Mackie mixer to TEAC reel-to-reel issue.

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youarehere85

New member
Hello,

I have a TEAC 2340 that I'm trying to connect a Mackie mixer through. The TEAC has four 1/4 inputs on the front and I assume that I'm connecting those to the 1/4 direct outs(channel inserts as labeled on the board) to record on to the tape. I also hooked up the RCA outputs on the back to the Tape-In on the board to hear the playback. My issue is how does the EQ and fader level take part in all this? The direct outs are pre-fader and the Tape-in seems to just send it to the monitor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 

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As you've discovered, the direct-outs are pre-fade, pre-EQ, which (generally) is as they should be. That means the only control you have on the Mackie is the gain setting.

If you want to use faders and EQ, your options for getting four discrete outputs are limited. You could use main out L & R for two, then Aux 1 and Aux 2 for the other two. However, I expect Aux 2 will be set up as post fade. Or maybe, by using mute buttons, you can use the Alt 3/4 outputs for the other two.

Going into the A2340, you may not be able to use the jacks at the front. They look like mike inputs. You may have to use the RCA line inputs around the back somewhere.

Getting the A2340 to play back 4 channels into the mixer is tricky, specially if you want to play with the mix, i.e. use faders and EQ.

Whatever you do, you should hook your monitors to the control room output at the back, and use this for listening to stuff. That prevents feedback loops if you use the mains for both going into tape and monitoring.

I'd think about using the mike channels as the way of getting to the A2340, and seeing if aux 1 and aux 2 will work, then going from the line outs of the A2340 into the last four channels, and switching these to Alt3/4, then setting the control room monitor to Alt/3/4.
 
I'm not overly familiar with your gear but you will need to run your returns into the "line in" inputs, not the "tape in" rca's.
 
Thanks for replying! The TEAC does have line-in inputs in the back, but considering the Mackie has pre-amps, wouldn't that bring the signal up to line-level if I went through the mic in's? I did have some luck going through the AUX OUT on the back of the mixer, but that's only one L-R output. Still have to mess with the main outs as an option.

I understand that I'd want to go pre-fader for the tape tracking. I guess my question is how does the mixing get applied afterward? I usually record in the box, so this is all new to me.
 
Here is a pretty simple way to hook it all up. First off you have PLENTY of channels on the Mackie to work with. it would be fine for an 8 track deck and you are running half that.

Pick 4 channels on the Mackie. Use the direct outs from the board to feed the deck inputs. (use the back inputs)

Pick another 4 channels on the Mackie. These are your tape returns from the deck. Use the jacks on the back, and plug them into the line in on the board.

This leaves you with a whole 8 channels left for effects returns, keyboards, drum machine, etc.

Your 4 input channels can be left untouched so any gain settings aren't changed should you want to do over dubs, or do overs of a track.

On mixdown you would just assign what you want to the 2 channel buss.
 
RFR said:
Here is a pretty simple way to hook it all up. First off you have PLENTY of channels on the Mackie to work with. it would be fine for an 8 track deck and you are running half that.

Pick 4 channels on the Mackie. Use the direct outs from the board to feed the deck inputs. (use the back inputs)

Pick another 4 channels on the Mackie. These are your tape returns from the deck. Use the jacks on the back, and plug them into the line in on the board.

This leaves you with a whole 8 channels left for effects returns, keyboards, drum machine, etc.

Your 4 input channels can be left untouched so any gain settings aren't changed should you want to do over dubs, or do overs of a track.

On mixdown you would just assign what you want to the 2 channel buss.
Click to expand...

This would be my preferred method as well, because I wouldn't be upset at not having faders or EQ when tracking. I'm happy to set level with gain and do EQ after.

However, I was under the impression that the OP wanted to use faders and EQ on the way in.
 
gecko zzed said:
This would be my preferred method as well, because I wouldn't be upset at not having faders or EQ when tracking. I'm happy to set level with gain and do EQ after.

However, I was under the impression that the OP wanted to use faders and EQ on the way in.
Click to expand...

From what I remember from my cr1604 or something, the faders and eq was still available. been a while


@ Ghost, wouldn't those be at the back??
 
Hmm.

The Mackie 1402 mixer has no direct outs and sadder still is not really designed for multitrack recording work. It's far more so a PA mixer.

That said, I might suggest using a few separate outboard mic preamp units and using the Mackie as your monitoring and mixdown mixer.

Using the rear apron insert points is really no better then making use of the mic inputs on the Teac as you'll end up with the same amount of control over the signal, that being mic trim alone in either scenario.

I guess the Mackie might be preferred if you have mic which require a Canon/xlr connector but beyond that, there's little benefit of using the Mackie mic preamps.

Ultimately, a different mixer with a proper 4 buss architecture would be the best way to go as that would give you all the proper routing possibilities without resorting to bastardizing the Mackie insert points which will bypass the eq and channel faders if you use them as a surrogate buss feed.

My 2 pence.



Cheers! :)

ps: I try to keep Mackie wallpaper down to an absolute minimum! :D
 
The Mackie doesn't have direct outs as such, but it does have inserts on the back which can be put to use as direct outs easy enough
 
gecko zzed said:
The Mackie doesn't have direct outs as such, but it does have inserts on the back which can be put to use as direct outs easy enough
Click to expand...

Yes, that's been acknowledged but if the insert point is pre-eq in the signal chain there little benefit to employing them considering that the Teac reel to reel has decent mic inputs directly on board along with line inputs round the back. So from a connection simplicity standpoint, it might be simpler to use the recorder's front end for tracking and leave the Mackie for monitoring and mix downs, short of getting a proper 4 buss recording board, mentioned in my previous post.



Cheers! :)
 
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