sennheiser 441 for sax/vocals

[Saxman1]

I have been recording at home on my Tascam Digital 8 track DP03-SD using my Sennheiser 441 .
When I record the head set seems low even though the volume is up? The sax and vocals always distort on playback. Should I be going through a pre-amp or using a different EQ then the one that is on the Tascam itself? It also records in mono . How do I record in stereo ( both speakers)? I have all my tracks panned in the middle
I tell you home recording is ok but a bit frustrating I am only using these tracks as reference to bring to the pro studio and I have been in a pro studio doing a CD of my original contemporary jazz originals and what a world of difference with a real engineer and producer even though I am paying big time LOL!

 

[rob aylestone]

You are doing something wrong - the tascam records via routing to it's channel in mono - this is how it works, you then pan it when you replay - as in do the mix. You just assign the two inputs to the desired track. Distortion comes from getting the trim control setting wrong. The usual way is mic up or connect things then you turn the knob up till the overload led comes on on the loudest transients, then back it down until it doesn't, but no lower. That is then optimum record level and there should not be any distortion. That channel will then be brought up in the mixing stage of the mixer. Again, a hot channel, with the fader more than ¾ travel will possibly distort the output if all other tracks are also that loud. Panning is done to recreate a soundstage, like you would on a real stage - so you tend to put the bass instruments in the middle and perhaps the solo instrument and then shift the others to their own location to suit. If you adjust the pan controls, does it move the sound from speaker to speaker. if you connect a stereo source - maybe a piano? - then you set channel one to say track 1, then assign input two to track 2. On replay, you can pan one full left and two full right. pan both to centre and it is mono - and you can go anywhere in between that sounds OK to you. It just sounds like you have not yet got the hang of the Tascam.