Older board in a new home setup?

G

G. Simon

New member
Hi, all --

I have a Tascam M-208 8x4x2 mixing board from 1990. I used it for years with my TSR-8 1/2" tape recorder; it was a great pairing.

Now, I am in the initial research stage of planning a computer-based multi-track recording home studio. I'm a guitar-based singer-songwriter who uses an Alessis drum machine, elec bass, multiple guitar tracks, and backing/harmony vocals. [I'm not much, if at all, for MIDI or synth]

I really love this console, and I really don't want to ditch it unless I really have to. Can I even use this thing with a PC?

Thoughts???

-- Glenn
 
sure you can

The soundcard you choose to record through is unlikely to have decent pre-amps. use the mixer the same way you used it with the tape machine. The only difference is that you have removed the tape machine from your signal chain and replaced it with a hard disc recorder, ie. your PC.

Tell you what though, you are gonna miss your tape machine though!! ;)
 
there's no point going for a soundcard with preamps built in when you already have them on your board.

Have a look at the M-Audio Delta 1010 (not the LT version), it's ideal for your purposes
 
Yeah, you just replace your tape machine with a decent sound card with enough inputs as you need SIMULTAINIOUS inputs and multitrack software and you're off to the races. Just my opinion but you WON'T miss the tape deck.
 
My Name said:
sure you can

The only difference is that you have removed the tape machine from your signal chain and replaced it with a hard disc recorder, ie. your PC.

Tell you what though, you are gonna miss your tape machine though!! ;)
Click to expand...

Well, that's a bit like saying the only difference is that you've replaced your balloon with a Lear jet, and you're gonna miss only being able to go slowly in one direction. But I understand it was meant to be an over-simplistic analogy. I've been recording for a while, and came from the tape days. There's practically nothing I miss about tape at this stage in digital audio's development. Once you discover non linear editing, and boundless track counts, and the plethura of plugins, and a whole list of other benefits of working in the digital realm, you'll most likely not miss your tape deck.

-RD
 
I've got an M-208, I think it's the shit. Course, I'm still using 8-track reel-to-reel. The only problem I've had with the 208 is that the busses don't have enough headroom to hit the tape hard enough with really dynamic material. We had a stereo mix of drums going to tape and whenever the kick and snare coincided the buss peaked. I don't know how big a problem that is in digital recording, I know the softer you send stuff through the A/D converters the lower the quality is but I guess with a 24-bit card it's not that big a deal. I think it's fine, and I definitely think you'll be able to take advantage of the 208's routing possibilities and the gentle EQing it does. I just wish the mids could sweep a little farther...
 
Yeah, you'll really enjoy your transition to digital with the board. Most pro studios I've been in use Pro Tools exactly that way- as a fancy tape deck mixed through a console of some kind. IMO its the best of both worlds as you can still use the plugins, editing and automation in your DAW while enjoying all those gorgeous EQ's, use whatever analog gear you have and avoid mix buss issues with the digital system.

And as PowRGnome guesses, the extra D/A conversion involved isn't really that big a deal at 24bit.

Just make sure you get an interface with enough I/O to match or excede the board. I have a Soundtracs Solo MIDI 16x8x2 and it matches my 18 i/o interface pretty well. (The last 2 channels have to in through the inline inputs, but it works OK with good planning.)

Enjoy! There is no reason to get rid of either the board or the tape machine. Even if you end up mixing in the box most of the time (it IS more convenient) I'd keep the analog gear around just to have the option of using it.

take care,
Chris
 
It has two, and they're not even 'real' preamps. They don't support phantom power, and can be switched to line level like the rest of the inputs/outputs.
 
Robert D said:
There's practically nothing I miss about tape ...

-RD
Click to expand...
Hey Robert-

I came from tape too. I also love digital too
BUT,.......
I'm wonderin' about what you DO miss about tape??? ;)
Im thinking about setting up an all analog B suite with all of my old gear (I NEVER sll anything :p )
 
re: M-Audio Delta 1010 vs 1010 'LT'

Ok, I need to add one more thing that may make a difference in the kind of sound card or interface I get. I have already said that I wish to use a PC with a Tascam M208 8x4x2 mixer. However, I will only be recording 1-2 tracks at a time. This will be a solo home studio where I play/program all the instruments and do all the singing (or import an individual to lay a track) - no live bands.

Now, with this piece of new info, is the M-Audio Delta 1010 still an ideal piece for me? Are the extra pre-amps on the LT version a not good thing for me? I don't want to sacrifice audio fidelity, but at $200 less, should I consider it?

-- Glenn
 
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you could get away with a delta 410, it has 2in/8out and S/PDIF if you only need to track 2 sources at once. Think it's out of production now (the PCI version) so you could pick one up for cheap on eBay

Just another option
 
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