Tascam 34B mic pre's + Mackie pre's?

T

TPMCD

New member
This is a newbie question I know, but here it is:
I'm close to pulling the trigger on (what appears to be) a nice Tascam 34B. I know there are mic pre's on there, so if I'm using a dynamic mic I can go straight in. But for mics that need phantom power, I would be using my Mackie 1202 (or some other mic pre, etc.). My question is, how should I adjust the gain on both machines? I know the short answer is "whatever sounds best' and I'll do that, but are there any other issues? Should both gains be about equal? Should the Mackie gain be much higher and the Tascam as low as possible?
I had a Tascam 38 years ago, and I didn't have to think about this (no mic pre's)!

Thanks all.
 
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I think if you're using a mixer or mic pre as the front end, you'd connect to the Line Ins on the 34B, not the Mic Ins.
:spank::eek:;)
 
The 34B used a switching system on the front panel which allows you to select either the mic input or the line input. Both can not be used at the same time.

So the input level controls will need to stay somewhere around the 7 mark on the dial or where it's written, "CAL", for calibration. If you were using the mic inputs on the 34B, only then might you have to change that input level knob on the recorder.

Basically, I'd recommend just using your external mixer with the deck as that will simplify the hook ups and levels on the deck. Plus that will give you needed cue mix facilities so that you can overdub and be able to hear what's on tape against whats being played live. Not that the Mackie mixer's mic pre-amps will be all that much better then the 34B's, but probably about the same, so no real advantage to using the ones on the deck unless you're trying to do a quick live recording with a pair of matched dynamic microphones.

Make sense?

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks to both of you for responding, it's appreciated.

Ghost, your recommendation makes sense, I'll most likely just stick with using the Mackie and the line input on the 34B.

Thanks again!
 
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