Tascam 414 Tracking Probelms

HaydnPark96

New member
Ello,

I've just gotten hold of a portastudio 414 (without XLR inputs on the back, I believe it's the first generation one) and have been playing around trying to record demos.

I successfully recorded a track that sounded fine but it took a long time to get to grips with the way it works - having to pan left/right etc on channel 1 to record on tracks 1 and 2 separately confused me. When I tried to record 4 different instruments with one on each track, some of them ended up appearing on tracks they weren't meant to (e.g. the drum track that was recorded initially on channel 1 ended up on my vocal track as well, which was recorded onto channel 4).

I'm looking for someone to explain how I can record on track 1, then track 2 (while still hearing track 1), then tracks 3 and 4 all separately but while still being able to hear what I've previously recorded. Do I have to follow the manual, which tells me to leave the mic plugged into channel one and then pan right, arm channel 2 to record onto channel 2? Or is there a way I can simply just record into channel 1, then unplug the mic and plug it into channel 2, then record and so on?

Also, if anyone could tell me the correct way to listen back to the tape to balance out levels/add EQ before I bounce the whole song out that would also be good (effect two/tape cue switching etc).

Apologies if this is written in a confusing way but it's because I'm confused about it all myself, any help is appreciated!

Cheers
 
Reading the manual is always a help. Sometimes instructions are given to record a certain way are not exactly what you are doing. The deck has a mixer built in and understanding the mixer is a thing to get straight right away as there are things it can and can not do.

Record track one with pan to left which assigns the audio to the left track one track. Now put a mic into input number two and pan to the right. Then when you arm track two for record that will go there. You do NOT want to arm track one again for recording as that is already done and if you do your will erase the previous track recording so take it out of record for track 1. You have to do the same thing on open reels and larger systems.
To hear the track one audio you select tape on that the track which is put into Safe and then the input select is switch to Tape. It is better to use the tape cue control to hear the track instead of lifting the fader that should be down at bottom. The reason the track input need to be faded down as otherwise it can be recorded into the new track provided the fader is panned right. A study of the block diagram and some trial and error testing will tell you what the deck can do. Remember, you are not working with a M520 board and a Tascam 58 or MS16. This is a small and low cost solution and has many limitations.
I work on these all the time and so I get to know the functions of them over the years. I worked on the first porta studio decks when they first came
out when working for Teac in Chicago Factory Service. I had to learn how to work them too.
 
I made a video on the tascam 414 (I believe I have the first generation too)

I can’t post a video on this forum yet, but if you search youtube for video xGJ3_aeANfc you will find the tutorial. Have fun recording!
 
The 414 has a direct record function in addition to the panning (buss) capability. You can use that if you want to record more than two tracks at once. In order to use the direct function, just move the RECORD FUNCTION switch to the number for each channel. So push the CH 1 switch up to "1," the CH 2 switch up to "2," etc.

When you do this, the only thing that'll be recorded to TRK 1 will be whatever is plugged into the CH 1 input. The only thing that'll be recorded to TRK 2 will be whatever's plugged into the CH 2 input, and so on.

The BUSS recording (L on Channels 1 and 3 and R on Channels 2 and 4) feature does two things:

1. It allows you to record on different tracks without having to move your input cable.
2. It allows you to record several different input signals onto one track.

So, if you want to record to TRK 1 using this buss option, here's what you do:
1. Plug an input source (mic or instrument) into the CH 1 input and set the INPUT switch to MIC/LINE.
2. Pan CH 1 hard left. This will send it to the L buss.
3. Move CH 1's RECORD FUNCTION switch to L. This means TRK 1 will record whatever in the L buss.
4. Press the L-R switch next to the MONITOR knob and turn up the MONITOR knob.
5. Turn up the MASTER and CH 1 faders to the shaded area and set a good level with the trim on CH 1.
6. With headphones on, you should be able to hear your input signal in the left ear.
7. Press record.

You'll then be recording on TRK 1. After you're done, move the CH 1 INPUT switch back to OFF and the RECORD FUNCTION switch back to SAFE to make sure you don't accidentally record over anything.

