Question ?????

G

gospelsing

New member
Is it ridiculous to use a finalizer in mixing or mastering from a 4 track cassette recorder namely a tascam 424 Mk III .
 
Also, please define "ridiculous". Curiousity and experimentation are valid creative tools. Many times I have found something cool by following my nose. Try it out, whatever it is, and see how it goes. Learn. Experiment. Ah. These are things that bigtime studios don't afford you. Time to bone around.

I too am waiting to see what the Finalizer is. Sounds a little bit Arnold, no?

Don't feel ridiculous for being musical!



Sing out. Go for it.
 
gospelsing said:
Is it ridiculous to use a finalizer in mixing or mastering from a 4 track cassette recorder namely a tascam 424 Mk III .
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I remember a time when I went all "ga ga" for digital and got to play with a few of these all-in-one digital multitrackers 'cause some moron told me I shouldn't be recording to cassettes and that digital is all this and that .. blah, blah, blah .... Anyway, don't let no body tell ya somethin' is "ridiculous". I've learned that nothing is "ridiculous" when making music. Use any tool and any technique, however silly it may seem to you or your buddies. Whatever works for YOU and improves YOUR "sounds" is all good. Now ... what the hell is a "finalizer" ?? :confused:

Daniel
 
Mark7 said:
I suspect he means one of these.
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Looks like it's nothing more than a fancy multiband compressor with low / mid / high eq, which is all good I guess. An all in one unit. Cool. Makes your song more "radio like". :) . Sure, I see no reason not to use it with a 424 mkIII, unless, of course, your mixes suck. Then, even the most fanciful gear won't help.

Daniel
 
gospelsing said:
Is it ridiculous to use a finalizer in mixing or mastering from a 4 track cassette recorder namely a tascam 424 Mk III .
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OK. So, if it is this processor from TC Electronics that you are referring to; It might be over-kill for your current format of recording but it still would prove useful if you have some wild dynamics to tame and handy for making CDs with because of digital's intolerance for clipping over the zero db mark. The equalizer section can also prove very functional if your mixes are more or less good and balanced but, still off a bit because of the monitors and their interaction with your room acoustics which might not be clinically perfect.

So, yes. use it or, give it to me!:D

Cheers! :)
 
Use it if it makes your stuff sound better to you. But if all you have is a 4 track cassette unit It would not be the first thing I would go out and buy to make an inprovment in my studio or sound.
 
Herm said:
Use it if it makes your stuff sound better to you. But if all you have is a 4 track cassette unit It would not be the first thing I would go out and buy to make an inprovment in my studio or sound.
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Right, especially when we don't have much to go on 'cept the fact that he uses a 424 mkIII.

gospelsing: Can you please let us know what "other" gear you currently have and, if it's possible, post us a link to one of your tunes so we can make some recommendations ? Or at least tell us why you chose the "finalizer" ???

Daniel
 
I have a nady dual band compressor cl5000 I think and a dual 15 band EQ with 1/4" , xrl, and rca jacks. I also have a set of m audio sp-5B powered monitor speakers . I,ve been using peavy dynamic mics diomond series and a sp58 I know it's not the best but I also have a $5000 dollar pa system and I use the 12 channel Peavy board some times just for flexablity . And not to forget the reverb unit .

I posted this once and thought it went but I got bumped of at the time

. I've been using my 12 " pa monitor and a power amp to record and play on because my m-audios are connected to my computer .

And I really don't know how to send or post music on here I can convert to mp3 with roxie or wave file with studio 7 a computer program I've got on my computer but don't like it for editing or recording.

What does good with 4 track cassette recorders as far as outboard gear goes. And buy the way the finalizer I was looking for is a behringer ultra dyne pro dsp8024 for $ 179.00 it has a tubesimulater, multiband comp., enhancer, exciter, limiter, gate, and a bunch of other things i can't remember . I saw it at music123 .
 
Herm said:
Use it if it makes your stuff sound better to you. But if all you have is a 4 track cassette unit It would not be the first thing I would go out and buy to make an inprovment in my studio or sound.
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The first thing (for the same $$$) would be to ditch the 4-track and step up to a nice machine. The Finalizer is nice, but you need something of quality to "finalize"
 
I'd like nothing better THan to get better but money is a factor .
I wasn't talking about the TCE brand but the behringer. I have a friend who would let me keep his Akia 1 track some thing with a jaz disk i've used it many times but to be honest with you the sound wasn't to me a 1/2" better than the tascam . And using it's tools was like pulling eye teeth but maybe that's me . And I can do fairly good with the tascam it's playing ability I fall short in . Not that I think other things are'nt better I just can't get there from here right now .

