Help for beginners

[mark tresch]

I recently purchased a 424 MKII and finally got around to playing with it. My initial plan was to lay down some rhythm tracks on the guitar, so instead of using a microphone (which I do not own) as the initial instructions suggest, I plugged the guitar in via the "line out" on the back of my amp. No signal came thru. Then I attempted to plug the guitar in direct into the 424. If I turn up all the levels I could hear the intrument thru the headphones and the monitor level meter "came alive". Unfortunately the sound was very distorted. So, I'm sure there is something simnple I'm missing. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[orlball]

Just check if, by chance, your amp has any kind of "phone output" on the front view. If so, then you have to use (at least I do it that way)a cable that has a stereo jack in one end (to plug into the amp) and a mono jack in the other (to plug into the stereo input in the portastudio). This is because the phone output is a stereo signal. But look out! Very recently, in some other place I have read that connecting an amp directly to a portastudio is not recommended so get info about it first (they recommend using a direct box).

Other solution is to use a guitar pedal or processor that includes some kind of preamp, so you can use it with preamp and with no other effect and then connect the pedal output to the portastudio. This can help though it can be a little noisy.

If you don´t have options, maybe your guitar sends a pretty low signal if you connect it directly, and that´s why you have to increase so much the faders´level. So I would say: increase first the volume on the guitar´s potentiometer to the top, then the channel fader on the 424MKII (having the master fader on the shaded area) and then go testing by increasing the stereo input. My last recommendation: get info about the direct box because maybe that´s the solution.

[mark tresch]

Well boys and girls, thanks to the help of my friend Mike at Old Towne Music, I found the answer to my recording problem.
On the Tascam 424 there is a switch for each track called "Record Function". Well guess what, if you are recording just one instrument at a time and you do not have the track 1 switch (assuming you are using track 1), in the "safe" position, nothing works. Unfortunately the manual does not mention that in the step-by-step how-to section.

[Dragon]

Duh! I think that even would have puzzled me...thanks for clearing that up for the rest of us.