In order to hear what you just recorded on TRK 1:
1. Turn up the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE knob on CH 1
2. Make sure the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE switch is set to TAPE CUE
3. Push the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE button next to the MONITOR knob
4. Play back the tape.
You should now hear what you just recorded on TRK 1. It will appear in the middle of your phones regardless of the pan knob on CH 1 because the TAPE CUE mixer is mono.

Use the MONITOR knob to adjust the overall level in your phones. Use the CH 1 EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE knob to adjust the level of TRK 1 in the tape cue mix.

To overdub on track 2, you don't need to move your input cable if you don't want. You can just do this:
1. Move the INPUT switch on CH 1 back to MIC/LINE
2. Pan CH 1 hard right. This will send it to the R buss.
3. Set the RECORD FUNCTION button on CH 2 to R. This means TRK 2 will record whatever is in the R buss.
4. Press the L-R switch next to the MONITOR knob. Both the L-R button and the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE buttons should be pressed. (This allows you to hear the playback of TRK 1 through the tape cue mix along with the new track that's being recorded.)
5. Use the CH 1 TRIM to get a good level on TRK 2.
6. Press record. You should be able to hear TRK 1 (in mono) and your new signal (in your right ear) being recorded to TRK 2.

To play it back, follow the instructions above for hearing the TRK 1 playback and simply turn up the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE knob on CH 2 to hear TRK 2.

You can continue to do this on TRK 3 and TRK 4 if you want.
For track 3, you'd pan CH 1 to the left and press the RECORD FUNCTION switch on CH 3 to L.
For track 4, you'd pan CH 1 to the right and press the RECORD FUNCTION switch on CH 4 to R.
Then to hear those tracks on playback, turn up their respective EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE knobs.

I tell you all this in hopes of helping you understand a bit about how the mixer works.

To answer your question about plugging into CH 1 and recording on TRK 1, then plugging into CH 2 and recording on TRK 2, etc., your best bet is simply to use the DIRECT recording option. To do that:

Plug into CH 1 and then set the RECORD FUNCTION switch of CH 1 to 1. This means that TRK 1 will only record what's plugged into CH 1.

Then move your cable to CH 2 and move the RECORD FUNCTION switch on CH 2 to 2. This means TRK 2 will only record what's plugged into CH 2.

Same thing for TRKs 3 and 4 (move the cable to CH 3 and set it to "3" and then move the cable to CH 4 and set it to "4").

If you want to do simultaneous recording on all four tracks, just plug into all four tracks and set each RECORD FUNCTION switch to its respective number (1, 2, 3, and 4).

You'll generally use the TAPE CUE mix to listen back to everything while you're tracking. When you're ready to mix down, things change.

Make sure all RECORD FUNCTION switches are set to SAFE.
Set each channel's INPUT switch to TAPE and only have the L-R button pushed next to the MONITOR knob.
Set the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE switch to EFFECT 2. This will allow you to use it as a second FX send.
If you want to use effects, run a cable from the EFFECT 1 send jack to the input of an effects device. Run the stereo outs of the effects processor back into the 5-6 STEREO INPUT jack on the 414. Note that you'll need to use an insert cable for this or some kind of adapter, such as this:
Hosa YPP-118 - 6" | Sweetwater

If you want to use another effect, do the same as above but use the EFFECT 2 send jack and the 7-8 STEREO INPUT jack on the 414.
Turn up the LEVEL knobs on the 5-6 and 7-8 channels to adjust the overall effect returns.
Turn up the EFFECT 1 and EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE (which is now functioning as an effect send) knobs on channels 1-4 to decide how much of each track is sent to each effect.
Adjust the panning and EQ of each channel to taste.

You can monitor everything through your phones or through a set of monitors (powered or unpowered with a power amp) with the MON OUT jacks, or through a set of monitors that's connected to the outputs of whatever you're mixing to (the computer, another tape deck, DAT, etc.). The latter is the most common mixing scenario.

I think that just about covers it. Forgive me if any of this was too basic; I was just trying to be thorough.
 
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