But thanks for the advice
 
acorec said:
The first thing (for the same $$$) would be to ditch the 4-track and step up to a nice machine. The Finalizer is nice, but you need something of quality to "finalize"
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"Quality" is a very subjective term imho. Personally I prefer the natural sound of a 4 track cassette than a digital all-in-one unit. The original poster asked, in essence, if a certain product would be "over-kill" for his 424mkIII and I think that whatever "gear" gives you the sound you want is alright by me. I also think that if you can't get a good recording from just a mic and a recorder, no "extra" gear is gonna help you. Recently I heard some tunes from people who recorded on their cassette multitrackers, using compressors, reverb etc and it greatly helped their recordings be more "polished". It may have been lower fidelity but the production was so good that personally I didn't care if they used cassette or reel tape or hard-drive. Remember that Bruce Springsteen used a porta 144 for his album NEBRASKA and it's a classic. I've heard that they "tweaked" his recordings in a pro studio. Is that over-kill ? Me don't think so.

Daniel
 
gospelsing said:
I'd like nothing better THan to get better but money is a factor .
I wasn't talking about the TCE brand but the behringer. I have a friend who would let me keep his Akia 1 track some thing with a jaz disk i've used it many times but to be honest with you the sound wasn't to me a 1/2" better than the tascam . And using it's tools was like pulling eye teeth but maybe that's me . And I can do fairly good with the tascam it's playing ability I fall short in . Not that I think other things are'nt better I just can't get there from here right now .

But thanks for the advice
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Behringer is fine. Gear is only as good as you make it sound. Stick with your 424mkIII or get a used but in good condition TASCAM 244 or better yet 246. They go for much less than your 424 but are many times superior in sound and features, and still record to cassette. Digital is not worth the headache imho.

Daniel
 
I believe I have to agree . I'm no pro but I can do enough tell tell that If I keep the noise down and that goes with digital as well, and get better recordings I can't see why you can't do good recordings . But I thought that the 424 Mk III was there best 4-track ? .
 
gospelsing said:
I believe I have to agree . I'm no pro but I can do enough tell tell that If I keep the noise down and that goes with digital as well, and get better recordings I can't see why you can't do good recordings . But I thought that the 424 Mk III was there best 4-track ? .
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Nope. The award goes to the 246 by a loooooong shot! The only downside is that it can only be had used in almost all cases. "Used", however, doesn't mean "bad".

Daniel
 
I look one up on ebay but it had some problems such as it wouldn't play in slow foward or play so they sayed but it did look GOOD .
What other gear do you use such as mics, EQ , Compressor or not .

What about a 488 . I know some guys that have one of them and they went to adat recording, still on tape .
 
gospelsing said:
I look one up on ebay but it had some problems such as it wouldn't play in slow foward or play so they sayed but it did look GOOD .
What other gear do you use such as mics, EQ , Compressor or not .

What about a 488 . I know some guys that have one of them and they went to adat recording, still on tape .
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Yeah, there are 3 on eBay as of now I believe. The one you mention probably needs the belts replaced. Yeah, these are great units that sound better than they should ;) . The only gear I use, other than my TASCAM 244 and 246 are the sm57 mic. I then may mixdown to pc and use cool edit and various plugins to perhaps add some compression and reverb to the overall mix. I record in a most basic way. I am waiting for my TASCAM 34B to arrive though :D .

I haven't used the 488 so I can't say. ADAT is still digital, even if on tape, so you won't get what real ANALOG will give you. For one, you can't push the meters into the red and get nice tape distortion nor the nice, natural sound you get from analog tape.

You really should pick up a nice, used but in good condition TASCAM 244 or 246. Both are superior units.

Daniel
 
I got ya, I mix down to a stand alone cd recorder and add reverb and compression and EQ as I go . Using the effect sends I can put different amounts of reverb to what ever I want. I also have a program on my comput. called Magix studio 7 . It has I think 32 tracks or more and all kinds of plug ins and effects . And you can record, punch in, punch out. But I can get better results with my out board gear . Mainly because I'm better at working it . I've been wanting to get a sm57 because I've heard them live on acoustics and they do sound good . And I'll look out for a 246 . I would like to have another recorder any way.
 
gospelsing said:
I got ya, I mix down to a stand alone cd recorder and add reverb and compression and EQ as I go . Using the effect sends I can put different amounts of reverb to what ever I want. I also have a program on my comput. called Magix studio 7 . It has I think 32 tracks or more and all kinds of plug ins and effects . And you can record, punch in, punch out. But I can get better results with my out board gear . Mainly because I'm better at working it . I've been wanting to get a sm57 because I've heard them live on acoustics and they do sound good . And I'll look out for a 246 . I would like to have another recorder any way.
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Do whatever works for you and remember that the 244 and 246 have "inserts" which you may use to patch a compressor in, eq etc .. and also has "send/receive" to add reverb etc ... among other many features ... You may add those at or after the recording.

The sm57 just sounds better when recording to tape than any other dynamic mic. It's really inexpensive but many people recommend it for studio recording as well. I've heard that Sir Paul McCartney (sp?) uses it as a studio mic and so did Madonna for one of her earlier albums. Many people, including myself, love the 57. I urge you to get one. Also get the 246 (or 244) and you'll never regret it. IMHO, the sm57/244/246 combo is as good as it gets :)

Daniel
 
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