Tascam 464 amp recording problem

[pehjott]

I cannot really explain, but when i record a fender amp with a shure 57 with my tascam 464 and dbx on, I get a strange little hiss-kind of sound whenever I hit the strings...but take a listen, it's very noticable at the very end lick of the clip.

http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=805DK4LD

so if anybody knows what i can do, against this except for turning the highs almost completly down which leads to a bad sound, tell me your ideas

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by pehjott

I cannot really explain, but when i record a fender amp with a shure 57 with my tascam 464 and dbx on, I get a strange little hiss-kind of sound whenever I hit the strings...but take a listen, it's very noticable at the very end lick of the clip.

http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=805DK4LD

so if anybody knows what i can do, against this except for turning the highs almost completly down which leads to a bad sound, tell me your ideas

Can't hear it. all I get from that link is a come-on to subscribe to the service.
From your description, it sounds as if the dbx is not encoding or decoding properly. How hot are you recording? Try lowering record level so that peaks stay below 0vu., average in the -5 to -3 range.

[pehjott]

my levels are pretty low, way under 0db...the link works again, you have to fill in the few letters on the right, higher part of the site and then wait...
my guess it that the dbx also wants to eliminate the amp-hiss and so it sounds strange...but i've heard other dbx-porta e-guitar stuff which sounds better.

[A Reel Person]

On that download page, upper right corner, are 3 characters you must enter in the box, then the screen changes to a 1 minute delayed free download. Try it.

Pehjott, I've not listened yet (soon), but just from the description I'd say it's dbx "pumping" or "breathing", much as sweetbeats said. I've heard this on some of my other tracks, one in particular was a drum machine beat which was recorded a little hot. I've also heard this on older tapes put into a different machine, where apparently the calibration levels didn't match.

I'll listen soon, but that's just off the cuff,... tho' I think I'm right without listening.

[A Reel Person]

I don't think that was the sound I was expecting as dbx pumping.

At the very end I hear this very faint squeal.

I don't hear dbx pumping.

I think the playing is really good for a short clip.

The sound amost sounds like your fingers wiping across the strings very slightly at the end.

If it's electronic in nature, I'd venture a guess that this sounds a little like a capacitor discharging! Don't ask me how I know this, I don't, but that's what it strikes me as,... as noises go.

Don't sweat dbx pumping as an issue. I don't hear it on this clip. Also, don't sweat this of most miniscule abnormal sounds on this track. I don't think it's anything that would be noticeable in a full mixdown in context. If all the tracks did this constantly, it might be worse, but for now it's negligible.

There's a lot more horrendous sounding recordings I've heard online that would cause me to worry, a couple of my own included. This isn't one of them!

Dbx pumping would be like a buzzing or fuzzy envelope around each note. This "abnormal" sound seems to squirt off a little bit at the end, just after the guitar clip concludes. Hence, it's my somewhat farfetched guess that it's a capacitor discharge noise.

I'd be more concerned if it was a more highly noticeable sound that permeated the mix. As is, the guitar clip sounds fine.

[A Reel Person]

It doesn't sound like much more than your fingers lightly swiping across the strings as you release the chord. Honestly.

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by pehjott

my levels are pretty low, way under 0db...the link works again, you have to fill in the few letters on the right, higher part of the site and then wait...
my guess it that the dbx also wants to eliminate the amp-hiss and so it sounds strange...but i've heard other dbx-porta e-guitar stuff which sounds better.

I hear the noise. Sounds like the transients are faster than the dbx likes to handle. It doesn't sound that bad to me and probably won't be noticeable in a mix. Your peaks in cool edit are around -3 digital. That's pretty hot in the analog world. (Ovu analog usually falls between -18 to -12 digital, depending on how much headroom you want to have.) Try recording other passes @ progressibely lower levels to see if you can find a sweet spot the dbx favors.

[pehjott]

thanx i'll try,although i recorded at really low levels (-6 to -3 db) I just mastered a bit but the sound was already there before the transfer to 'puter.

well the problem is, when i turn up the highs and mids (5 khz) it gets even worse and it's even more noticable on some of my bass tracks i recorded cuz they always need a bit more highs added so that the bass gets through.when i have drums recorded it's not that bad but in songs with organ,bass and e-guitar it's somehow bad to my ears...i guess i have to get back to my old porta trick: recording with hot levels with dbx on and turning the dbx of in playback and mixing, you get sort of a reverb and more brilliance but also loss of bass...
EDIT: here a link with the highs turned up, the noise i mean is more present, but not all the time, just when i hit the strings...

http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=NM0HLCQL

[A Reel Person]

I didn't hear noise throughout the track, just a little blip at the end.

If it changes or gets worse with other levels and EQ, then I'd concede it could be dbx mistracking. I've heard really bad dbx mistracking, and this isn't it. On this clip alone it's negligible, YMMV. To amplify this problem or string it all throughout the mix might be more of an issue. The levels didn't seem too hot IMO, but it could possibly point to the calibration of the 464 being off, (as an outside possibility).

Overdriven guitar is tricky, as the body of the signal gets compressed a bit, while the HF edge does get sharp transients. That part of it could be irritating the dbx, as the more I think about it, the more I think RRuskin nailed it.

You could play with the input/recording levels a moderate amount. It could still point to needing a calibration touch up. You'd expect any analog device to be out of cal, if by chance it's never been serviced it's whole life, as many home units have not been calibrated since factory new.

... not to start a panic or anything!

[999imw]

I hear the noise that pehjott is talking about and I've been noticing it lately on my 244. To me it's a very noticeable hiss every time the strings are hit. It happens on bass and guitar for me. What is it? I don't think it's the tape. It's driving me crazy because it seems to be getting worse.

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by 999imw

I hear the noise that pehjott is talking about and I've been noticing it lately on my 244. To me it's a very noticeable hiss every time the strings are hit. It happens on bass and guitar for me. What is it? I don't think it's the tape. It's driving me crazy because it seems to be getting worse.

The dbx is unhappy about something. Make certain your machine is calibrated properly and that you are not recording too hot when using the dbx. If you are using the same tape over and over again, the wear on it could be compromising it's performance. dbx needs to see the same thing on playback that it sent to the tape during record. When things get too far off, you can get the kind of noise you are hearing now. And once again - do not print too hot.

[999imw]

Thanks. I think I'll find a tech to check the calibration. Is the calibration on a cassette recorder the same as a open reel? ie. does it require the same tools?