tascam portastudio 424 help!

[ninecomponents]

i'm kind of new to four-tracking, so please bear with me.

i just bought a used tascam portastudio 424 and have been having some trouble. i've been plugging my guitar into an amp and plugging the line out into one of the four track inputs. i find that i get some scratchy popping sounds with this at higher volumes and when i record vocals (also through an amp and into the 4-track) it's even worse. the sound will crackle when it peaks and sometimes the audio pick-up will drop off completely (so that even though i may be singing, i hear nothing and the monitors show nothing being picked up).

am i pushing my machine to hard? do i have to just play everything through the amp and mic it separately through a direct mic that goes only into the 4-track?

thanks for your help.

[Whale Bone]

Those inputs are fairly high gain. Perhaps the line-level output of your amp is too hot. Try plugging your guitar directly into the Tascam, and also the mic, and see if you can get a good sound. I used to play bass and guitar directly into my 424. I also used a 57 mic with just a hi-Z/low-Z adapter and got a decent signal.

If you are scratching out a demo, then maybe it doesn't matter if you eliminate the amp, but if you want the amp's sound, I'd mic it instead.

Also, the pots might be dirty. I'd turn them through their full range, many times each, especially the gain pots. That may help some of the scratchiness.

[andyhix]

Originally Posted by Whale Bone

Also, the pots might be dirty. I'd turn them through their full range, many times each, especially the gain pots. That may help some of the scratchiness.

That was my guess as well - based on the descriptor "scratchy". Get some TV tuner cleaner (radioshack), and clean all the pots as best you can. Use a rubber band or shoelace or something, to turn them back and forth several times rapidly to work the cleaner in and break up any gunk in them.



Does this happen on all channels? Does it happen at a lower gain? at buss recording mode as well as direct? Try to further isolate the problem, and you can narrow down the potential fixes.

[Whale Bone]

Originally Posted by andyhix

at buss recording mode as well as direct?

Good thought.

Made me wonder: is the problem only on playback of recorded material, or is it what you are monitoring through the headphones or the line outs also? That would help distinguish between the tape head and the mixer sections.