnt mind a new mixer if it does just what i need and nothing extra fancy.
To answer your questions...
1.
Mainly 1-2 with the most ever being 4-6 for drums. And there I can compromise if I had to.
2.
Mostly just me. But occasionally I will be with someone...

OK, now I have a little bit more to go on!

Recording drums when you only have 8 tracks to play with on the 38 will probably force you into initially not using more then 4 tracks of tape to capture them, basically, kick, snare/hats and a stereo overhead pair and once you get a good mic setup down, you could probably squeeze that down to just 2 tracks of tape with a good sub mix set up on your mixer so the mixer I mentioned in my last post, the M312B would still be flexible enough to handle all of that.

As far as new mixers go you'll probably have to look strictly at the Mackie's and need to get one with direct outs and at least 4 recording busses. The Mackie's wont sound as warm and smooth as the older TASCAM's would but they would be newer with less chance of service issues for the here and now anyway.

Cheers!

[THX1136]

Marty, you mentioned may be dumping into PT and then out and possibly back in to finish. You might want to ask around on this one, but I've heard of audio degradation with more than one D/A- A/D conversions. Everything I've read cautions to keep the conversions down to only one if possible. If you had a stand alone converter like an Apogee then it might be less of a concern. Please check around with others that may know more about this so you get the best possible quality that I assume you are looking for.

[MartyMcFly]

THX...
No Im not worried about that. The way i do it i will only ever be transfering my tracks from the R2R to my Digi. Then they'd get edited/mixed/mastered.
I am looking at my setup and i dont know if the digi-002 mixer will work. It doesnt have enough inputs for mics and lines for guitars and stuff. I guess I dont get the flowchart of the signal for the R2R with mixer.

[Beck]

The M-1B you mentioned (posted to the wrong thread) would actually work on a very basic level if you just want a simple interface and are set on doing any tweaking ITB. You will have only level and panning. I have two of those and they are pretty handy to have around. People tend to underestimate at first though and you soon may wish you had gone for something more versatile like the M-312. There’s a lot to be said for an analog signal chain, including EQ. For one you can mix your analog tracks down to two (right/left stereo mix) before it even hits the digi. You can use the rest of the tracks on the digi for other things. This is just another option to consider in addition to the ones mentioned.

The advantage here (IMO) is that any ITB manipulating of that finished stereo mix will be none to minimal. You're closer to getting the best of both worlds than if you port your tracks one-to-one from the r2r to the digi for "finishing."

The signal flow is easy to see this way... 8 into 2 via an external mixer into digi. And now you have the rest of the tracks left on the digi for straight to digi recording.

Once you can visualize this it should be easier to see the 8 into 4 option using 4 busses of a more elaborate analog mixer.

[MartyMcFly]

Beck,
Is it even possible to use my digi-002 with the R2R?
Another question is...Are there other cheaper ProTools options like going with a 8 in/out motu or MAudio interface and PT? Would that work too. Cause right now I dont see how I can even encorperate the 002 into the situation...